2 & 5 Jun 2024

Test fitted canopy, drilled hole for canopy wiring in the left side rail and fitted a snap bushing to suit. Worked out how to coil the parachute cables in the cable tray.

Group the bottom of the canopy at the aft end to create some clearance with the side rails. Ground the rear of the canopy to create a joggle width of 20mm which fits nicely alongside rib 2. The side rail cutouts for the aft parachute cables were way too small and prevented the canopy from fitting correctly - it would not move far enough rearwards and was causing the canopy to be forced inboard with a large gap to the outside skin. I ground the side rails to correct the issue, but was a bit nervous that it may have compromised the structural integrity of the side rails - but Sling Technical assured me it is ok. For my own peace of mind, I've fabricated two reinforcing doublers to go around the cables on the inside of the fuselage and bridge the gap - this will be riveted in place after the canopy is installed. I know it's unnecessary though.