Enlarge any picture by clicking on it. Use your back button
to return it to a thumbnail.

To build a canopy frame I started by cutting 1/4 inch spruce to match the longerons
in the cockpit area and then laying up layers of foam to fill the cockpit area.

I check head room again.

Foam is sanded to shape and canopy set in place to check for shape and
contours.

I had the canopy about
ready to install on the frame
but did not like the looks of
the RR canopy so I ordered
a Todds Canopy for a
KR-2S.

At this point the inside of the canopy frame has also been contoured and
fiberglassed. It is still very flexible so I place the canopy frame on the fuselage
over plastic and fiberglass the outside of the canopy frame.

After receiving the Todd Canopy I placed the canopy over the frame and cut the canopy frame to take advantage of the
larger canopy. You can see that I cut the sides lower and cut the back top bow back more. I should have much better
visibility with the Todd canopy.

Compare the canopy frame before and
after cutting for Todd's canopy.

I used a router to cut a 1" wide by 1/2" deep groove around the
edge of the canopy. The groove was filled with micro then routed
again to about 3/8"deep

Here you can see how much of the canopy was
cut off. Todd makes the canopy plenty big. the
crate it was delivered in looked about the size of
a casket

I used this cutoff tool to cut
the canopy.

How not to install a canopy. If you enlarge the picture below you will see that I drilled the edges of the
canopy and installed screws to hold it into place. This causes stress points that allowed the canopy to
crack. You can see how the crack started through a hole I had drilled. Expensive lesson, learn from my
mistake.

This is how I recommend you install a canopy. When you are satisfied with the fit, drill through the canopy
frame about an inch away from the canopy. Use wood blocks (I used shims) to hold the canopy in place while
the micro dries. When the micro is set then remove the blocks and use 2" fiberglass tape to go around the
perimeter of the canopy. The screw holes can easily filled with micro then covered with the fiberglass tape.

Compare the looks of the RR canopy to the
Todd canopy.