FEI BAO Mirage 2000
Apr 14
following our assembly sequence and procedures anyway. Chances are it will save
you a lot of time, prevent you from running down dead ends, and perhaps remind you
of a few small things that might end up saving your aircraft. We have tried to arrange
a construction sequence that will allow you to keep moving forward, rather than
waiting for glue to dry before you can proceed to the next step.
Just because the model is almost completely built does not mean you can rush through
the final assembly. You need to employ fine craftsmanship every step of the way,
turbine models are critical. Keep this in mind with everything you do, every part you
install...look at the work you just did, evaluate it critically, and ask yourself "is this
going to potentially crash my airplane?" If there is any doubt about the work you have
done, back up, and re-do it properly.
ADHESIVES
The correct adhesive to use for all procedures is Loctite Hysol 9462. This is a very
strong white epoxy that is thixotropic. "Thixotropic" means it does not run at all, but
stays only where you put it. It is infinitely superior to regular epoxy, even slow-setting
epoxy, for our purposes, because of this characteristic. Regular epoxy will run
downhill with gravity as it dries, taking it away from where it is supposed to be. A
good example is in the hinges...using regular epoxy, a good portion of the glue will
migrate down away from the hinge into the inside of the wing as it dries, and you
won't even know it is happening. Hysol stays where you put it. The downside of
Hysol is it takes overnight to dry properly, but we have tried to arrange things to keep
you busy while waiting for glue to dry.
We also highly recommend that you only use a proper Hysol dispensing gun, and only
the long-type mixing nozzles. The short nozzles do not mix this glue enough, and only
a thin nozzle and gun will let you fill the hinge and control horn holes properly with
glue, you can't do it mixing your Hysol on a flat surface and trying to get the glue in
the proper place by a brush or stick. You can buy a complete Hysol setup with a gun,
nozzles, and two cartridges of glue from your dealer.
WORKING WITH PNEUMATIC SYSTEMS
The Mirage uses pneumatic brakes and retracts. If you follow a few tips, you should
have very reliable, leak-free operation. Neatness counts. All airlines should be secured
to the airframe to keep them from flopping around or getting kinked, use tie wraps
and clips for this. The other very important thing is to cut off the end of each airline
dead square before installing it on the nipple. This is VITAL. You can either purchase
a professional tubing cutter from your dealer or you can make up a little jig to hold
the airline and keep a sharp, new razor blade perfectly upright as you cut. Either one
works, just ensure that all ends of all airlines are cut off dead square. Make sure all
airlines are pushed ALL THE WAY onto their nipples.
They should not need to be secured otherwise, but you can add fine wire safety wraps
if you like. Make sure all left and right matching airlines are the same length,
particularly the brake lines, or you will get uneven retraction or braking action.
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