Without them, all RV's tend to leak (cold) air from the wings into the bottom fuse... Since the only major openings in the cabin floor are the stick cutouts between the legs, this can be quite uncomfortable, especially during winter time ;-)

The solution is quite simply a boot out of some lightweight and frictionless airstopping fabric. We have yet to find that. But the boot has to be mounted to the fuselage somehow.

A ring out of .032" alclad for each side. Cutouts for the rivet heads on the outside of the fuse.

Nutplates riveted to the rings. Now only the boots are missing and have to be glued to the rings.

This is another good example of the "hearsay" tricks and things you won't find in any plan for the RV. The RV community is great with sharing experiences and improvements.

Bernie's brother Adrian had some days off, so he came over to check out our progress and help a bit.

Starting some prep work for the canopy rollover bar.

Sorting out the plans.

Some real beefy angles to be cut and shaped.

Cutting the access holes for the bolts in the backside of the rollbar.

Although it's a very rough hole cutter intended for wood, we have been successfully cutting aluminum using low speeds on the drill press.

Prepped the inside strips as well.

All required angles and brackets ready for assembly. Note that we haven't drilled any holes yet.

And removed pretty much everything from the cabin as we prepare to do a major painting session for interior parts. This is the flap channel with the actuator. This picture will serve as a reminder for the reassembly of washers and spacers.