Slider Rail Woes

Afternoon everyone,
Slowly moving along on my canopy (7 slider) and I ran into a problem with the canopy slide rail. The front is positioned as instructed (canopy bow is 1/16 from the outer skin) and the hole for the front of the rail misses the longeron. However the aft hole, when the rail is paralleled, would notch the longeron when drilled. The plans (DWG 42, sliding canopy-top view) imply the basic cross dimensions of the fuselage are the same at the front and rear of the slide rail. Unfortunately, mine differs by about 1/4 inch. We have two options, either drill through the longeron to keep the rail parallel or miss the longeron and have about 1/4 inch difference between the front and back of the rail.

My question: is it better to notch the longeron to keep the rails parallel or have a 1/4 inch difference the front and back of the rail? Will the canopy still slide with the difference?

I sent this same email to Van's on Sunday and am still waiting on a reply. I was just curious if anyone else had the same problem and what their fix it was.

Thanks,
Brandon

Here is a picture of mine. The slider rails are not exactly the dimension in the plans but very close and are parallel.

EDIT: To answer your question, IMO, you should ensure proper edge distance for the rail fasteners. The canopy will flex to deal with the 1/4" variance.

The rollers are a bit narrower than the inside of the track, thus the tracks can be slightly out of parralel without binding.

Agreed...

I ended up relocating the forward ends of my rails outboard about a screw-hole width to improve the slide of the canopy. I'm replacing my aft decks and the rails, maybe I'll buy another whisker's worth of space to relieve some rubbing on the rollers. But mine will not be parallel. Made a difference for me.