Agusta A119 Koala
11
Preparing the fuselage shells
Cut out the vacuum-moulded fuselage shells, working exactly along the marked lines, and sand
the cut edges smooth using fine abrasive paper.
Using a sharp balsa knife, carefully cut out the rectangular turbine air intakes in the upper part
of the fuselage, aft of the main rotor shaft. Seal the openings by gluing small pieces of fly screen
over them on the inside; they serve as additional air openings to cool the motor.
Cut the openings in the underside of the fuselage for the skid bars, working along the marked
lines. In the top of the shells cut out as large an oval opening as possible for the main rotor
shaft. At the tail end cut the hole for the tail rotor pushrod.
Bend the tailskid to shape from the steel wire supplied; the correct shape is shown in the photo.
Glue it in the bottom vertical stabiliser.
Fit the fuselage shells together as accurately as possible and apply pieces of tape over the
joints. Note that the edges of the shells should butt together; they should
not
overlap.
