warranty - hobbicomanuals.hobbico.com/top/topa0300-manual-v1_3.pdf · warranty..... top flite...
TRANSCRIPT
WA
RR
AN
TY.....T
op Flite M
odels guarantees this kit to be free of defects in bothm
aterials and workm
anship at the date of purchase. This w
arranty does not cover any component parts
damaged by use or m
odification. In no case shall Top F
lite’s liability exceed the original cost of the purchased kit. F
urther, Top F
lite reserves the right to change or modify this w
arranty without notice.
In that Top F
lite has no control over the final assembly or m
aterial used for final assembly, no
liability shall be assumed nor accepted for any dam
age resulting from the use by the user of the final
use
r-asse
mb
led
pro
du
ct. By th
e a
ct of u
sing
the
use
r-asse
mb
led
pro
du
ct the
use
r acce
pts a
ll resulting liability.
If the buyer is not prepared to accept the liability associated with the use of this product, the
buyer is advised to imm
ediately return this kit in new and unused condition to the place of purchase.
Top
Flite M
od
elsP.O
. Box 788
Urb
ana, IL
61803
Techn
ical Assistan
ce - Call (217) 398-8970
ww
w.to
p-flite.co
m
CE
S6P
03V
1.3
RE
AD
TH
RO
UG
H T
HIS
INS
TR
UC
TIO
N B
OO
K F
IRS
T. IT
CO
NT
AIN
S IM
PO
RT
AN
T IN
ST
RU
CT
ION
S A
ND
WA
RN
ING
S C
ON
CE
RN
ING
TH
E A
SS
EM
BLY
AN
D U
SE
OF
TH
IS M
OD
EL.
™
Entire C
ontents © C
opyright 2002
USA
MA
DE
IN
INT
RO
DU
CT
ION
...........................................3
PR
EC
AU
TIO
NS
.............................................4
DE
CIS
ION
S Y
OU
MU
ST
MA
KE
EA
RLY
IN T
HE
BU
ILD
ING
SE
QU
EN
CE
...................4E
ngine Selection...........................................4
Flaps.............................................................4
Operational Lighting
.....................................5N
otes for Com
petition-Minded M
odelers......5
Docum
entation.............................................5
Other Item
s Required ..................................5
Suggested S
upplies and Tools.....................5
Com
mon A
bbreviations................................6
Metric C
onversions.......................................6
Types of Wood
..............................................6
DIE
-CU
T PA
TT
ER
NS
.................................7&8
Get R
eady to Build
.......................................9
BU
ILD
TH
E TA
IL S
UR
FAC
ES
......................9B
uild the Horizontal S
tabilizer.......................9T
ips for Making W
ing & S
tab Skins
.............10B
uild the Elevators.......................................12
Build the F
in.................................................14B
uild the Rudder..........................................15
BU
ILD
TH
E W
ING
........................................16B
uild the Center S
ection..............................16
Build O
uter Wing P
anels.............................18
Prepare the P
olyhedral Braces
....................20Join the W
ing Panels
...................................21S
heet the Bottom
of the Wing......................22
Prepare the W
ing Panels for the F
laps........24
Sheet the Top of the W
ing...........................24
Wing C
ompletion
.........................................25B
uild the Flaps.............................................27
Fit the F
laps.................................................27
BU
ILD
TH
E F
US
EL
AG
E..............................28
Build the F
uselage Bottom
Frame
...............28S
heet the Fuselage B
ottom Fram
e..............31
Fuel P
roof and Paint the interior..................33
Install Pushrods and S
ervos........................33Fram
e the Fuselage Top
..............................33Install N
ose Gear S
teering..........................35
Install the Engine and Tank
.........................361.20 E
ngine Servo O
ption...........................37
Attach the S
tab and Fin
...............................37T
ips for Silver S
oldering..............................39
Com
plete the Fuse Top
...............................39M
