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Date: 11-10-2019
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Number of Hours: 3.50
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Short Description: 3: Canopy Roll Bar
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Well, this is exciting ..... my first log of work on the canopy!
I marked out and drilled the mounting holes for the canopy roll bar, then made up the little spacers that go in underneath the aft front deck to provide a flat surface for the nuts. All good with this, although I did find it quite difficult trying to get the spacers positioned in the underside of the deck .... but I got there eventually.
Next the instructions say to bend the canopy frame so that you get the proper 7/8" gap at both sides of the airframe. It's easy they say, if the frame is a bit too wide (which mine is) then just place one end on the floor and then lean on the other end. But not too hard, as you don't want to over-bend the frame.
Well, I'm no light-weight, and I was putting my full weight on the frame and for the life of me could not get it to bend (and stay bent). I even tried bouncing on it, but all to no avail. It started out being 1/8" too wide, and it stayed 1/8" too wide.
In the end I got a ratchet strap from the back of my car and used it to pull the frame in ever so slightly. With the frame properly positioned I could then match drill the mounting holes.
Next I removed the canopy roll bar, drilled all holes to final size, and deburred. The frame is now sitting on the fuselage with bolts in place just to hold it there. I'll work on this some more next time.
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The canopy roll bar was a touch too wide, so had to pull it in just a bit (1/8") to line up properly
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Match drilling canopy roll bar mounting holes .... torch and mirror come in handy for this
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