Monday February 28, 2022
Made the Big Canopy Cut, More Fitting (Canopy)
2.5 Hours

First thing today, I put the canopy back on the plane to triple-check the fit for the big cut. It looked good, so I took it back off and got started. I duct-taped the seam as I cut to keep it from pulling apart.

In no time, it was done. It probably only took 15 minutes. The cut came out very straight and smooth.

Whew, big relief that this was done. Here's the forward "tip-up" part of the plexiglass.

And here it is in place on the frame in the fuselage. The fit is honestly pretty good.

I spent quite a while trying to improve the fit around the front--or at least to make the two sides a little more symmetrical.

Then I taped everything down very tightly and marked the sides for their cuts to match the WD-725 side rails. I made those cuts.

This is the most complicated part of the rest of the fit, where the plexiglass transitions from the front canopy skin, through the little "ear" tab, onto the side rail.

It's getting much closer on both sides, but will take additional iteration. I have noted that other builders have had to trim the ears back a bit to get the plexiglass to flow smoothly through this area.

The front of the windscreen will get covered with a fiberglass molding eventually.

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