07-15-2013: 5 hrs
Finally, I got to the rear skirts of the canopy. I have been worried about this task for a while since all the articles about bad fit.
I cut the sheet aluminum as pre-marked by Vans, then bent it slightly on my knee. After trimming off more plexiglass on the rear end ( Trimmed to 1/2" overhang, the min per drawing), the fit is not too bad. I had to bend the sheet on top slightly to close the gap.
I made a hole finder using a used saw blade, it worked great. I drilled all the holes while putting a lot of tension on the bottom corner of the rear skirt. One thing I found helpful is to open the slider slightly (about 0.2" from the roll bar). With this slight opening, a small gap can be easily closed when the canopy is fully closed.
Overall, I am happy with the fit. I am looking forward to finishing the slider canopy soon. The windscreen has to wait until a later time when I close the fwd top skin.
Home made hole finder
Rear skir is drilled with hole hole finder
A gap is mainteined on purpose while drilling rear skirt, so when pulled forward, the tension can close any gap between rear skirt and fuselage
Gap between pulling fwd
The gap is much smaller when canopy is pull fwd tight
I can live with this small gap
Rear skirt is marked for trimming off extra material
