Forming 1/8" balsa to the tight curves of a 1-23 fuse can be challenging. There are basically 2 approaches:
1. Bend the sheets by wetting, applying heat, or both, and working S-L-O-W-L-Y.
2. Cut the sheets into small planks. This reduces the bending but greatly increases the sanding and fitting.
I basically used both techniques - planking the nose section but bending the largest sheets I could get to work everywhere else.
I started with the tail and added small blocks of balsa under F25 to give the sheet something to attach to in this area.
I then started fitting sheets working from the tail forward. I used sheets of typing paper to make templates for cutting the panels. Try to cut the pieces oversize and then sand to fit.
To hold the large sheets in place I used blue tape, rubber bands, velcro straps and anything I could find. Unfortunately as you close the fuse up, traditional clamps become less useful and you have to get creative. The going can get slow here, but just try to do a little every day and it will be completed before you know it.
Here you can see the wiring under the cockpit floor and small blocks that were added so screws, not glue would hold the cockpit floor down (this allows for removal of the floor later on). Glue has been applied and the area is ready to be sheeted:
I decided to leave one section of the lower left nose area open for now so I would have better access for adding ballast and achieving a crude balance once all the wood work was finished. For the same reason I built ply formers for the nose but did not fill in with balsa yet.
And here she is...ready for sanding and filling (minus a small opening for balancing)...If you are sharp there are several other changes you might notice in this photo...but we will cover those next time.
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