Without a doubt, the most butt puckering task is the splitting of the canopy. Once marked, you just have to do it. You will find the 2 pieces much much easier to work with than the one monster piece..
Once the canopy is split, everything that was aligned nicely gets all out of whack. I spent 12 hours shimming the forward roll bar at the canopy and rails, as well as the slider frame to the canopy to get everything to line up nicely. Also the little blocks in the rear that secure the canopy down got out of whack as well. LEAVE PLENTY OF CANOPY for aft trimming. As I trimmed the forward canopy to sit down on the fuse, the aft clearances got shorter and shorter to the point that it almost got too short. I mean really close. I cut to much off from the initial trimming, and just barely have enough to drill through the aft roller bar.