No turning back

After weeks of reading, talking to people, and generally procrastinating, I took the plunge and did the first layup of fiberglass on the RV-7A canopy this morning. Previously, I'd added filler to the space where the canopy and skin meets, sanded it down, and cleaned it.



The problem is the black dye. It's impossible to see air pockets in the one layer of fiberglass I put on (do you people really do this with one long strip? Really? How?). And it wasn't until I got back to the office and looked at the pictures I took that I see all the places the peel ply isn't laying down on top of the glass. I'd squeegeed everything with a credit card but the compound curves make it impossible.

I'm at least encouraged that the side where it meets the side skirts is going to look better than I thought it was. I think.



It's only a dinky little 1/2" wide strip of fiberglass that's under that peel ply. And so, the waiting begins.

No telling what that first layer is going to look like when I pull the peel ply off tomorrow.

This is really nerve-wracking.