Great Planes Spitfire 40 Kit - GPMA0179 User Manual
Page 25
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7. Wet, wrap and glue the turtle deck sheeting to TD2, TD3,
TD4, the cockpit side stringers, and TDT, being careful not to
warp TDT.
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8. Trim the sheeting flush with the aft end of TD4 and the
top of TDT.
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9. Repeat steps 6 – 8 for the left side turtle deck sheeting.
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10. Cut, fit and glue the 1/4" x 1-1/2" x 18" balsa
turtle deck
top shaper from the leading edge of TD2 to the trailing edge of
TD4. Using a razor plane then sanding bars, contour the shaper
as shown on the cross-sections of formers F4 and F5.
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11. Select one 1/8" x 3" x 19-3/4" balsa sheet leftover from
the forward fuse bottom for the
right front deck sheeting. Edge
glue the front deck sheet to the right forward fuse side, aligned
with the leading edge of the turtle deck sheeting.
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12.Wet the outside of the sheeting liberally with a water/ammonia
mix. Test wrap the sheet over the front deck formers until you
can comfortably make contact with the center of the front deck
center gluing stringer. Glue the sheet to the formers, turtle deck
sheet, and cockpit side gluing stringers.
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13. Trim the front deck sheeting along the center of the
center stringer. Look at the photo of the finished model on the
box cover, and note how the cockpit arcs from the center of the
front deck to the side stringers. This arc must be here to
properly support the canopy, so take your time. Using the photo
above and below as a guide, draw an arc on the right front deck
sheet which begins flush at the center of FD3 and ends flush
with the side stringers. When you are satisfied with the
positioning, trim the sheet along the arc you made.
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14. Repeat steps 11 – 13 for the left front deck sheet.
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15. Sand everything flush with the firewall.
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