This job took most of the day and working in the open sun didn't make it easier at all. After finishing this I just let it be good and enjoyed the afternoon cooling down in the pool.
Today, I was faced with yet another loss of internet access due to a low signal at the hook-up point. I have never experienced a worse cable service than with Comcast. However, I cannot switch as Cox and Comcast have conveniently divided the city up in half and they do not compete in my area. Sounds like a cartel? Sure, that's because it is one. No third provider would provide internet speeds that I could live with, so I am stuck with this horrible service at an outrageous fee.
So, while waiting for the cable guy to come buy (they could just open an office on my street to save them and me some time), I took the stabilator off again. Not just because I wasn't happy with the cables and the threaded ends in the turnbuckles but also because there wouldn't be a way to really work around the stabilator. It's just too big and I will store it for now until it will get reinstalled when the plane is at the hangar.
Then I started the much dreaded job of trimming the canopy. First I had to cut out the trimming template and apply it to the canopy "horns".
Marking the outline of the template presented a challenge as I had chosen to dye the fiberglass black and none of the Sharpie's would leave a good mark for trimming. Fortunately, my wife loves scrap-booking and she had a silver pen that worked great on black. I was a bit conservative when marking the outline. First I followed the template, then when it was removed I added about a 1/4" in the front as a small deviation in the back where the clecos were, could create quite some offset in the front. I didn't want to be cutting off too much before fitting it.
The center section was first traced with electric tape and then also marked along the edge with the silver pen. The tape made it easier to correct the alignment as well as providing a nice straight edge.
I did a rough cut with a 6" cutting wheel, yeah, the thing that cuts through steel. That worked pretty well, you just have to be very careful and get a good grip on the thing.
The rough cut was followed by a finer one using the high speed angle die grinder. That tool sucks more air than the compressor can provide so I had to give the pump some rest once in a while to cool off.
Remember how I had a problem with some duct tape getting baked on the layup in the center section? Well I removed that today too by using the straight die grinder with a hard Scotchbrite wheel. It was pretty easy actually. Sorry, no photo of that one.
I also noticed another problem I had created myself when running out of time doing the center layup in the open sun. The lower layer had already set up and didn't connect too well to the new layup so I found delamination along the edge in some spots. I injected some fresh resin with a syringe and a thin needle (I bought this stuff for filling the rivet holes in the pop rivet heads) and clamped the leading edge together until it would cure.
The cable guy showed up during the trimming and figured out that the hook-up point signal level dropped quite a few decibels since the last time and that the signal was way below norm anyway. He requested that the amp in the service station for my area would crank up the power. He also replaced some low quality fittings as he called it and the signal came back up to levels the modem could work with until the amp would help to bring it up even further.
Let's see how long that will last. The last time a cable guy was working on my signal levels was just 14 days ago...
It was too late in the day to do the fine trimming and I have to see when Elizabeth has time to help me putting on the canopy. I want to put it on at least once this week so I know how much more trimming I have to do. I might just have to fill the brake system with fluid now as there's not much more I can get busy with during the week.
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