Finishing – Top Flite TOPA0305 Part 2 User Manual

Page 27

Wet-sanding is best. Start with 150-grit

sandpaper. Transition to finer grits as you proceed
and finish with 400-grit sandpaper. When you're
done, your cowl should look something like the one

in the photo-just enough Bondo left to fill in the low

spots near the seams.

Note:

Refer to the cowl flaps on the side view of

the fuse plan.

you are installing retracts, the

cutout in the bottom of the cowl for the nose wheel

will be large enough to allow an adequate air exit
for cooling the engine. In this case the cowl flaps

are optional.

you are installing fixed gear you will

have to build either the aft or forward cowl flaps to
allow adequate air exit. The aft cowl flaps are cut in

the bottom of the fuse and are in the scale location.

you add the aft cowl flaps you will have to cut

holes in the firewall to allow the air to exit through

the aft cowl flaps. The forward cowl flaps are cut in
the cowl and are not in the scale location, but are
easier to build.

You've come a long way. This is the end of the

construction portion of the model so there's no

more woodwork. It's all just details and other last
minute stuff before your Bonanza will be ready to

paint and cover!

FINISHING

FUELPROOFING

You may fuelproof your model before or after you
cover it. Fuelproof all areas that may be exposed to
fuel or engine exhaust such as the wheel wells,
wing bolt recesses in the wing, the firewall, fuel
tank compartment, the front of the belly pan and
former F2 in the fuse, etc. Use thinned 30-minute

epoxy, finishing resin or fuelproof model paint.

Note:

Fuelproof the wheel wells and flap wells

before

you cover the wing. Otherwise, the paint

may soak through the balsa and add blemishes to

your covering.

CABIN DETAILS

1. If

you have decided to install the Top Flite

Beechcraft Bonanza Scale Interior Kit, you may do

at any time, but some fitting and maneuvering is

required so we recommend you install it before you

cover and paint your model. It is not necessary to

permanently install the interior kit at this time, but
you should at least fit it and prepare it for painting.

Refer to the installation instructions included with

the Scale Interior Kit.

Make sure your windows are fitted before you

perform this step. If you're not going to install the

full Cabin Interior, glue the die-cut 1/8" plywood

instrument panel

to the crutch where shown on

the plan. Use the glareshield template on the plan
to make the glareshield from thin cardboard such

as a manila folder. Lightly spray the glareshield

with CA accelerator. Glue it to the instrument panel

and the cabin top. Add whatever other details you

would like to the cockpit and mount your pilots to a

piece of leftover 1/8" plywood glued between the

fuselage sides.

SCALE DETAILS

Antennas

This is the fun part (if you're not staying up late

rushing to get your model finished for competition).

There are many scale details you can add to your

Bonanza that will really bring it to life. We added

the antennas and the air scoop as shown on the

plans. The air scoop is the only one of these that is
included with your kit and is molded in two halves.
Build the air scoop the same as the cowl and tail
cone. The antenna bases were carved from wood,
then primed and painted white. Use maple,
basswood, or a similar dense grain hardwood. Drill
a 1/16" hole for antennas made from 1/16" brass
tubes. When your scale details are finished, mount
them to your model with double-sided tape, or

1/16"

double-sided foam tape, or rubber cement.

We recommend that you do not permanently mount
the antennas to your model, so you can replace or
repair them in case of hanger rash.

Cowl

The louvers are molded into the cowl. You can cut
the louvers out or just paint them black.

Scale Lighting
We've provided details for how to mount your wing
tip lights while you were building the wing. The rest

of the wire routing and hookups are easy because
everything else is open and accessible. Fit the rest