ount the Wing to the F
uselage..................41
HIN
GE
TH
E C
ON
TR
OL
SU
RFA
CE
S...........42
Hinge the E
levator, Rudder &
Ailerons
........42
FU
SE
LA
GE
FIN
ISH
ING
TOU
CH
ES
............43A
ssemble the C
owl......................................44
Fit the C
owl to the F
use and Engine
...........44A
ssemble and Install W
heel Pants
..............45Install W
ing Struts and Fairings
...................47
FIN
ISH
ING
...................................................47F
inal Sanding...............................................47
Fuel P
roofing...............................................47
Balance the A
irplane Laterally.....................47C
over the Structure w
ith MonoK
ote®
...........48P
ainting........................................................49
Draw
Door and H
atch Outlines
....................49A
pply the Decals..........................................49
Cockpit F
inishing.........................................50
Install Control S
urface Corrugations............50
FIN
AL
HO
OK
UP
S A
ND
CH
EC
KS
...............51F
lap and Aileron C
ontrol Hookup
................51Install R
eceiver, Battery, and A
ntenna.........51
Control S
urface Throw
s...............................52
Balance your M
odel.....................................52
PR
E-F
LIG
HT
................................................53
AM
A S
AF
ET
Y C
OD
E...................................54
FLY
ING
.........................................................54B
alance the Propeller..................................54
Takeoff.........................................................55F
lying...........................................................55
Landing........................................................55
TW
O-V
IEW
DR
AW
ING
.................Back C
over
2
TAB
LE
OF
CO
NT
EN
TS
AN
D B
UIL
DIN
G S
EQ
UE
NC
E
Your Cessna 182 S
kylane is not a toy, butrather a sophisticated, w
orking model that func-
tions very much like an actual airplane.
Be
cau
se o
f its rea
listic pe
rform
an
ce, th
eS
kylane, if not assembled and operated correct-
ly, cou
ld p
ossibly ca
use
inju
ry to yo
urse
lf or
spectators and damage property.
To m
ake you
r R/C
mo
delin
g exp
erience
totally en
joyable, w
e recom
men
d th
at you
get
ex
pe
rien
ce
d,
kn
ow
led
ge
ab
le
he
lp
with
assemb
ly and
du
ring
you
r first fligh
ts. You’lllearn faster and avoid risking your m
odel beforeyou’re truly ready to solo. Your local hobby shophas inform
ation about flying clubs in your areaw
hose mem
bership includes qualified instructors.
You can also contact the national Academ
y ofM
odel Aeronautics (A
MA
), which has m
ore than2
,50
0 ch
arte
red
club
s acro
ss the
cou
ntry.
Instructor training programs and insured new
com-
er training are available through any one of them.
Contact the A
MA
at the address or toll-freephone num
ber below.
Acad
emy o
f Mo
del A
eron
autics
5151 East M
emorial D
riveM
uncie, IN 47302
(800) 435-9262
Thank you for purchasing the
Top
Flite G
OL
DE
DIT
ION
Cessn
a 182 Skylan
e.
The Top F
lite 182 Skylane m
akes an excel-le
nt sp
ort sca
le co
mp
etitio
n a
ircraft. Its la
rge
size and accurate scale outline afford the oppor-tunity for the scale builder to
go all outw
ith thesurface details and finish. W
ith the abundance ofC
essna 182s in airports around the world, find-
ing a full-scale plane to document and duplicate
for competition shouldn’t present a problem
.
The Top F
lite Cessna 182 has dem
onstratedflig
ht ch
ara
cteristics ra
rely fo
un
d in
any sca
lem
odel. Anyone w
ho has mastered a trainer w
itha
ilero
ns
sh
ou
ld b
e a
ble
to fly
this
mo
de
l w
ith a
hig
h leve
l of p
roficie
ncy fro
m th
e first
fligh
t. It ha
nd
les ve
ry mu
ch like
a fu
ll-size
Cessna—
smooth and predictable. O
ur 11 poundp
roto
typ
e w
as
flow
n w
ith a
n O
. S. .6
1S
F
2-stroke and 12 x 6 prop throughout much of its
flight testing. This com
bination provided more
than ample pow
er for all normal flight m
aneuversand aerobatics.
