Top Flite TOPA0405 - Manual (Page 41)

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10. The cowl corners are made from the
remaining 3/8" x 3" x 24" balsa used for the dorsal
fin. Fit the cowl corners between the spinner ring
and firewall. Once the cowl corners fit properly,
glue them in place.
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11. Use a razor plane and a bar sander to
shape the nose. Apply masking tape to the spinner
to prevent scratching it while blending the nose
into the spinner.
ASSEMBLE THE COWL
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1. Trim the left and right cowl halves along the
molded cut lines. Note that the right cowl half has
a tab along the joint that the left cowl half fits over.
You can use a hobby knife to carefully score
along the cut lines and flex the plastic until it
breaks free, or use small scissors to cut along the
lines. Hobbico
® Curved Tip Canopy Scissors
(HCAR0776) work extremely well for this.
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2. Use your bar sander to carefully true the
edge of the overlap so when you glue them
together the seam will be as small and straight as
possible. Thoroughly roughen with 80-grit
sandpaper, all areas that are to be glued. Also,
roughen the area inside the cowl at the front joint.
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3. Test fit the cowl halves together and make
adjustments as necessary.
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4. Join the cowl halves together with thin or
medium CA.
NOTE: Do not use CA accelerator. Use of
accelerator on the ABS plastic may cause cracks
and/or prevent paint from adhering.
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5. Remove the engine from the fuse and test fit
the cowl in place. Trim the cowl until it fits as
shown on the plan sheet. Mark the outline of the
cowl on the fuselage.
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6. Refer to the fuse plan and the photo above
for the location of the 1/2" x 3/4" x 3/4" hardwood
cowl mounting blocks. Use epoxy to glue the
blocks at the proper locations. Make sure to offset
the blocks to allow for the thickness of the plastic
cowl. The two cowl blocks mounted on the firewall
will need to be rounded slightly to match the
curvature of the bottom of the cowl.
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7. Mark the location of the mounting blocks on
the fuse. Tape the cowl securely to the fuse and
drill 3/32" holes through the cowl and mounting
blocks. Remove the cowl and enlarge the holes in
the cowl only with a 1/8" drill bit. Attach the cowl
to the fuse using #4 x 1/2" button head screws.
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