I used the hand drill to enlarge the holes in the canopy at the front bow to #27 using the plexi bit. Enlarging the holes this way worked very NICE. Every so often the drll bit would grab, backed it up, released a bit of pressure and continued. All holes and no evidence of cracking where the bit exited the hole. Am HAPPY!
Used a permagrit countersink with a #30 pilot to countersink the holes that will accept rivets. Little by little at a time, looking at the roundness of the CS and making adjustments to the drill/bit position. This bit worked very well. Thanks John Masterman!
Enlarged the holes that will accept screws using the Uni-bit. Ran the Uni-Bit in from the other side also as the step is not quite thick enough. Deburred ALL holes in the canopy, both inside and outside using my normal deburring bit. Looked at a sample of the finished holes using a 10X and they look pretty good.
Half moon'ed the most upper forward canopy skirt holes that were on the edge of the canopy. Rounded all sharp edges. This should minimize any stress in this area. Van's indicated that this was an engineering issue and would be corrected with future kits. This top most forward hole on the canopy skirt needs to be moved aft a bit.
Canopy Hints Link
Time Today - 3 hours
