Mini Talon Canopy Latch by jwellman

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Spring loaded "door" style canopy latch for the Mini Talon. You'll need a small spring from a pen to complete.
The front latches are a slight remix to add a little more wiggle room for 3mm bamboo skewers. I still had to slightly enlarge them for an easy fit.
HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE LATCH
Before gluing anything together use the top plate as a guide to cut the hatch on the Mini Talon.
Take the top plate and set it at the rear of the hatch.
Mark all 5 tab locations using the top plate
Remove the top plate
Play "connect the dots with the exterior markings"
Those are your cutting guides, cut along those lines, you may need to use a razor saw to get through the plywood.

Insert the spring into the latch and insert the latch into the body (the piece with the 5 tabs)
Make sure the latch moves SMOOTHLY if it doesn't, find out why and fix it. The spring should move easily into the body of the latch...if it does not you may need to use a drill bit (I used a 3/16" bit) and clear it out.
Fit the top piece onto the latch/body assembly. You may need to file down the tabs for a nice tight fit. Don't force it.
Glue the top plate to the body. DO NOT USE THIN CA! Use gap filling CA around the perimeter of the joint and use some kicker to set it quickly. Don't bother attempting to create a butt joint between the two pieces, a filet is adequate and won't glue the latch in place :-)
Glue the latch assembly in place in the hatch.
Place the strike plate against the latch assembly and place the front of the hatch on the plane. Push down on strike plate such that it makes an indention in the fuse...use that as your cutting guide, you will need to cut flush with the existing ledge.
Glue the strike plate into the fuselage with your favorite adhesive. Medium CA or Hot Glue works well. Use the hatch and latch to keep it in place while the glue sets. Don't glue the latch to the strike plate.
Finish the strike plate off with some 3mm bamboo skewers to add extra rigidity. Make sure they sit flush.