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Windscreen Fairing
With the windscreen glued on to the plane, I now needed to create a smooth fairing. Arguably more intense than the rear fairing, there was some criteria I had to hit: I dove head first in, and after 6 hours of epoxy, glass, and related supplies, I wound up with what I felt was an […]
Rear Skirt Attached
After three-four sessions of primer and sanding, the skirt was finally in a condition where I felt comfortable attaching it. The underside of the skirt required white primer, where it would show, to match the cockpit, but black primer where attaching to the canopy and side skirts. (The black primer is the first component of […]
Canopy/Windscreen
The canopy, windscreen, and side skirt junction wound up about as clean as I could have asked for, highlighted here in the photo.
Rear Skirt Gets a Coat of Primer
I love how the wet paint highlights how uniform the skirt actually is.
Gluing the Windscreen
Gluing the windscreen on the airplane was nerve-wracking. Sika Flex was again the weapon of choice, and even though I’m feeling more confident with the Sika Flex system, it’s still a messy and permanent approach to windscreen and canopy attachment. The important part was getting both clamping and spacing worked out. Spacing was required to […]
EP 4.25 Canopy Side Skirts
Roll Bar
Getting the roll bar correct is pivotal to getting the alignment of windscreen to canopy and the gap therein. My roll bar was exactly perpendicular to the longeron, but I wound up having to shim one end and grind level some of the weldment to better suit the alignment of the actual canopy pieces. With […]
Finishing the Avionics
Getting the avionics in place has been something I’ve been working on behind the scenes. I had the stock van panel water jet cut and powder coated–this after making some file adjustments based on the trial panels I’ve created to date. Dry transfers were created through Color Vu. The glare shield was primed and painted […]
Trimmed Skirt
I did an initial trim of the skirt, cutting along the far line that I made (approximately 3/4″ outside of the “final” trim line). I like the proportions of this so much it may become the final trim line. The low spot, created by the rear canopy lip, is visible when holding a ruler to […]