4 hrs. on the canopy.

First holes drilled...

Using a 3.2mm drill bit I drilled out all the holes (this size was fine since I'll be up-sizing them to 4mm with a reamer).

Using my carjack and 2x4 to push up the rear side (top was already done)...

... further and further over (there was a limit though to how far I could do this of course).

Lots of holes to drill going over the rear.

With the holes drilled it was time to get the backing strips in place.  It needs to have a piece cut out to accommodate the parachute cable.

Section cut out.

And in place.  Not sure how I'll be able to get something in there to strengthen the rivet coming through behind the cable.  Maybe a washer.

Starting to tape things up so the evil Sikaflex doesn't spread over everything... ;-)  Not obvious in this photo, but the bottom edge of the tape is perfectly aligned with the top of the skin.

All the side holes are up-sized to 4mm (using those because you need a length of 10mm) to get through all the layers.  Will work on the rear holes tomorrow.

Well, I wasn't able to get to the Big Drill today, but I did just spend a few minutes on that 1mm... :-D.  It was nagging me all day...  I did a quick analysis as to why it wasn't the same on both sides and I couldn't really see a good reason other than it needed a little more encouragement to move back on the right.  With a strategic slight push on the right side's door frame.... and they were perfectly the same on both sides.  50mm from the 6th rivet up to the window frame edge.

I'll sleep better tonight. ;-)  Hopefully I'll have a couple of hours in the morning to start drilling.

1 hr. prepping for the Big Drill...

Checking out the space for the backing strip I need to cut.  It narrows at the top.

I measured about 17mm.

Cutting a 17mm strip.

The trick I learned from others to get the canopy to sit flush with the skin.

Works well!

Before I commit to any drilling I really want to make sure the canopy is well positioned and as even as possible on both sides.  The vertical dash you see toward the bottom of the canopy in this photo is where the jog in the fiberglass is.  With that lined up I counted up 6 rivets and measured from the skin to the edge of the window.  Roughly 50.5mm on this side.

On this side (which is as far back as it can go without cutting the canopy) it's about 51.5mm.  So, within 1mm.  I'm fine with that.

My strips ready to go.  I cut one that is 17mm wide and another that is 15mm since the 17mm was a bit wide for the very top portion.  I'll cut segments of these to use along the back edge of the canopy.  The side strips came with the kit and are already drilled and ready to go.  Tomorrow is the Big Drill Day...

I recently found this useful presentation on best practices for electrical work.  I also posted it on the Electrical Page.

1 hr. putting the canopy on and fiddling with it.

In place.

Right side is pretty much up against the rib.

Left side somewhat less so.  But, I was told by the factory that the jog (they called it a joggle) on the canopy should line up with the skin, which it does nearly perfectly on the left side.  The right side of the canopy the jog isn't really visible to me.

The parachute cable is slightly in front of the slot it goes down on the right side.  OK?

I measured from the front edge of the canopy to the front edge of the firewall strip.  Left side: 30 3/4" and right side 30 5/8", a difference of 1/8".  OK?  Am I overthinking this?  Underthinking this?...

The back edge of the canopy will need to be held up in order to drill these holes.  Others have used a carjack and 2x4 to push it up.  I'll try the same.

I was alerted to a new revision (L) of the Matco wheel/brake manual by BobZ.  You can get it here.  Thanks Bob!

1 hr. on the wheel spats and ground block.

I bought some fiber optic cable (not the type for data usage...) and made a make-shift light pipe for the 4 screws I need to drill holes for.  Using a very bright LED flashlight....

I was able to shine light through the rivnuts to locate the where the holes need to be. :-)  Worked as planned.

Before finalizing the locations I made sure that the space around the wheel was even.  I was going to make it perfectly level with the ground, but that made it a bit tight around the wheel in the back, so I tilted it a bit to make it even spacing.

Pilot holes drilled and you can now see the light shining through.  I want to make sure I ream out the holes in exactly the right place so first I will do something so I can locate the hole centers (maybe put in flat head screws and put the cover on).

I drilled out the other mounting hole for the ground block and put in a M4 rivnut.  Here it's screwed in place.