Great Planes Spirit 2-Meter Sailplane Kit - GPMA0530 - Manual (Page 24)

D 6. The canopy may have a Plastic Film on either or both
sides. Check for this and remove it if you find one. Tint the
Canopy (CANPY044) if you wish, using powdered clothing
dye that you can buy at the grocery store (Rit, etc). Use very
warm water (warmer than you can leave your hand in) but do
not use very hot water or the canopy may deform. The
warmer the water and the longer you leave the canopy in the
dye, the darker the tint will be. Liquid dyes do not seem to
work as well.
D 7. Set the cockpit inside the canopy and line the cockpit
up with the scribe lines in the canopy. The scribe lines are
only for reference while positioning the cockpit, do not try to
get the cockpit to fit the scribe lines. Glue the canopy to the
cockpit using CA. Use the glue very sparingly by holding the
cockpit in place inside the canopy and apply glue a drop at a
time to the seam. The glue will seep in along the seam and
provide a nice clean glue joint. Work your way around the
canopy and 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 cockpit once you start gluing it in place.
D 8. 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. Temporarily mount the wing in
place on the fuselage. VERY CAREFULLY trim the back
of the canopy, A LITTLE AT A TIME, to fit over the wing.
Take your time and use the outlines on the plans and the wing
for guides.
D 9. Test fit the canopy onto the fuselage. You can sand
the edges of the canopy slightly or you can sand the fuselage/
nose block if needed to get it to fit properly. You can also add
a layer of balsa to the back edge of the nose block to take up
any extra gap if needed.
D 10. Measure up along the nose block 1/4" from the
fuselage side and make a mark. Do this on both sides of the
nose block and then draw a line across between the two
marks. Measure to the middle of this line and make another
mark. Drill a 1/8" diameter hole about 1" deep at approxi-
mately the angle shown on the plans right where you made the
last mark.
D 11. Insert the 1/8" diameter Canopy Hold Down
Dowel (DOWEL033) into the hole and slide the canopy into
place to make sure it fits nicely. The dowel should hold the
canopy down against the fuselage. If it is too loose you can
either enlarge the hole slightly and move the dowel down or
you can build up the top surface of the canopy base with thin
plywood and/or thick CA. Glue the dowel in place with at
least 1/4" extending.
D 12. Cut two pieces of 1/8 x 3/16" balsa (from SPRTS03),
one 1-7/8" long and the other 1-1/4" long. Wedge the longer
piece between the fuselage sides above the receiver compart-
24