Saturday, May 5, 2018

Section: 29
Hours: 5

I had skipped installing the air vents so I decided that would be a good project for today. I trimmed the edges per instructions in the manual. There were scribe lines on the back of the plastic that were in the correct location for the top and I used that line as a reference for squaring off the tail. I trimmed for 1 left and 1 right vent setup. I cut using my bandsaw and sanded the edges and flattened the back using my belt sander. You have to use light pressure when sanding otherwise the surface will heat up and the plastic melts. I used a single edge razor to scrape the edges for a nice smooth finish.
The manual suggests mating and adjusting the flange on the airplane, but I found it was helpful to first clamp using a flat surface and then check for fit on the fuselage sidewall. I had to adjust the bend in the flange a little to get an optimal fit.
I ordered the aluminum ($$$) version of the vents because they close better than the plastic ones provided with the kit. I very carefully trimmed one corner of each vent to match the support flange. Here are the assemblies screwed together. I won't install these until I prime and paint to match the rest of the cockpit.

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