Owner manual
❏ 8. Glue the eight die-cut 3/32" [2.4mm] balsa belly
pan ribs into position as shown. The outer ribs fit
against the belly pan sides.
❏ 9. Mark the location of the wing bolts on the belly
pan sides. Remove the wing from the fuselage.
❏ 10. Sheet the belly pan between the belly pan
sides using three 3/32"x 3"x 24"[2.4 x 75 x 610mm]
balsa sheets.
❏ 11. Using the marks you made on the belly pan
sides as an alignment cue, cut holes in the sheeting
for the cardboard wing bolt tubes. Cut two
1"[25mm] wing bolt tubes from the 9/16"[14mm]
cardboard tube. With the wing bolts in position, use
epoxy mixed with microballoons to glue the tubes
into the wing. While the epoxy is hardening twist the
wing bolts occasionally so any epoxy that may have
gotten onto the heads of the bolts will not take a set
and glue them in.
❏ 12. After the epoxy has hardened, trim, then sand
the belly pan sides, front and rear and the wing bolt
tubes even with the belly pan sheeting. Bolt the wing
to the fuselage, then round the corners of the belly
pan to match the fuselage.
FINISH THE MODEL
At this time all of the woodwork, plastic fitting and
most of the systems installation should be complete,
so now it’s time to prepare the model for covering
and painting. Some modelers have their own
preferences as to covering/finishing materials and
the order in which it is all done. The model on the kit
box cover was finished using the following methods.
Follow these techniques or use your own proven
methods to finish your Piper Arrow.
COVERING
❏ 1. Fill low spots, cracks or nicks with balsa filler.
Many small dents in balsa can be repaired without
filler. Use a small dab of water to wet the area and
allow to dry before sanding. Often this is enough to
make the balsa expand thus removing the dent.
❏ 2. Remove any hardware that will interfere with final
sanding, painting or covering such as the landing gear,
engine, etc. Use progressively finer grades of
sandpaper to finish-sand the model. Ending with 400-
grit should be adequate. Use a bar sander or sanding
blocks where necessary to make you don’t over-sand
soft balsa around hard glue joints.
❏ 3. After final-sanding, use a shop-vac with a brush
attachment, a large paint brush, compressed air or a
tack cloth to remove all the balsa dust.
Covering can be quite an undertaking, but
following are some techniques that may assist you.
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