Great Planes Spectra Electric Sailplane Kit - GPMA0540 - Manual (Page 23)

Canopy Front (SPECF05) to the canopy base (with a drop of
thick CA on each side). The canopy front should be held
against the canopy hold down plate (with the indented "dot"
showing) while the glue cures. Be careful not to glue the
canopy front to the hold down plate. Test the temperature with a scrap cut from the canopy. The
warmer the water and the longer you leave the canopy in the
dye, the darker the tint will be. It is not uncommon to have to
leave the canopy in the dye for a couple of hours for a dark
tint.
D 3. Drill a 1/8" dia. hole, approximately 1" deep, through
the canopy front, the hold down plate and into the nose block.
This hole is for the 1/8 dowel. D 8. Use a dremel tool with a cutting bit or a drill and
knife to cut out the back surface of the air vent in the canopy.
Take your time and be careful when cutting this out so you
don't cut yourself or ruin the canopy. Cut the front and the
back off of the canopy, but do not cut past the scribe lines on
the canopy.
D 4. Tack glue the Die-Cut 1/8" Ply Canopy Back
(SPECF05) to the canopy base using a couple of drops of thick
CA around the middle of the back.
D 5. Remove the canopy frame from the fuselage and
apply more thick CA to the joints to securely glue the front
and back in place. Sand the corners of the front and back flush
with the base. If you are going to add some detail to the
' 'cockpit,'' now is the time to do that. It looks nice to at least
paint the base black or your favorite color. Do not cover up
the "air" holes.
D 6. Sand the ends of the 1/8" Hardwood Canopy Dowel
(DOWEL035) round and glue it in place in the nose of the
fuselage. Leave approximately 1/4" of the dowel sticking out
of the canopy hold-down plate. If you painted your canopy
base, you should also paint the exposed end of the dowel to
match.
D 7. Remove the blue plastic film from the Canopy
(CANPY044). Tint the Canopy if you wish, using regular
clothing dye that you can buy at the grocery store (Rit, etc).
Use hot tap water, but not hot enough to deform the canopy.
D 9. Test fit the canopy onto the frame. Center the frame
in relation to the scribe marks on the canopy but make sure the
frame is not touching the air inlet. The scribe lines are only
there for reference and are placed approximately 1/16" away
from where the canopy frame will fit. Wipe any dust off the
inside of the canopy and glue the canopy to the frame using
CA glue as follows. Start by gluing the top of the frame front
and the top of the frame back in place and then working your
way around the frame. Use the glue very sparingly by
applying only one drop at a time and allow it to cure before
continuing. The glue will seep in along the seam and provide
a nice clean glue joint. Don't get in a hurry or you may get too
much glue in there and it will run down the canopy. Be
careful not to twist or move the canopy base while gluing it in
place.
D 10. Trim the canopy flush with the base and the front but
do not trim the back yet! A small pair of scissors works well
for trimming the canopy. Sand the edges of the canopy flush
with the frame base and front. The photo for this step is at the
top of the next page.
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