Canopy bubble drilling part 2!

 More canopy bubble drilling today.

Front all drilled.

Back all drilled.

Fitting the side skirts.  

Left side done.  (Side skirts to frame)

Right side done.

Canopy bubble drilling!

 Finalized the location of the canopy, taped it down and started drilling it to the frame today.

First I drilled the canopy frame bow in the front per the marked holes.  Must drill at the angle that is perpendicular to where the bubble contacts the bow.

Taped the Poo out of the canopy so it does not move.

Used 1/8" shims at the front to ensure that gap remains constant.

Ensured that the hole is concentric with the shaft.

And started drilling with the plexi drill.  Front to back and side to side.

Stopped for today because I did not want to push my luck.

Canopy bubble fitting

Now comes the fun stuff of working with the canopy bubble.  Always a risk of cracking one of the most expensive parts of the kit.  No pressure!

First is to remove about 3" of the protective film around the edges of both sides of the bubble.  Then to tape what remains down so that it is protected as much as possible.

There was a blemish just to the side of the factory cut hole in the bubble.  It kinda looks like that was supposed to be there as an indicator of where they should drill the hole.  Hopefully it is not that far off!

Tape up the side rails to help prevent scratches.

This tape gets layed out but not pressed on to help indicate where the canopy contacts the frame.

Tape up the canopy latch shaft hole that sticks up to help prevent scratches.

I noticed that the copilot side was sitting on the frame and it needs a minimum 1/8" gap.  First cut was completed.

The front corners needed a little trimming to allow them to clear the frame.  Easy peasy,

Then it was time to located the canopy and triple check all the measurements.

Ensuring the 1/8" gap between the front of the bubble and the top fwd skin.

Marking the latch hole to be able to make it more concentric with the shaft.

I made a Z shaped tool from a vinyl coated coat hanger that I used to press the blue tape down to the frame in the front.  I stuck it under the bubble between it and the frame and worked it across the hoop.  Worked great!  I then marked the tape per the KAI's.