Canopy Headroom Check
Before I attach the canopy for good, I wanted to see how much extra headroom I could squeeze out. I was thinking I could raise up the front edge of the canopy a little bit, as long as there was enough excess material on the windscreen – luckily, the windscreen is oversized and must be trim to fit. I had originally positioned the canopy per the kit instructions, resting it on a joggle (lip) that’s built into the composite. I think I can get an extra 1/4” of headroom pretty easily, and just fill in the gap (if there is any) with Quikfair. I know that a quarter-inch isn’t much, but at my height (6’6”), every little bit helps.
The next photo shows where I’m getting the extra 1/4”. I marked two black lines on the composite skin of the canopy, at the front edge where it will meet the windscreen. The upper line is where the canopy would sit if the canopy meets the metal skin right at the joggle, the lower line is from raising up the front. I can only raise up the front of the canopy, the rear of the canopy goes underneath the rear fuselage skin and is a much tighter fit. I loosely positioned the windshield to make sure that extra 1/4” wasn’t going to cause any issues, and it looks good.
