CONSTRUCTION ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Assemble two wing pods and set aside to dry. Mark both pods 1 5/32" from the front (long nose cone end), and draw a line around the pods at this location. Draw a line lengthwise on the pod tube, using a door jamb or a piece of outside corner trim as a guide. 2. Thread the screw eye into the base of the nose cone, carefully unscrew the eye, and force glue into the hole. Reinsert the eye. 3. Using a mitre box and a sharp, fine-toothed razor saw, cut one end of the BT-20L forward fuselage body tube at a 45 degree angle. Clean up the edges of the cut with progressively finer grit sanding film -- 400 and 600 grit. 4. Cut both ends of the BT-50-8 aft fuselage body tube in the same manner as the BT-20L in step 2. The angle at both ends should be parallel to each other. The final length of the tube should be 7.75". 5. Draw a line on both the BT-20L and the BT-50-8, from the tips of the mitre cut lengthwise to the opposite end of both tubes. The BT-50-8 should have two lines, one on top and one on the bottom (180 degrees apart). Use a piece of angle trim, or a door jamb, to keep the lines straight. Draw a second line on the BT-20L 180 degrees from the line just drawn. The line from the tip of the mitre cut is considered the bottom of this tube. 6. Using a protractor, mark the BT-50-8 tube 110 degrees and 150 degrees down on both sides of the tube, from TDC -- top dead center (seen as the line on the top-side of the tube, where the tip of one miter cut is at the front of the tube). Mark the BT-20L tube at 110 degrees down from TDC on both sides. 7. Cut three offset rings from 1/8" thick lite ply. File or sand a flat notch at the BDC of the inside diameter of two rings, to allow for clearance of the engine hook. 8. Mark the BT-20L tube along the bottom lengthwise line at .75", 2.5", and 6" from the tip, and 5/8" from the front. Draw lines completely around the BT-20L at these marks. 9. Cut a slot in the BT-20L on the bottom line on the FRONT side of the 2.5" line, just wide enough for the tip of the engine hook to slip into. Do not insert the hook at this time. Apply a layer of glue inside the BT-20L at a depth of 2.25" from the tip, and insert the CR-520 ring into the tube, pushing forward with an expended engine casing until the ring just passes the slot. STOP! Remove the casing immediately. 10. Slide the unnotched offset ring onto the BT-20L past the 6" line by about .25", but do not glue at this time. Slide one of the two notched rings onto the BT-20L past the 2.5" line by about .25". Again, do not glue. Insert the tip of the engine hook into the slot, and lay the hook flat onto the body tube line. Apply a bead of glue to the 2.5" line and slide the notched ring back until it just touches the line. Apply a bead of glue to the .75" line, and slide the remaining notched ring onto the BT-20L up to that line. Apply a bead of glue to the 6" line, and slide the unnotched ring rearward until it just touches the line. Make sure all three rings are oriented in the same way on the tube. Apply a fillet of glue around the joints of the rings on both sides. 11. Cut the wing and fin parts from their respective balsa sheets. Square the root edges of all fin components, as well as the edges where mating pieces will be glued. 12. Assemble the multi-piece fins, keeping their root edges in a straight line with a metal straight-edge ruler. Weight, or clamp, these pieces down onto a flat surface until the glue has dried completely. 13. Flat-sand the surfaces of the fins to remove excess glue and round the outer edges. Do not round the root edges. 14. Attach all of the fins (except the stabilizer and the canards) to the BT-50-8, and attach the canards to the BT-20L, with the double-glue method found in Stine's Handbook. See the diagram for the correct placement of each fin. Clamp these in place with alignment jigs until the glue has dried. 15. Attach the stabilizer fins to the top of the vertical fin as shown on the diagram, maintaining a 90-degree angle. 16. Fill, prime, and sand both fuselage subassemblies, removing any primer that accumulates on the outer edges of the rings. Repeat this step as nescessary until the desired results are achieved. Apply color coats to the forward fuselage subassembly and allow to dry completely before proceeding. 17. Slide the BT-20L into the BT-50-8 from the rear, until the ring at the 6" mark is 3" inside the tube. Carefully apply a bead of glue to the inside of the BT-50-8 2" up from the rear tip, all the way around the inside diameter. Continue pushing the BT-20L forward until the rear edges of both tubes are level, and the angles are parallel to each other. Use a flat piece of balsa pushed against the rear angle of the BT-50-8 to assist in aligning the BT-20L. 18. Using a medium glue applicator, or an artist's brush, apply glue to the joint of the rear offset ring and the BT-50-8. Do the same to the front offset ring. Allow to dry. 19. Attach the pods to each wing tip, using Stine's double-glue method. Allow to dry. 20. Assemble the parachute, and attach the shroud lines to a swivel. Attach the shock chord to the inside of the BT-20L at the front, at least 1" back from the edge. Attach the other end of the chord to a swivel, then attach both swivels to the screw eye in the nose cone. 21. Attach the launch lug to the bottom of the BT-50-8, on the line, 3" from the tip of the mitre cut. Allow to dry. 22. Mask and apply a dark color to the area directly beneath the canopy. When dry, attach the canopy with a clear-drying glue, such as RC-56. When dry, mask as desired for a canopy frame and apply the desired color coat. Remove masking medium as soon as possible, and allow to dry. 23. Spray (or airbrush) a gloss clear coat over the model, and apply any decals as desired. When the decals have dried, spray one or more clear gloss coats over the entire model and allow to dry in a dust-free environment. 24. GO FLY!