Jan 1 2004 - I decided to finally tackle the problem I had with the roll bar plates. See this page half way down for review. I decided to fill in the pre-punched holes with a double flush rivet.

First I took some NAS1097AD3-3 rivets and trimmed the length down as shown. The skins were then countersunk on both sides.

Here is the outside after riveting, block sanding, and then a pass with a ScotchBrite pad. The new holes have been drilled 5/16" forward of the old holes.

Here is the inside. These also came out very even with the skin and should not interfere with the plate at all.

After fitting the plates, you can just see the old holes with the cheater rivets installed.

Here is the final fit and like the very first picture from the fuselage page, you can just see the locations of the old holes at the bend line of the plate. This came out pretty good - hopefully those rivets will stay put and not crack down the road.

Jan 4 2004 - After consulting with several builders, I decided to cut the top skin a little so that the edge will be even with the canopy cut. This will leave the skirt even with the canopy on the slider. I'll then build a fairing all the way around so that the slider tucks under the fairing on the fixed canopy/skin area.

The skin is ready to rivet on with all the holes dimpled and the inside painted. Tip - rivet the side plates to the skin with a squeezer prior to installing the skin. The rollbar can then be permanently bolted in prior to the skin going on.

I also spent some time finishing up the rear seat back. I built up the gap between the metal and glass top with epoxy and flox. I then riveted across the top of the metal sides into the glass top/filler mix. Finally, even out with epoxy and micro balloons then cover with light cloth.

Here is the seam which makes a smooth transition from the sides to the top. Even with the glass on top, I expect this will very likely crack down the road. I'll deal with that if it happens.

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