Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wolverine Rocketry Phoenix AIM-54A Build Part 11 Fin Tapers Part 2

With the fin edge marked (or left dark brown from the laser burning) you can clearly see how thick the edges are as you sand.

Sand a few strokes, and check the edge.
Turn over the fin, sand a few strokes and check the edge on the other side.

Some builders will sand an equal amount of strokes on each side. I tend to sand a little, turn it over and sand a little. I'm constantly checking the darkened edge to be sure it is straight and an even thickness down it's length.



This is the top of the forward fin after sanding the short leading edge and forward edge tapers.

The side of a pencil lead was rubbed over the inside edge on the right side.
This inside edge will take care of itself as you sand the leading and forward edge tapers.

If sanded correctly, it should be pretty straight.





This is the root edge of the lower fins.

Be careful sanding here. You can see where the taper starts to "scoop" in a bit at the base or start of the 1" taper.
The CWF filler should help fill that slight concave in the taper.


This is all eight fins ready for filling.

Without a doubt, this was the longest part of the build.

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