Now with the major part of this part of the wing done it’s time to trim of the extra covering. One of the more difficult things I have found to do is get a straight line on the leading edge of the wing where the covering meets. I know there are people that try to apply the covering in a straight line on the leading edge and then cover the wing from there, but I have absolutely no luck doing it that way. Instead I will mark a straight line where I want it cut, and then cut it off on that line. If you take it slowly as you cut it’s really pretty easy to cut it along that straight line. Because of the fact that the leading edge of the wing is curved it makes it a bit difficult to measure with a “hard” ruler because the area that needs measured is around the curve of the leading edge, so I do something a bit different when marking the line to cut on. There are actually many ways to measure something like this, like using a cloth measuring tape instead. And even easier (at least for me) is to cut a small “guide”, in picture #1 you can see that I simply used a scrap piece of Monokote to make this guide. Once I have the “guide” it’s quick work to put this in place down the length of the wing to mark where we will cut the covering (picture #2). Picture #3 shows the marks I made down the leading edge. For marking like this I prefer to use a Sharpie marker, as I stated earlier. This is because it marks easily on the covering, will not rub off as I work, and can easily be removed with a little bit of alcohol last on. With the guide marks in place use a straightedge to draw our cut line down the length of the leading edge (picture #4). Picture #5 shows our line in place and ready to cut on. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture if actually cutting the covering, but it’s not too difficult. The best advice I can give is to position your hand so that it rests on top of the wing so that it keeps your hand steady as you cut along the line. Don’t get in a hurry and take your time and cut along the line down the length of wing. After you have the cut made use a paper towel with alcohol on it to remove and left over marks from the Sharpie. Use a covering iron to seal down the edge of the covering after you cut it (picture #6). Pictures #7 & #8 show the leading edge after we are finished up. Not bad, nice straight line!


Pictures
1. Cut a measuring guide from a scrap piece of Monokote.
2. Use the guide to mark the leading edge for cutting.
3. Marks on the leading edge.
4. Use a straightedge to mark the cut line on the covering
5. Cut line in place
6. Use a covering iron to seal down the covering after cutting it.
7. Completed leading edge.
8. Completed leading edge.