I finally got the photos from the first sit-in a few weeks ago. Here they are!
The somewhat tall-looking rail along the left side of the cockpit is about twice as tall as it will be when it's trimmed. The trimmed height is about 3/4". We just taped that stick onto the fuselage to give some idea of the crown line of the canopy. The two clamps temporarily secure the turtledeck hatch onto its mounting flanges.
Here I am imitating the HP-18 posture.
And here I'm sitting up as if flying a KA-6...
...and even so, I've got a good two inches of clearance between my head and the stick, er, canopy.
page updated 20 March 2003 all text and graphics copyright (c) 2003 HP Aircraft, LLC