Estes Saturn V Build Part 31 Fin Slots

It surprised me how accurate the fin slot mold lines were.
I purposely cut inside the lines making the fin slot smaller. I figured I'd trim to fit the width of the fins.

In the end, after fitting the fin, the slot was pretty much cut to the mold lines. You do have to check back and forth against the body tube while trimming the slot. The fin's root edge has to rest against the body tube while the sides of the fairing should touch the lower wrap all the way around.

Keep enlarging the length fin slot until the leading and trailing edges of the fin fit well in the slot.

I didn't want to tear the front of the slot, so a small rat tail diamond file rounded the tip. The fins are slightly rounded at the leading edge.

Here's the underside of the fairing and fin. While trimming to fit, I kept one fin with the same fairing throughout. There would be slight differences between fins and fairings, so don't get them mixed up. This fin and fairing were both marked "two".

Time spent on build: 1:30 Cut fin slots
Total time on build so far: 31:00