Canopy bow 1 hr

Today I finished welding on the canopy bow and drilled the holes through the bow. I also sanded it down to get it ready for paint.   

Elevator control horn welded

Today I got the elevator control horn welded the rest of the way. I had just tack welded it so I could adjust the horns if needed. Good thing because it was needed

Canopy trim and drilling 1 hour 428 total

Today at work I tack welded the gusset onto the canopy bow. Once again I am redesigning the windshield/canopy bow design and instead of transferring the pushing and pulling of the canopy through the plexiglass and putting stress on the attachment holes, I welded a gusset from the bow down to the slider. This way the bow will be connected to the slider with a fastener rather than transferred through the glass. I also welded on two alignment tabs that will align the canopy with the windshield. Got home and fitted it up and I'm happy with it. 

I am going to mechanically fasten the canopy bow to the canopy as opposed to using the angle and adhesive to the windshield. The angle that holds the windshield to the windshield bow is an obtuse angle so it can't go anywhere when it is pulled on. The canopy is opposite and I'm afraid the adhesive wont hold up over time.   I drilled my canopy and cut the sides of it down where it meets the sliders. I deburred all of the holes in the glass and sanded the edges of the canopy smooth. I also cut out my forward canopy rest singer strips that will bolt onto the leading edge of the canopy. 

Next I will start drillinG the holes in the bow and get it ready for primer and paint. I will take it to work and finish welding it. Also will work on drilling my retainer strip and the trim piece at the slider

Canopy and windshield trims. 7 hrs

Today I worked on more fine tuning of the windshield trims. Once the windshield was trimmed out and set where its going to be, I installed some temp aluminum rivets so that I could fit my canopy to my windshield. I don't want to permanently install my windshield until my panel and wiring is complete.....or the harness is complete and fitting to ensure quick and easy hookup once it get real hard to get to. Once I had the temporary rivets, I did some fugue tuning to my canopy bow to get it to match the windshield bow as close as possible. Happy with that after a bunch of work. I then clamped my canopy bow to my windshield bow and sat my canopy on the bow and the fuselage. I marked the canopy for trimming. Once trimmed I put it back on and marked the canopy for fine trimming.  I removed it and sanded the edges smooth with 600 grit sandpaper. I modified the drawer slide per the plans and mounted them to the fuselage. I then sat the canopy in place and marked the holes that were in the drawer slide on the glass. It's nice working with a clear product!  After drilling the holes cautiously, I deburred the glass and clecoed to the canopy slides. I  decided to make some gussets that will weld to the canopy bow the fasten to the canopy slides to give it some more rigidity. I will weld them to the now tomorrow at work. Got a lot done today

Windshield trims 1 hour

Tonight I worked on fine tuning the windshield bows and retainers. I also riveted skins where the canopy slide mount to using countersunk rivets so that it doesn't interfere with the slide. Started working on some pieces to fill a void where the bottom windshield retainer tapers away from the fuselage to go over top of the bow

Windshield, control horn, etc 2 hrs

Tonight I adjusted and modified my elevator control horn.  I also trimmed my bottom windshield retainers and did some trimming and cleaning of the edges. It felt like an unproductive night. I need to continue to focus on one thing at a time...

Windshield work continued 3 hours

Today I continued to work on my windshield. I am doing my windshield quite a bit different from what the plans show. First off, I am using 1/2" chromoly tubing as opposed to 3/8" aluminum tubing for my windshield and canopy bows.  I am doing this for two reasons. One, I want to add additional rollover protection in the event that my CX4 goes upside down on an off field landing. Two, i wanted to add some structural integrity to the bow so that I can use it to help pull myself out of the airplane by using the bow.  Another change I am making is the upper windshield retainers strip. The plans call for a retainer strip that is bolted into the bow through the plexiglass.  I wanted to eliminate as many holes through the glass as possible, so I added a flange to the aft side of the retainer strip that turns down the backside of the bow and rivets to the bow. It acts as a constant pressure clamp that clamps the windshield to the bow and uses a constant bead of sealant/adhesive to eliminate any movement. This eliminates a bunch of holes and potential for cracks in the windshield and canopy. 

     I finished cutting the retainer and did some filing and cleaning up edges and rounding corners on the notches. I got the entire piece drilled to the bows.