Hi Doug:

The best way to apply to the inlet is to first acquire a scale 3VU of the front. Enlarge the 3VU to permit use as a masking template.

As is always the case, apply Flite-Metal at the apex of the curve letting it stretch in all directions as you move from the apex. It will stretch under itself just as heat applied films do as you move out to the edge of the unapplied film.

Now, having said that, you must realize you must cut any piece of Flite-Metal large enough to enable you to pull it as it is applied to the area beyond the apex.

Identifying the apex is easy. Lay the thin edge of a straight edge onto the surface of the airframe. For any "one" panel you will see the maximum contact patch of the straight edge by rotating the thin edge about a central point on the panel. That point becomes the "straight line" from which you "must" work Flite-Metal out in all directions to permit greatest compliance to the surface. This minimizes stretch in an inappropriate direction.

With that last paragraph I have probably got you scratching your head... :^) By using the straight edge to identify the tangent line, you initially apply Flite-Metal to the largest mean surface area of the panel. Practicing on the F-86's lower fuselage will help you to learn to apply Flite-Metal quickly. The inlet lip is the only surface on the F-86 which requires planning prior to application. And then, its because you need it to stretch in all directions as you move away from the initial contact patch.

Do not try to bridge two or more panels with one piece of Flite-Metal. What may appear as a "quick" application process will quickly catch up with you as it stretches during application. Using our fiberous burnishing tool as your primary tool, you can apply any panel under 10" wide in under three minutes.

In my booth at hobby shows I sit on a stool covering Westcraft's B-17 cowl in "three" pieces to show it can be done...though that is not how it should be. I start at the apex of the cowl lip (that point is determined by simply laying the cowl "face" down on a flat surface...the contact patch is the initial covering contact point from which Flite-Metal is applied moving in and over the inner lip all the way back over and under the cowl flaps at the rear.

The acrylic brunishing tool is required to achieve maximum stretch to achieve this demonstration. Immediately after the demo I pull Flite-Metal from the surface and start over again. Obviously, I am more than a little practiced at "working" Flite-Metal across these adjacent compound curves. It only took me about five minutes of practice to get a "feel" for the compliance factor of the aluminum with the multiple directions it had to be burnished to cover the cowl without wrinkles. I had minor wrinkles but quickly removed them with our acrylic tool.

Hope this explains the "how to" for the inlet.