Mounting the canopy bubble to the frame!

Got started with the hardware to attach the canopy bubble to the frame.

Easy peasy.  Just mind the directions where they tell you to just tighten enough to keep the screws from rotating.

Custom interior has arrived!

Received my customized interior from Abby at Flightline Interiors today.  Here is a sneak peek!  As you can tell I am going for a totally different look than what I had with the RV7. 

Looks weird against the lime green primer but she did an amazing job!  The whole setup looks great and should go well with the Rustoleum Hammered brown.

The upgrade charge to get the Ultra Leather and custom colors was minimal!

Canopy bubble holes EEEK!

Per the KAI's, I enlarged all the canopy bubble holes to #27 using a reamer.

I then chamfered all the holes with this single flute cutter.

The single flute cutter does not chatter like the multiple flute cutters do but you have to be extremely careful as these cutters are very aggressive and if you are not perfectly perpendicular to the hole, they can grab and take out a chunk!

Canopy frame painting.

It is time to paint the canopy frame before the bubble gets attached

Primed with self etching primer after I masked up the front arms of the frame.

Then I sprayed the frame with Rustoleum hammered brown.

Canopy side skirt drilling

I enlisted the help of my small and lightweight cousin to help me drill the side skirts to the canopy bubble.

The idea is to use a block of wood on the inside to prevent the drill bit from pushing the thin angle out away from the bubble.  He was more than happy to help!

He even brought a friend with him that got to learn how to use cleco's!

Thanks for the help guys!  You will be offered a ride someday!

Next was countersinking the plastic canopy frame guides that help keep the canopy centered side to side when it is closing and closed.

Then it gets tapped for screws.

And then installed. in the angled portion of the canopy deck.

This is how the finger of the canopy frame engages that block.

Then  they have you used the canopy alignment block to tap the rollbar for screws.  This helps ensure that the tap goes in straight.

Finally this block is installed on both sides of the rollbar.  This helps guide the canopy as it is closed.

Canopy Side Skirt Fitting

Worked on fitting and painting the canopy side skirts today.  These have to be painted on the inside due to their visibility in the cockpit.

First is to countersink the front 5 holes of the frame.

They have you bend the skirt to match the contour of the bubble and frame.  I rolled it around a spray paint can.

Dimple the front 5 holes for 120 degree flush rivets.

Then I painted them with the Rustoleum Hammered Brown paint that I am going to use on the interior.

Disaster!

Around Friday 9/27/24 hurricane Helene decided to pay East TN and Western NC a visit.  This resulted in the worst flood disaster in recorded history for the region.

3 major rivers flow through my county and converge into the Douglas Lake.  All three exceeded there record high levels by a large margin.

Downtown Newport was under 2-6 feet of flood water. 

All along the rivers homes were destroyed.  Bridges and roads were washed away.  People were and still are trapped.  Public water was wiped out, significant power outages occurred.  Two local dams were overrun and water spilled over the top of them at a rate up to three times the typical flow at Niagara Falls.  Their failure was imminent but God intervened and they held.  The East bound side of I-40 at the TN/NC line fell into the river below.  Entire communities like Hartford TN and Chimney Rock NC were completely wiped out.

At this point 2 people from my county are confirmed dead.  Neighboring counties and over in NC the death toll continues to rise and the numbers missing are huge.

Since my work was unaffected and we have the ability to produce about 2 million gallons of potable water a day, I decided to grab a few totes and start delivering water to our town and county.  I spent the next 4 days doing just that.

Started with one tote.

Quickly decided I need to expand the operation to two totes.

Then enlisted the help of a friend and we had 5 totes up and running.  I have no idea how many gallons of water we delivered to jugs and buckets but it was ALOT!

Then thru collaboration with one of our chemical suppliers, we really expanded to a 21,000 gallon tank.  The Chestnut Hill volunteer fire department helped us keep the tanks full at this station, the local hospital, and several shower sites that were set up around the county.

We even got a visit from Dolly herself to inform the community that she was personally donating 1 million dollars and her Dollywood company would also be donating another million.  Morgan Wallen also donated $500K.  My work, Bush Brothers donated food products and allowed many of us employees time to volunteer in this time of need.

I have been blown away by the love and compassion and grit that my fellow mountain folk have demonstrated over the past week.  Donations, volunteers and money are pouring into the region from hard working Americans that want to help!

We have a long road ahead of us here in East TN and Western NC.  Hard times lay ahead and the cleanup will take a long time but we will recover.  Here in our county the water has been restored and it won't be long till it is considered safe to drink.