Prepare The Model For Covering; Cover The Model; Covering Technique; Suggested Covering Sequence - GREAT PLANES CAP 232 Instruction Manual

9. Remount the cowl, leaving the templates you made
attached to the fuse. Mark the holes for the needle valve
and the glow plug driver on the cowl. Remove the cowl and
cut the holes for the needle valve and glow plug driver.
10. Cut four 1" x 1" pieces of fiberglass cloth. Use
30-minute epoxy to glue one piece to the inside of the cowl
at each cowl mounting hole. After the epoxy cures, re-drill
the holes with a 1/8" drill bit.
11. Fill the seams and other imperfections in the cowl as
described in the preceding Wheel Pants section. Wet sand
the entire cowl with 400-grit sandpaper to prepare it
for priming.

Prepare the Model for Covering

1. Disconnect and remove all the pushrods and remove
the hinges and control horns from the ailerons, elevators,
and rudder. Remove the engine mount and any other
hardware you may have installed.
2. Most of the model should be rough-sanded by now
with all the tabs and rough edges sanded even. Fill all
dents, seams, low spots, and notches with HobbyLite Balsa
Colored Filler.
3. After the filler has dried, use progressively finer grades
of sandpaper to even all the edges and seams and smooth
all surfaces. Remove all balsa dust from the model with
compressed air or a vacuum with a brush and a tack cloth.
COVER THE MODEL WITH
MONOKOTE FILM

Covering Technique

Cover the model with Top Flite MonoKote
recommended covering sequence that follows. Before you
cover the fuselage, first apply 1/4" wide strips of MonoKote
film in the corners between the stab and fuse and the fin and
the fuse, then proceed to cover the fin and stab with pre-cut
pieces that meet in the corners and overlap the 1/4" strips.
Never cut the covering on the stab and fin after it has
been applied except around the leading and trailing
edges and at the tips. Modelers who do this may cut
through the covering and into the stab or fin. This will
weaken the structure to a point where it may fail during flight.
Since the tips of the elevators and stab are squared off it is
easiest to cover the tips before you cover the tops and
bottoms. Do the same for the fin, rudder and the wing.
Some modelers drill a small hole in each elevator rib and
the trailing edge of the elevators to allow expanded gas to
exit while heating the MonoKote film. This keeps the
covering from "ballooning" and allows you to securely bond
it to the entire elevator. The same thing can be done with
the fin and rudder.
Since the ailerons are long "strip" ailerons, some modelers
prefer to cover the top and bottom with one strip of
MonoKote film by covering the bottom first, then wrapping it
around the leading edge and over the top.
Fuselage
1. 1/4" strips at fin and stab as described
2. Aft fuse bottom
3. Forward fuse bottom
4. Fuse right side up to the top center of the turtledeck
5. Fuse left side up to the center of the turtledeck,
6. Forward fuse deck top
7. Fin tip, then stab tips
8. Stab bottom, then top
9. Fin right side, then left side
10. Elevator tips and root ends
11. Elevator bottoms, then tops
12. Rudder tip, right side, then left side
13. Cockpit - A light color is recommended for this so the
Wing
1. Wing root spacers
2. Wing tips
3. Trailing edges of wing and inboard portion of tips and
® Film using the
4. Bottom of right, then left panel
5. Top of right, then left panel
6. Aileron tips, bottom, then top
37

Suggested Covering Sequence

overlapping by 1/8"
heat build up under the canopy is kept to a minimum.
center leading edges