Before reinstalling the canopy, the frame has to be installed correctly as it had moved since I last worked on it. The rollbar has to be protected to avoid scratching the cabopy and the "ears" of the forward skin are temporarly folded back.



Then the canopy is put back on the frame and centered using the line drawn at the beginning.
The forward edge will now have to be trimmed before cutting the canopy in two.

The sunny weather allowed work to begin on the canopy. Before cutting anything the lines had to be redone as the tape didn't adhere anymore.
The cut is done with an angle pneumatic grinder. It takes some time as the grinder uses lots of air and the plaxiglas is quite thick. After some length is cut, some tape is used to hold the cut off part to avoid any cracks.



To do the cut, complete attire is mandatory : mask, goggles and cap because there is a lot of very small dust particles.



Here, the four parts are cut off, next step will be to adjust the canopy to the fuselage.

The sun is back, so I begin painting the mobile parts from the interior. Some parts are only partially painted as the reminder will be covered by the interior fabric.



The paint is grey Rustoleum with hammered effect. It is thinned 20% and paint gun sprayed. The final result is more than acceptable.

One hour was enough to finish the installation of the front gear leg. Inserting the leg and drilling for the bolt was a non event (no problems as with the main gear legs).



With the engine mount installed on the firewall, it's impossible to insert the gear leg bolt. The solution consist in drilling a hole in the firewall. I use a long drill bit to mark the spot to be drilled.



To make a 1" hole, I use a Greenlee punch, which allows to do the job in less than one minute.



The view from the engine side.



And the cabine side with the bolt inserted.



And the surprise is for the end. The plug given by Vans is for a 3/4" hole and the plan said to make it 1". Looking through all the plans, I find on another view that tha hole should have been 3/4. It's too late now, so I have to find a 1" plug.

Today, the three wheels got installed on the legs. For the main wheels, six spacers have to be fabricated. I made them slightly longer than per plans so I don't have to use a washer later.



Then the fixed part of the brake caliper and the fairing bracket are bolted to the gear leg.$



Then the wheel and the brake caliper are installed on the leg.



A big nut holds the wheel on the leg. The nut is held in position by a cotter pin. So the axle has to be drilled, I first mark the two drill positions using a long drill bit. The final drilling is done with the wheel of the leg.



And a picture of the result.



Then I install the front wheel. No difficulties here, but nothing is finished yet as the big nut on the left side still has to tightened to the correct value. This will be done after the axle has been greased correctly via the small nipple (red dot above the nut). I first have to buy a grease pump.