holes in the canopy (from experience, do not drop these washers
on the floor because they are really hard to find!).
Place the
canopy onto the canopy hatch with its rear edge lined up with the
rear edge of the angled former. Carefully center the canopy and
use a few pieces of masking tape to hold it in this position. Use a
pin through each washer's center to poke a small hole at each
location. Remove the tape and the canopy.
Press the silicon washers onto each screw. Use a screwdriver to
insert each screw in place through the canopy and into the holes
just made. Tighten the screws enough to force the small diameter
side of the washer into the holes in the canopy - do not
overtighten, it is not necessary.
LANDING GEAR & WHEEL PANTS:
From the kit contents, locate the following parts:
Hardened
Aluminum Main Landing Gear, 2 - Main Wheels, 2 - Fiberglass
Wheel Pants, and the bag containing: 2 - 4mm Wheel Collars
w/ Set Screws, 6 - M4 Washers, 3 - PM4 x 16mm Bolts, 4 - M4 Hex
Nuts, and 2 - PM4 x 35mm Bolts. In addition, locate the four
4-40 x 3/8" Slotted Head Bolts and the four 4-40 Blind Mounting
nuts used for attaching the wheel pants to the landing gear. When
assembling the hardware in the following steps, we suggest using
a thread-locking compound, such as Loctite
®
#242.
❑
1) Slip one M4 washer onto each of the PM4 x 35mm bolts.
Insert the bolts into the two axle holes at the bottom of the landing
gear legs, from the inside surface. Thread one M4 hex nut onto the
threads of each bolt, all the way up to the aluminum landing gear.
Use a Phillips screwdriver and a small adjustable wrench to firmly
tighten the nuts to the bolt and landing gear. When doing this,
leave one of the "points" on the nuts pointed straight up on the
landing gear to engage the cut-out in the wheel pant slot. Thread
a second M4 hex nut onto the bolt, up to the first hex nut. Use an
adjustable wrench to tighten this nut firmly to the first nut. This is
the basic wheel axle assembly.
❑
2) The fiberglass wheel pants can now be mounted to the
landing gear. Note that the wheel pants have been molded with a
recess on the inner face that accepts the thickness of the
aluminum landing gear and pre-aligns the pant angle to provide
their correct relationship to the fuselage in side view. Also note
that in side view the leading edge of the landing gear is not
tapered. Place one of the wheel pants onto the aluminum landing
gear leg with the axle nuts aligned with the slot in the pant's inner
face. Using the two, wheel pant mounting holes in the aluminum
landing gear (just above the axle) as guide holes, drill two 7/64"
diameter holes through the wheel pant and the inner plywood
mounting pad. Repeat this process on the remaining wheel pant.
10
MODELER’S TIP: If you want to add a pilot figure to your
model, it is now very easy to remove and then reattach the
canopy. For a pilot figure, we suggest using the Williams Bros.
2-5/8" "Sportsman" civilian figure. It will have to be cut down
a little in height but it's size is just about perfect for the model.
Glue a small lite-ply base inside the bust and use epoxy and
a sheet metal screw through the bottom of the canopy hatch
to hold the pilot securely in place.
MODELER’S TIP: The aluminum landing gear supplied with
your kit can be easily polished to a high, chrome-like luster
that makes the airplane look very classy! Start by sanding the
edges of the landing gear smooth with 400 wet or dry type
sandpaper - wet. Now simply use a good quality aluminum
polish such as Simichrome™ or Flitz™ and a little elbow
grease to polish the gear. Another method is to use a bench
grinder with a buffing wheel.
Use a buffing compound to
quickly polish the gear to a bright, polished finish.