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How to cut covering from balsa – Great Planes Christen Eagle 46 ARF - GPMA1431 User Manual

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15. Glue the bottom wing dowels into the holes in the

leading edge. Position the dowels so that 3/8" [9.5mm]
protrudes beyond the holes.

16. Mount the bottom wing to the fuselage using two

1/4-20 x 2" [51mm] nylon wing bolts.

17. Align the belly pan onto the bottom of the wing and

tape it in position. Use a felt-tip pen to trace around the belly
pan onto the wing.

18. Carefully cut the covering 1/16" [1.6mm] inside the

lines you drew and remove a strip of covering approximately

1/4" [6mm] from each side. Use a sharp hobby knife and take

care to cut only through the covering and not into the wood

beneath. Use denatured alcohol to wipe away the lines you
drew (or use CA debonder). See the following Expert Tip for
an alternative method for removing covering.

HOW TO CUT COVERING FROM BALSA

Use a soldering iron to cut the covering from the area

beneath the belly pan. The tip of the soldering iron doesn’t
have to be sharp, but a fi ne tip does work best. Allow the
iron to heat fully.

Use a straightedge to guide the soldering iron at a rate
that will just melt the covering and not burn into the wood.

The hotter the soldering iron, the faster it must travel to

melt a fi ne cut. Peel off the covering.

19. Apply a thin bead of glue along each side of the belly

pan and glue it into place on the underside of the wing. Take

care not to inadvertently glue the belly pan to the fuselage.
Pieces of wax paper can be placed between the belly pan
and the fuse to ensure this will not happen.