We started the windshield installation by carefully determining the centerline of the airplane, and matching that to the center of the windshield:
Using the laser to find the center of the fuselage, to align the windshield
That is, until we realized the center of the windshield is BS and totally irrelevant given the irregular shape :) and instead we simply adjusted it to a position that seemed to make more sense and look good, trimming the edges as we went until we got a gap of less than 3/32" all around the cabin cover flange. We then marked it and trimmed down to get the actual consistent 3/32" gap, using arbitrary markings to realign:
Alignment markings on the windshield and fuselage
Trimming the windshield with a sanding disk
We sanded the cabin cover flange until the fiber was exposed (same as for the windows), and did some more minor adjustment of the flange and windshield edges to keep a consistent 3/32" gap:
Fuselage taped up for sanding the windshield flange
We then taped up the windshield - the top following the Silpruf process, and the bottom following EAA's process:
Windshield with external tapes applied to it
Windshield with interior tapes applies to it
Fully-trimmed windshield held in place by clecos and clamps
With the window ready to attach, I also fabricated and attached the 5 clips that are supposed to hold it in place:
Metal clips for holding the windshield
Windshield held in place by metal clips
We then followed the same process as the windows' for the top edge of the windshield, applying Silpruf, installing spacers, waiting for 12h, then trimming the spacers and gluing it in:
Windshield with a first layer of Silpruf applied to the top edge
Windshield attached to the top flange with Silpruf
We had tried to keep the cleco holes relatively shallow to reduce the change of hitting the conduit behind them, and that worked fine initially but during that final attachment some clecos just didn't take - cleaning off the Silpruf around them and from the clecos themselves helped (I guess the Silpruf was acting as a lubricant and making the clecos slide out?), but we also added some clamps to lower the pressure against the clecos.
We also already marked the edges of the fiberglass fairing, which is what we'll tackle next:
Bottom windshield fairing space taped up for fiberglass layup
After the Silpruf on the rear windows had cured, we removed the clecos, and they held!
Rear window attached in place, without clecos holding it
With this, we repeated the same process for the door windows, startin with trimming the windows and sanding the door flanges (only enough for the fibers to show):
Door window flange, sanded until the fibers show
We trimmed the windows to leave a 3/32" gap, then drilled those gaps for clecos (and unlike the rear windows, on these the holes did not go all the way through, which is convenient since finishing will be easier (no repainting the inside):
Right door window held in place with clecos, after trimming
We taped up the area where we didn't want Silpruf, and attached spacers with RTV:
Left door with protective tape and spacers glued on
A first layer of Silpruf is applied to the end, then let cure for ~24h:
Applying Silpruf to the door window edges
Spreading Silpruf into a thin layer on the door window edges
Right door window with Silpruf applied, and the first tape removed
We then apply a second thin layer of Silpruf to the window, and a thick layer to the window flanges:
Applying Silpruf to the right door flange
Right door window set in place with Silpruf, held at the right depth by clecos
Left door window set in place with Silpruf, held at the right depth by clecos
We had a bit too much squeezeout on some of the inside edge, and too little on other parts, so a lot of adjusting of the inside finish had to be done:
Cleaning up the excess Silpruf that squeezed out of the inside
After removing all the Silpruf-cutting tapes, the end result was pretty good:
Right door window installed in place, after the inside edges were cleaned up and the tape removed
With this, the only part of section 45 remaining is installing the (dreaded) windshield.
We started the window installation using the Silpruf method - starting with making some strips for spacers:
Silpruf strips for spacers
The Cee Bailey's windows fit within the joggle from the start, but not with a consistent margin around them, so we trimmed them, and used tile spacers to keep them in place until we drilled the cleco holes:
Window with trim markings (the lines closer to the edge)
Clecos installed around the window, which was set in the right spot with tile spacers
Tile spacer used for keeping the window in the right spot
There was also a lot of sanding and filling of the edges around the joggles, to make sure there were no holes (since it'll be a lot harder to fix those after the windows are installed):
Sanded joggle/flange, with lots of pinholes showing
At two specific points on the rear columns, the window was sitting proud of the cabin cover even if I pressed it down, so we built that up with fiber/resin:
Window sitting proud of the column surface
Laying fiberglass on the column
Rear column built up with fiberglass
With all this done, we're ready to start actually attaching the windows.
Installing the nutplates for the Aerosport switch pod was a bit of a challenge - the holes were very far forward inside the overhead console, and just not reachable with our hands - so we used a magnet to position them while watching with the borescope, managed to get them clecoed, then set them with CCR rivets:
Holding the nutplate in place with a magnet (on the outside)
Clecoed nutplate inside the overhead console
Riveted nutplates in the overhead console
Because of how close those forward nutplates were to the cabin cover surface, I had to get shorter screws (MS32514-25) to secure the switch pod.
The screws attaching the center brace were a bit too long and hitting the wires, so I replaced the original AN509-10R30s with AN509-10R26/27s:
Center brace bar screws very close to the wires
Shorter replacement brace bar screws
It was then time to fit and trim the windows (we're using Cee Bailey's windows) - they immediately fit inside the joggle without any trimming (but with a variable gap around them):
Test-fitting the rear window
I'll cover the actual window installation in a post about section 45 (section 43 only has you check them for fit and do a first trimming).
