Finish: Canopy and Window. Rear window installed.

The plans have us seal the rear window in place by placing sealant between the skin and window.  However, some builders have found that the resulting visibility of the sealant through the window, as viewed on the inside of the airplane, is undesirable.  It has been suggested that the window can be painted to hide the sealant.  I thought that was a great idea.

So I temporarily placed the window and masked off the edge.

I mounted the window in my "paint booth" (a.k.a., freaking cold garage floor).

I made sure to cover all areas that should not get painted, scuffed the edge to give the paint something to bite into (left) and painted the edge (right) the same as the interior.

When fitting the window originally, I neglected to dimple the top center hole because at that time the task seemed insurmountable in the confined area.  I decided to use a nutplate and a screw to make the dimple.  Whilst the form of the skin around my "screwed-in dimple" is different than other, legitimate dimples, no one will notice.

Because sealant is used to seal the window, masking tape is very carefully placed to meet the skin edge (left).  Then the sealant is applied (right).  My friend is camped out in the baggage area (a.k.a., "economy seating").

Here is the ELT antenna after the window was installed and prior to lifting the masking tape.

The goopy mess (left) after shoving sealant into the joint.  And the removal of the masking tape (right).

The edges look clean.

The sealant is not visible on the inside.

I wanted to show that at the center of the rear window, where the window attaches to the F-01432A Roll Bar Brace, I had to use an additional thin washer to prevent the window from deforming into the F-01431A-FL/R Roll Bar Frame.