Trimming the Canopy Skirt - part 2

First thing in the morning was to pull out the existing elevator cables and to measure them in comparison to the new ones that had arrived on Friday. It turned out that the new pair was longer than both old ones and I think that should get me really well adjusted on the turnbuckles. I decided to keep the new pair and send back the old one.
So I pulled the new cables in and routed them under the tank.


I've also decided to leave the strings in the tailcone until right before certification. It's easy enough to cut them and pull the string loops out, but it would be a major PITA to get these routed again after taking them out too soon.

Next I covered up the instrument panel so I could put the canopy on for fitting the skirt.


This was the first time since the installation of the avionics that all the screws were in and I thought I'd take a closer look.


I think the silver screws look good on the flat black. However, the upper curved row of screws won't be visible because of the forward tube of the canopy sitting right in front of them.

The first fit showed that I needed to trim quite a bit more in the front to even be able to start tipping the canopy. So back off, more cutting and back on. This is the second trial.



The solid silver area was about to get removed.



At this point I stopped the session as it was getting to a 100F with high humidity as the monsoons have arrived in Tucson. I now have to slow down on the trimming to not remove too much at once. I hope I can do some more trimming during the week.

The tailcone stub needs to get done and the electrical wing connectors have to get installed. Both jobs I can do on my own if there's no help available for working on the canopy.
Also, the money for the engine is on the way to the checking account and I hope to be able to send Van's the order along with the check some time this week.