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| The top 1/4" balsa aft fuselage cap is added to the fuselage assembly. |
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| The top cap is shaped to a rounded contour using a sanding block and #80 grit sandpaper. |
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| At this point it is time to add the 1/16" plywood motor mount. Prior to installing the motor mount drill it
for the mounting holes of your desired motor. Apply a layer of fiberglass cloth to both sides using thin Ca glue prior to
installing in the fuselage. The fuselage sides have a small tab and the motor mount a matching notch to aid is aligning in the
fuselage. Use a C-clamp and a couple scrap pieces of plywood to gently pull the fuselage sides together symetrically.
You may want to soak the fuselage sides with hot water or Windex to aid in bending. Use thin Ca glue to hold the
motor mount in place. |
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| While you still have the C-clamp in place, add the top 1/16" top nose cover. This is laser cut
to fit precisely between the fuselage sides and against former F3. Once this piece is in place you can remove the C-clamp. |
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| The bottom have of the fuselage sides is wetted and formed around Former F2 and F3.
A relief slit cut through the fuselage side just forward of F2 is needed (not shown in the photo) to allow the
1/16" balsa side panel to form around F2. You want the small bit of fuselage panel ahead of F2 to the motor mount
to be vertical. |
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| Add 1/4" thick balsa filler blocks to the inside of the forward fuselage between F1 and F2. Add
1/4" triagular stock inside the nose next to F1 and along bottom fillers as shown on the plans. (Much of these filler blocks
will be carved and shaped away.) |
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| At this point you may want to temporarily install your motor to test the fit. On brushless motors you should
drill the motor mount holes in F1 to position the motor so the wiring is oriented at the bottom of the fuse for clearance.
Prepare the removable balsa hatch (shown on the right) by laminating a two layers of balsa to create a 3/8" thick part.
The 1/4" nose ring is shown on the left. This will be glued to the front of F1. |
