With the windscreen completed and the canopy height defined, it's time to work on the side skirts.
First, I had to make sure that the bottom line of the plexi fits well between the side skirt and the side skirt brace.
I cut the canopy bottom line quite generous and now with all drilled, it's time to define the final height of the canopy sides.
It's quite difficult to know where to cut so I used two aluminum scrap pieces to track the bottom line on the plexi.
The angle together with a another scrap pieces were just the right size to define the bottom line and still ensure enough edge distance for the canopy side holes.
I used a sharpie ben to draw the line on the plexi. I was actually quite close already and just need minor adjustments using a hand belt sander.
Next I layed out the hole pattern for the holes attaching the side skirt to the canopy frame. I did not punch the front and rear holes yet as I still wanted to be able to adjust them once the side skirt is in it's final position.
As the cockpit has a gentle bend in it, I also put some pre bending in the side skirt.
Then marked the middle line on the side bow of the frame.
The middle line is actually just a reference line. The real position is defined by the height offset from the top of the rectangular canopy frame bow.
I clamped the side skin to the bow in 3 locations and adjusted the height to match the height given on the plans (+ some small safety offset).
Used the caliper bottom measuring pin to ensure the distance to the bow is equal over the entire length.
My measure were quite good as you can see the center line through the pre drilled holes in the skin.
Also check the overlap of the bottom of the side skirt with the longeron. Mine extends to the middle of the rivet row on the back side.
Started drilling #40 from the front to the back.
Here the side skirt location is defined and fully drilled.
Next, you need to drill the first 4 holes in the C-759 inside canopy skirt using the holes in the C-660 side skirt as template.
Make sure the alignment of the top of both part is perfect over the entire length.I used some plexy scrap as spacer between the two and cardboard to make up for the height differences.
Then put a flat wood to the side of my workbench and clamped both pieces to the table.
The result looks very good. As you see in the picture below, I'm using scrap pelxi between both parts to keep the spacing correct while drilling.
To keep the back aligned, I put some angle scrap on the top of the two parts.
All drilled, ready to receive the canopy.
In the front of the C-759 inside canopy skirt, you need to cut a small notch to remove the interference with the canopy frame front bow.
In the next session, I'll start drilling the canopy.