I just installed my inflatable canopy seal using the technique described in LML posts by Dennis Johnson, Jabe Luttrell and others.  (I used foam weather strip from Home Depot when flying in primer – there is one size that fits perfectly).  Doing a trial fit with the blue masking tape is the way to go and a necessity in my case as I had to stretch it a bit to get it to fit all the way around the perimeter of the mating surface.  As described in the technique, I used a thin bead for the initial fitting and then went back (after curing) and added a bit more of the RTV (obtained from Lancair) in locations that had pulled away or need more sealant.  For the touch-up, what worked well was a hypodermic needle/syringe that I obtained from my favorite nurse friend.  I simply squeezed some RTV out of the big tube into the small syringe.  I didn’t use the needle because the RTV is too viscous for that small of an opening and I also didn’t want to take a chance of puncturing the seal.  The syringe had a small diameter opening (where the needle screws in) that fit well into the small cracks that I was trying to fill and it was also much easier to handle than the big tube.  Use a liberal amount of the blue tape to hold the seal in place, especially if you’re working during a humid day (a given here in Louisiana), as the blue tape doesn’t have a whole lot of “stick”, but it is easy to remove and won’t harm the paint.  It didn’t turn out perfect, but pretty good for someone with minimal patience and skill in this area.  I’d bet that an upholstery shop would do a better job …

Dana Westphal

Legacy N97DW

“Built over Geologic Time”