Joshua's RV-9A Project

More work on the canopy frame… fitted the stiffener kit to the frame, then took everything apart for deburr/dimple/etc, and prep for primer.  The plan is to rivet this thing together, and get the aft top skins on, then fit the plexi bubble.  The stiffener kit wasn’t too bad to install, though it has plenty of notches to deburr; the worst part is bending the flanges around the 9 lightening holes.  I broke a couple boards with notches (including an oak piece), then used a 3″ hole saw to make a giant dimple die of sorts, clamped one hole at a time, and whacked it with a 3# hammer.  That seemed to do the trick.  They’re not pretty like factory-formed ones, but the do stiffen up the pieces considerably, and they’re hidden behind the panel anyway (except when the canopy is open).

Also riveted 2/3rds of the rearmost top skin, while Allison was looking for a reason to be in the garage (since it was cooler than the house in the 95° heat.

Expecting to be out of town again for half this week, and busy some evenings, but with any luck, the frame will be complete by mid-next week, and work with the plexi might still have a shot at being done before the fall temperatures set in.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 8th, 2010 at 10:38 pm and is filed under Canopy & Frame. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.