Scott's RV-14 Build

Canopy Trimming and Tweaking

I've spent the past couple days trimming the canopy edges and tweaking the overall fit. It's a slow process. Made slower because with the canopy frame mounted on the fuselage placing and removing the plexiglass canopy is a two-person job. It's just too big, heavy, flexible and awkward to attempt single handed. I tried once. Never again. My supportive wife is happy to help but when she's not around things bog down. And the canopy must go on and off many times as its edges are brought into spec. Achieving a nice consistent edge at the roll bar with no waviness along the length and a clean, tight fit with the rear glass takes a lot tweaking and small adjustments. And getting it replaced exactly the same way each time is challenging too since it bows and flexes. I have many reference measurements around the perimeter to insure I get it back in the same place each time. I found my pneumatic random orbital palm sander works best for removing plexiglass. I start with 40 grit and finish the edge with 400 grit to eliminate scratches and stress points. The sander uses a lot of air and my compressor with a 25-gallon bottle has a hard time keeping up. The compressor motor runs nearly continuously and so it gets pretty hot. I use 2 fans blowing directly on it to keep it cool which works well.

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