Forward canopy deck riveting
In order to get the canopy frame fit just right, I needed to do some riveting. First, I riveted the angles for the canopy latch handle to the side skin. That wasn’t needed for the canopy frame, but I wanted to get it done. From there, I finally riveted the front canopy decks to the longerons. Using a nice little bucking bar I picked up from Clear Air Tools at the Arlington air show, I was able to get at all but one rivet. And that rivet I could have bucked if I hadn’t riveted in the canopy latch handle first. Oh well.
I put the canopy frame back on the fuselage, this time using a couple of extra clamps to hold the skin tight against the frame. The fit at the longerons could use a little improvement. The frame is a little wide at the front and a little narrow at the back. Also, I would like to have the top of the frame sit a tiny bit higher so the canopy skin will clear the forward top skin when the canopy is opened. I might try to tweak the frame a little bit. I also sighted through the holes in the canopy hinge blocks and they seem to line up nicely with the holes I pre-drilled in the canopy hinge fingers. I’ll drill those as soon as I have the canopy frame fit looking good.