The following photos show the forward fuselage plug as it is being prepared for the forming of the mold sections.
A view of the forward left portion of the plug. The wooden flanges will form the flanges of the mold sections where the sections inxex to each other or to other mold features. Those other features will be index tooling for the canopy mating surface, or for interior panels and hardpoints.
A view of the aft left portion of the plug. This shows how low the cockpit rail is going to be, for great visibility and easy entrance and egress. The horizontal separation aft of the canopy line is for a separate wing cover that gets semi-permanently attached after the control system and wing attach hardware is installed. The separation dam passes slightly above the chord line of the wing.
A somewhat dark view of the right side of the plug, showing pretty much the same features as the first photo.
page updated 12 February 2002 all text and graphics copyright (c) 2002 HP Aircraft, LLC