Canopy Bubble Drilled To Frame

I've successfully drilled the canopy plexiglass to the frame. I will have to take it on and off several times to tweak the fit but it's nice to have it looking like an airplane.

It takes a bunch of clamps to get everything aligned.

 

Canopy Big Cut

Made the canopy big cut. I didn't have any problems but it sure helped that it was 100 degrees outside and probably more in the garage.

I used my Sioux 2600 rpm drill motor with the fiber cutting disk. The drill had a lot more control than my cutoff tool. I used the frame as a support for the rear part of the canopy and blocks and tape for the forward part. It separated easily.

 

Here are the two parts of the canopy on the workbench positioned so I can smooth the cuts. I've got quite a bit left to do on the canopy but it was nice to finish the "Big Cut".

 

Starting On The Canopy Bubble

I marked the centerline of the canopy bubble. I'm going to double and triple check before doing any cutting but using the laser made it really easy.

I used a laser line device. Ryobi from the aviation isle of Home Depot. About $49.

The laser line didn't photograph so well but I thought it was an interesting picture.

 

Here's where I found the centerline of the canopy. I used the manufacturers marks on both ends and connected those. I tried the string method of measuring equally from both sides but the edges of the plexi are wavy and inconsistent so it was hard to find a perfect centerline.

 

 

Finished Canopy Frame

I finished fitting the canopy frame. Time to move on to the canopy Plexiglas.

This was the method that worked the best. I used a 2'x4' piece of 3/4" MDF and traced the outline of both the roll bar and the aft turtle deck. For the aft canopy hoop, I had to cut a small square hole for the slider block bracket and position the MDF hanging over the workbench a little. The blocks are 3/4" plywood screwed in place with deck screws. It takes a fair amount of force to bend the tubing so I screwed the board to the workbench. The inside blocks are slightly curved. It only took about an hour to do the actual bending.

This didn't work so well. Every time I'd get something right, it would change the shape somewhere else.