18
Helpful Tip: Tighten all the wheel collar set screws with their
heads pointing straight down. That way you will have easy access
to the collars if adjustments ever become necessary.
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3) Mount the wheel pants to the landing gear with the M3 x
15mm PWA Bolts.
Double check to see that the wheels are
properly centered in the middle of the wheel pant openings. If
necessary, adjust the two wheel collars to get the wheel centered.
Also make sure that the wheels turn freely without obstruction.
CANOPY ATTACHMENT
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1) Notice that the molded plastic cockpit deck has 3 factory
drilled holes along each side for the mounting screws. Set the
cockpit deck in position on the fuselage. Use a felt-tip pen to mark
the position of each mounting hole on both sides of the fuselage.
Remove the cockpit deck.
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2) Carefully drill a 3/64" (or #56) dia. pilot hole at each marked
location. Drill completely through the balsa and plywood cockpit
sides.
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3) Trial fit the cockpit deck back on the fuselage, using the
M3 x 8mm PWA Screws provided to fasten it in place. If there are
any problems with the fit of the cockpit deck to the fuselage, fix it
at this point before proceeding.
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4) OPTIONAL STEP: If you want to detail your cockpit deck,
do it now. On our prototypes, we used light gray art paper to line
the bottom and back of the cockpit deck, giving it depth and color.
We measured and cut the paper to fit and applied it to the deck
with a heavy coat of spray cement. The front portion of the cockpit
deck (in front of the instrument panel) was masked off and painted
with flat black enamel (from a hardware store spray can). A full-
color printed paper EXTRA 300 instrument panel is included in this
kit. Simply cut it out with a sharp scissors and use spray cement
to glue it in place on the cockpit deck. Last, we mounted a 1/4 -
scale civilian pilot figure to the cockpit deck to finish off the cockpit
detailing. There are many brands of pilot figures available. No
matter which brand you use, be sure to reinforce the bottom of the
cockpit deck by epoxying a piece of scrap 1/32" or thicker scrap
plywood underneath the area where the pilot will be mounted. This
stiffens the cockpit deck and allows you to fasten the pilot to the
base with screws.
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5) a. Screw the cockpit deck back in place on the fuselage.
b. Use several pieces of masking tape to secure the cockpit deck
to the fuselage, and then remove the screws.
c. Set the clear plastic canopy in position on top of the cockpit
deck. Check all around the edges to see how the clear canopy
matches up to the cockpit deck. If the clear canopy hangs over the
edge of the deck in some spots, trim off the excess clear canopy
plastic with a sharp scissors or modeling knife as needed to
achieve a good match.
d. Once you are satisfied, hold the clear canopy in exact position
and use a felt-tip pen to mark the locations of the six mounting
holes onto the canopy.
e. Remove the canopy and drill clearance holes at the marks
with a 3mm (.018”) or #31 (.020”) drill bit.
f. Mount the cockpit deck and the clear canopy TOGETHER onto
the fuselage with the six screws. Check the fit and make any final
alterations.
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2) Slide a wheel collar onto
the axle, followed by a main
wheel, and then another wheel
collar. Locate the outer wheel
collar near the end of the axle
and snug its set screw tight
against the axle. Now slide the
wheel and inner wheel collar out
against the outer collar, and
lightly tighten the inner collar set
screw.
Trial fit the fiberglass
wheel pant in place over the
wheel. If necessary, reposition
the wheel collars to center the
wheel in the pant opening. Then
tighten both wheel collar set
screws for good.