Canopy frame rear bow hole size?

[ravenstar]

After getting through the intimidation of sizing and drilling my canopy I thought attaching it to the canopy frame would be easy, but I'm puzzled: The holes in the rear bow and side attach angles in the frame are drilled out with a #30 plexiglass bit with the canopy held in place, then the canopy is removed and the holes in the canopy enlarged to #27. Then the canopy is reattached with AN526C632R8 screws through the rear bow and attach angles. The problem is, 632 screws don't fit cleanly in a #30 hole. My thought is that I need to also enlarge the holes in the canopy frame and attach angles to #27 since these are not threaded holes. Before I drastically alter a large and expensive part, does this sound reasonable?

This would make it similar to the process in the turtleneck skin and rear window which were match drilled #30 then final drilled #27 separately, but as a bonus question, why doesn't it make sense to just match drill the parts to #27 in the first place instead of separately enlarging them?

Thanks!

 

[ravenstar]

Seem to have attracted lots of views, but no replies, so let me try to ask the direct question that's holding me up: Should I drill the holes in the rear bow of the canopy frame to #27 to accommodate easy insertion of the screws, or leave the holes #30 which isn't sufficient to freely insert the screws without threading them into the frame? I'm just not sure if this is one of the places the instructions are obscure, or if there's a design reason for the undersized holes.

 

[Bob Y]

Yes, you can enlarge the rear canopy-bow holes to accommodate the screws. They were just #30 to accommodate the Clecos. For my build, I also enlarged the canopy holes slightly with a reamer to better accommodate plexiglass expansion and contraction. The canopy being the WORST part of the build, I certainly didn’t want to go through that experience again.

 

[ravenstar]

The canopy being the WORST part of the build, I certainly didn’t want to go through that experience again.

Much thanks!

The canopy and rear window were certainly anxiety inducing, but they've gone smoothly so far for me. Taking my time and double checking everything seems to have paid off, hence my caution with this step.