🚀 go-pugleaf

>I am just finishing a Super Sportster 40.  The last thing that I need to do
>is glue the canopy to the fuselage.  The instructions mention using CA glue
>but I was wondering if epoxy or some other glue might be better.  Also, 
>should I glue the canopy to the monocote or should I cut the monocote where
>the canopy touches the fuselage?  I would appreciate any advice or personal
>experiences.

I would choose to use thin CA, very sparingly and slowly.  The idea is to
let the minimum amount of glue dry completely before adding more to a 
joint - otherwise, the fumes from to-quickly-curing glue will fog up the
canopy.  

If you stuck down the monokote well, it will make a great gluing surface
for the canopy - if you tacked the edges and used a heatgun to shrink
the center flush (no scratches, etc), then I'd suggest using the iron
to firmly tack at least the area where the canopy will touch before
gluing.

If you want to trim back the monokote under the joint, you'll know the
joint is as strong as it can be, but it looks a little messier, IMHO.
But you can keep it neat, and just use a trim stripe over the joint
to finish it off; something I'd do for plastic-to-monokote, too.

Good luck with the Sportster!  This was my all-time favorite airplane;
I probably flew through 15 gallons of fuel before a battery connector
failure doomed the ship.  I felt so good about this airplane, I'd fly
inverted about 3-4 feet off the runway at 1/3 throttle.  But one day
the battery connection failed (I think...?) and it went into a hill
at full throttle.  ("Funeral March" plays here...)  Saddest day of
my R/C career.  Well, anyway...  I built a SS120 - it flew well also;
I just ended up trading it for a heli.  I have a SS60 and an SS 40 Bipe
in the closet waiting for workbench time... building, not repairing!

  -swb- (Steve Bixby, sbixby@cup.portal.com)