Top Flite TOPA0101 - Manual (Page 25)

❏
23. Glue the forward 3/16" sq. stringers into
place. These stringers can be used to pull any
slight twists out of F-2A.
❏
24. In preparation for fuselage sheeting, look
over the structure and use a sanding block to
blend all parts smoothly.
❏
25. Refer to the photo and plan. Cut oversized
lower fuselage sides from the 3/32" x 4" x 36"
balsa sheets. Cut the bow along the line you
marked earlier on the edge that engages the
main stringer.
❏
26. Glue the bottom fuse sheet in place using the
same technique used on the upper fuse sheet. Start
at the center of the main stringer and work your way
toward the ends. It will be necessary to wet the
outer surface of the bottom sheet to permit bending.
❏
27. Trim the ends of the sheeting at F-2A and
F-10B. Trim the edges of the bottom sheeting to the
middle of the 3/16" stringers. Lay a leftover piece of
stiff cardboard or similar thin sheet across the
plywood wing saddle pieces and mark the wing
saddle on the inside of the bottom fuse sheeting. Trim
the sheeting close to the mark along the wing saddle.
❏
28. Use the 3/32" x 3" x 36" balsa fuse bottom
sheeting to skin the forward and aft fuselage bottom.
❏
29. Use 30-minute epoxy to glue the 3/8" x 3/4"
x 1" hardwood wing bolt blocks in position. Back
these up with 1" lengths cut from the supplied 1/4"
hard balsa
triangle stock .
❏
30. Place a strip of masking tape over the
plywood wing saddle edges. This will prevent them
from being inadvertently altered. Use a sanding
block to carefully sand the bottom fuse sheeting to
the same height as the wing saddle. (A slightly
rounded sanding block works best for this.)
25