: Has anyone used duct tape rather than wire to hold panels together for
: filleting?

Probably a bad idea. It depends on how much tension the panels have. For one thing, wires allow you to finetune the panel joints. Usually you need to loosen and re-tighten these wires to align the panels until the shape is just right. I don't see how you can do that with duct tape.

Yes that strip at the bottom sounds a bit unusual. With most designs, fillets and extra glass, which is a good idea in the cockpit area anyway, shoul do the job.

Henk