
.
Fuselage Construction
25.
a. Tape the fuselage plans to the work bench and cover with waxed paper.
b. The fuselage sides are assembled from two laser cut pieces. Align the fuselage front and rear pieces directly over
the plan, check the fit of the parts, adjust if necessary and apply MEDIUM CA to the splice joint. Join another set of
pieces for the other fuselage side.
c. Glue the laser cut fuselage doublers to the fuselage sides with THICK CA or KWIK-SET-SET-Set epoxy.
NOTE: Be sure to make one LEFT side and one RIGHT side.
26.
a. Assemble all the fuselage formers (F-1 through F-6) into place between the fuselage sides. Put a rubber band
around the fuselage at each former location to hold everything together.
b. Slide the laser-cut lite-ply Fuselage Bottom Rear (FBR) under the rubber bands until it snaps into proper location
between the fuselage sides. Do the same thing for the laser cut lite-ply Fuselage Top (FT) and the laser-cut lite-ply
Stab Support.
NOTE: The "Tee-Lock"tabs on the formers, FBR, and FT are made over-sized to protrude past the fuselage sides.
These will be sanded off after the fuselage has been completely assembled.
27.
a. Place the fuselage over the top view on the plans to check the alignment. Even if some of the plywood is badly
warped, the interlocking parts are designed to be self-aligning - warps in individual pieces should cancel out. If there
are any persistent warps or twists, now is the time to fix it! Once the fuselage is glued, it can't be realigned. Double
check that the opening at the back end of the fuselage is square with the fuselage top. If necessary, gently twist or
push the parts in the desired direction and use masking tape to hold them there.
BUILDER'S TIP: To assist in keeping the nose section of the fuselage straight, you can install the laser cut lite-ply
tank floor at this time but DO NOT GLUE IT IN PLACE.
b. Glue all of the parts in place, working .trom the inside of the fuselage first, using MEDIUM CA. Start with small
patches of glue in the corners, checking the fuselage alignment as you go. Keep applying glue until the complete
inside of the fuselage has been gone over once. Now go back and glue all of the joints on both sides. Leave the
rubber bands and tape in place until all of the glue has cured completely.
28.
Locate the laser cut lite-ply headrest (HR) on top of FT and glue HR in place. Use
the 29° side of the Dual Tool to get the correct angle between HR and FT.
29.
a. Position top formers F-4T and F-5T in the correct slots in FT and glue.
b. Glue the five 1/8"x5/16"x24" balsa fuselage stringers into the fuselage top
formers and the headrest. Note that the top stringer and the two bottom
stringers sit in notches in F-6, while the two middle stringers butt against
the front face of F-6.
c. When the glue has cured, trim off the front of the stringers flush with the
front of HR and the back of F-6. Savaothe scrap stringer material for later
use.
30.
a. Install the landing gear plate to the fuselage by gluing it to the sides, the
doublers, and the bottom of F-2. Don't be stingy with the glue - you may
find yourself picking up the landing gear as a separate piece after a hard
landing.
b. Glue the fuselage bottom front (FBF) in place using MEDIUM or THICK
CA. Be sure to glue the joint between FBF and the landing gear plate from
inside the fuselage.