Ok, here we go. With the MAN article in hand, I started the build. The article is sparse on details and there are no instructions with the plans, so study them well. Plan your next move several steps ahead and recheck you plan after each step to see if you next step will cause problem down the road.
Start by gluing the two front sheeting pieces together.
I glued the bottom stringers on tho the fuse sides and then pinned them to the plans. make sure to make a right and left side. After this, I glued in the formers and fire wall making sure they were perpendicular to the table.
Following the article, I shaped and glued the ends of the bottom stringers together.
Next add the top stringers. The laser cutting is very good and the 1/4" stock slides easily into the notches while still giving a tight fit.
Next I started adding some of the 1/4" support pieces where shown on the plans.
Add and trim the stringers to the nose.
I then took a 1/4" stick with some sticky back sand paper and opened the LG mount hole back to the former to get it to fit tight against the former. Steve says to use thin CA for everything. I decided to use epoxy for the next steps because the LG mounting system is a bit of a puzzle and you need a little working time to move things around.
Add the LG mount and side braces. Dry fit these first to make sure you have a good fit. The hole is over sized to allow you to get the pieces in place. I filled the extra space later with the balsa that is used for filler.
Back to the tail. Add the rear side sheeting and trim the top stringer, and add the 1/4" supports as shown on the plans.
At this point I took the opportunity to fuel proof some of the inside as I am going to use a glo engine.
The top front sheeting is twisted into place and has a bit of stress to it, so I added a few supports that are not on the plans.
Add the top front sheet shown. The article says to trim the top sheeting to fit.
Rather than trimming it , I sanded it as shown to get an overlapping joint.
Next comes the side pieces. After glueing them into place, I sanded them down.
The kit comes with two of the top sheets. Only one is called for, but I decided to add the second on top for a bit more strength and to have material for shaping.
Next add the supports and rear top sheeting.
Add the 1/4" sqr. balsa crutch. I made this piece a bit long so I could sand it to fit well when the VS is added.
Next comes the wing mount plate along with 1/2" of balsa for support.
The next support is hard to put in place accurately, so I added balsa supports just to make it easier to align.
Now to the belly pan. I added the sides. after that I cut the stringers almost all the way through (no photo). after adding the bottom sheeting, I cut the rest of the stringer away with a razor blade.
Now add the end formers to the belly pan. The rear former needs to be sanded as show to make a good fit. Rather than try to sand the front former to fit the wing LE, I have decided to cut a notch in the wing LE to accept the former. To finish the day , I put a first pass of putty and sanding on the fuse, and Fuel peoofed the inside of the top sheeting on the nose.