In prep for getting the canopy install much farther along than it currently is in order to haul the fuselage down to North Carolina, I measured, researched and then ordered some black trim for the aft vertical edge of the glare shield.  The trim will serve two purposes:

1. Keep from slicing open body parts that come in contact with the rather sharp edge.
2. Compress slightly into a groove on the bottom of the canopy skirt to guard against incoming rain and moisture, wicking it to the outer edges of the glare shield/canopy.

I ordered the trim from McMaster-Carr a few days ago and it came in today.  I have to say I’m quite pleased with both the fit and the look of the trim.

Here’s a bit closer look.  When the airplane is finished to paint, the current green area of the glare shield will be a flat black, whereas the Balsa wood area will be painted whatever color the nose and canopy frame is painted (haven’t decided yet . . .).

I also received yet another L12 micro-linear actuator that I’ll be using to manipulate louvers that will cover the oil cooler to adjust the airflow for optimized oil cooling temps: louvers closer to closed in the winter for less engine oil cooling and pretty much wide open during the hot summers, with stages in-between during the fall and spring.

The switch that I also bought from the Robot Shop is a latching type switch (analogous in function to a latching relay) that will allow a simple actuator to be stopped at discreet positions –versus just merely fully opened or fully closed– to allow for a myriad of settings to dial in the oil cooler to temp during flight ops versus having to mess around with making, sizing and attaching oil cover plates on the ground.

As a point of note, I got the louver idea from Marc Zeitlin who incorporated this simple mod on his Cozy IV with great results.  The main difference in my configuration vs Marc’s is that Marc incorporated a cable to manipulate the louvers whereas I will be using a significantly lighter micro-linear actuator.

I’ve been painting the house all week with the phenomenal help of Stacey from North Carolina.  It’s been a very productive week but I am quite tired, so after taking just a bit to recharge I’ll be back on the canopy build for the next 2-3 days (interspersed with some house prepping tasks of course).