Balance The Airplane Laterally; Finishing; Cover Your Model With Monokote - Top Flite Douglas DC-3 User Manual

2. Inspect all surfaces for uneven glue joints and
seams that require filler. Apply filler where needed.
Many small dents or scratches in balsa can be repaired
by applying a few drops of water or moistening the area
with a wet tissue. This will swell the wood so you can
sand it when it dries.
3. Final sand your entire model with progressively
finer grits of sandpaper, finishing with 320 or 400-grit
sandpaper.
4. Use a large brush, compressed air or a Top Flite
Tack Cloth to remove dust from the model.

BALANCE THE AIRPLANE LATERALLY

1. Mount your wing.
2. With the wing level, carefully lift the model by the
nose and the aft end of the fuselage under the stab (this
may require two people). Do this several times.
3. If one wing always drops when you lift the model,
that side is heavy. Balance the airplane by gluing weight
inside the other wing tip. Do this by carving a cavity in
the bottom of the balsa wing tip and filling it with the
amount of weight required to balance the model
laterally. Glue the weight in place with epoxy and cover
the rest of the cavity with balsa filler. An airplane that
has been laterally balanced will track better in
certain maneuvers.

FINISHING

COVER YOUR MODEL WITH MONOKOTE

It is assumed that you are an intermediate to advanced
modeler, so we won't go into many details on covering
techniques, but here are some tips you should consider:
1. Most importantly, NEVER CUT THE COVERING
DIRECTLY ON THE SHEETING. The DC-3 depends
upon the wood sheeting for some of its strength.
Modelers who cut through the covering tend to cut into
the sheeting and this will weaken the structure.
2. We recommend that you prime the plastic wing
fillets, the cabin top and the tail cone before you cover
the fuse, then apply color after you cover the fuse. This
way you can "build up" the paint to nearly the same level
as the covering for a nearly invisible transition between
the two. Whenever you are ready to begin painting, refer
to the Painting section on the next page.
3. Use a Top Flite™ Hot Sock for your Top Flite
covering iron or a Cover Sock if you are using a 21 st
Century iron to minimize dents in the wood from your
covering iron. You'll probably go through three or four
socks by the time you finish covering your DC-3. The 21 st
Century iron is highly recommended for this model due to
the curved lines and fillets in the nacelles and fin area.
4. Some modelers have three irons going at once:
one on high heat without a Hot Sock for stretching the
covering around curves like wingtips; one on medium
heat with a Hot Sock for bonding the covering to large
sheeted areas like the wing and stab; and a Trim Iron for
small areas.
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5. When you cover large sheeted surfaces such as
the wing, bond the covering in the middle and work
outward, pushing out air as you proceed. Do not move
the iron in a circular motion, but move it span-wise with
the grain of the wood.
6. Areas that require an extraordinary amount of
shrinking (such as the nacelles and bottom of the fuse at
the front) can be attacked with a heat gun. Use a glove
to avoid burning you fingers.
7. When you cover smaller parts with square edges
such as the elevators and ailerons, cover the ends first
with separate pieces of covering. Then, all you have to
do is wrap the covering around the top and bottom and
iron it down.
8. One method we like to use is to "pre-cut" the
covering when possible to accurately fit the part, leaving
"handles" in curved areas like the dorsal fin and the tip
of the fin as shown in this example. Cover the main
surface of the part and the straight lines of the leading
and trailing edges first. Hold onto the handles as you
heat the covering and wrap it around. Cut the handles
off when you're done. You can use this method for the
wing and stab too.
9. We recommend you drill or cut small vent holes
through the ribs in the ailerons, rudder and the stab with
holes on the ends of those parts to allow expanding hot
air to escape while you cover. Otherwise, air sealed
inside the control surfaces will expand and never allow
the covering to fully shrink.