Tailcone wrapup, canopy frame
Hours: 7.6 | Posted in Canopy & Frame, ElectricalInstalled various tie-wrap bases for the tailcone wiring runs, and pulled the aft nav/strobe, pitch trim, pitch servo, VOR and transponder antenna cables into the tailcone. Installed standoffs for the static line in the tailcone and secured the line, checking for clearance with the harness anchor bracket. Installed the ELT mounting bracket.
Worked on fitting the canopy frame by clecoing the skin to the forward frame weldment and fitting to the fuselage. After several on-off cycles and adjustments, it was fitting pretty well, so the splice plate was drilled to the forward bows. Removed the skin and cleaned out the chips, then re-clecoed and checked the fit on the fuselage. Fits the same, with the usual slight gaps at the left & right front sides, that require spacers under the front skin. An initial check of where the hinge holes will fall shows that the holes are almost dead center in the hinge goosenecks…I’m pleased with that, though I do need to fabricate spacers to go between the goosenecks and the forward bows (that distance is set by the holes in the skin, and mine has a gap…no biggie, it looks like a piece of .063 and .040 will fill it nicely.
The issue at the moment with the canopy frame is that, for the outboard three holes of each side’s aft tube, the skin does not sit down to the tube…there’s quite a gap. I’ll have to read up on what others have done here, whether make spacers, omit these holes, or what. Also trying to figure out when the canopy stiffener kit should be fit, as there is no mention of it that I can find in the manual.
