Canopy Fairing Part 1

Finished masking off anything I did not want epoxy to stick to.  The epoxy is incredibly strong and almost impossible to remove even from a surface that is not prepped.  Do a good job here to save time later!

Next was to start fitting and shaping the structural foam blocks supplied in the kit that fill the area outboard of the two canopy frame arms that come forward to the hinge screws.  An angle has to be cut on them so they nest in the arms properly.  Marked them per the directions.

Then I cut the wedge off with the band saw.  Save the scrap pieces for later.

Then they have you press them into place to put a little indention on the blocks.

Trace the shape of the top skin on the back of the blocks.

And cut away the excess.  Save the scraps.

Then using the indention made by the pivot screw head, use a unibit to cut the 1/2" hole for the pivot screw.  Make sure you drill the hole perpendicular to the arm where the screw threads into.

Next was to rough up the forward arms in prep for epoxying the foam blocks to the arms.

I used 80 grit paper to get this done.

Next was using a mixture of flox and epoxy to glue the foam blocks to the arms.  I used two planks and some straps and clamps to ensure that the foam blocks stayed in the right place until the epoxy cured.