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5.
Now we’ll begin assembling the aft fuselage. Notice on the plans how the
fuselage sides, top, and bottom all have a gentle curve at the aft end of the
fuselage that forms the exhaust nozzles. Assembly of these parts goes
much easier if you first pre-form these curves into the foam pieces using a
heat gun. This is very easy to do! Just hold the heat gun about a foot
away from the foam and heat the foam SLIGHTLY (it doesn’t take much).
Then gently bend the foam with your hands to the curves required (note
the foam will spring back some, so the initial bends need to be slightly
more that what’s required). If you bend the foam too much don’t worry
about it—it’s easy to reheat the foam and take the bend back out. To
judge how much curvature is required for each piece, simply hold it up next
to the part it attaches to and keep bending it until it matches fairly closely.
6.
Draw a centerline on the inside of the fuselage bottom piece. This line will
help with aligning other parts later.
Now glue the triangle stock to the aft fuselage sides as shown on the
plans. Note these parts are curving in two directions at once—up and in.
Thus, a contact glue is ideal for this step. Just apply the glue, let it dry,
and then pre-bend the triangle stock with your hands as you push it onto
the fuselage sides. If using balsa triangle, you’ll need to cut small notches
in the balsa to allow it easily form the curves.
7.
Glue on the aft fuselage bottom piece (the centerline should be on the
inside as shown).