Because of its 81” w
ingspan, the Top Flite
Cessna 182 is eligible to be entered at IM
AA
*events. In order to be IM
AA
-legal,som
e of thecontrol com
ponents and hardware m
ay need tob
e re
pla
ced
to co
nfo
rm to
Gia
nt S
cale
rule
seven though this m
odel does not require heavyduty hookups.
The cockpit interior has been engineered to
be free of obstructions, servos and pushrods.T
his feature provides the modeler w
ith the spaceto build a scale interior w
ith front and rear seats,b
ag
ga
ge
com
pa
rtme
nt, a
nd
full fig
ure
pilo
t.
Sim
ula
ted
Fow
ler F
lap
s allow
be
au
tifully slow
ap
pro
ach
es a
nd
lan
din
gs. H
alf fla
p ta
keo
ffsrequire less ground roll to rotate and allow
a fair-ly steep clim
b over obstacles.
The nose of this m
odel has been engineeredto allow
you to completely hide m
ost 2-strokeengines in the recom
mended range. A
Top Flite
2-stroke muffler w
ith headers to fit several of there
com
me
nd
ed
en
gin
es h
ave b
ee
n sp
ecifica
llydesigned for and tested in the S
kylane and otherTo
p F
lite m
od
els. T
his m
uffle
r provid
es g
oo
dsound reduction w
hile fitting entirely inside thecow
ling. More inform
ation on the recomm
endedengines and related item
s can be found in theE
ng
ine S
election
Sectio
n on page 4.
*IM
AA
is the
International Miniature A
ircraftA
ssocia
tion
, an
org
an
izatio
n th
at p
rom
ote
s non-com
petitive flying of giant scale models.
IMA
AInternational M
iniature Aircraft A
ssociation205 S
. Hilldale R
oadS
alina, KS
67401
Please in
spect all p
arts carefully b
efore
starting
to b
uild
! If any p
arts are missin
g,
bro
ken o
r defective, o
r if you
have any q
ues-
tion
s a
bo
ut b
uild
ing
or fly
ing
this
mo
de
l,p
lease call us at (217) 398-8970 an
d w
e’ll be
glad
to h
elp. If yo
u are callin
g fo
r replace-
men
t parts, p
lease loo
k up
the p
art nu
mb
ersan
d th
e kit iden
tification
nu
mb
er (stamp
edo
n th
e e
nd
of th
e c
arto
n) a
nd
hav
e th
em
ready w
hen
calling
.
INT
RO
DU
CT
ION
PR
OT
EC
T YO
UR
MO
DE
L,
YOU
RS
EL
F &
OT
HE
RS
–F
OL
LO
W T
HIS
IMP
OR
-TA
NT
SA
FE
TY
PR
EC
AU
TIO
N
3
1. You must build the plane acco
rdin
g to
the
plan
s and
instru
ction
s.D
o not alter or modify
the model, as doing so m
ay result in an unsafeor unflyable m
odel. In a few
cases the p
lans
and
instru
ction
s may d
iffer sligh
tly from
the
ph
oto
s. In
tho
se
ins
tan
ce
s y
ou
sh
ou
ldassu
me th
e plan
s and
written
instru
ction
sare co
rrect.
2. You must take tim
e to build
straigh
t, true
andstro
ng
.
3. You must use a proper R
/C rad
iothat is in
first-class co
nd
ition
, a co
rrectly-size
d en
gin
ea
nd
corre
ct com
po
nen
ts(fu
el ta
nk, w
he
els,
etc.) throughout your building process.
4. You must properly in
stallall R
/C and other
components so that the m
odel operates properlyon the ground and in the air.
5. Yo
u m
ust te
st
the
op
era
tion
of th
e m
od
el
be
fore
the
first an
d e
ach
succe
ssive flig
ht to
ensure that all equipment is operating, and you
must m
ake certain that the model has rem
ainedstru
ctura
lly sou
nd
. Be
sure
to ch
eck exte
rna
lnylo
n clevise
s ofte
n a
nd
rep
lace
the
m if th
eyshow
signs of wear.
6. You must fly
the model only w
ith the compe-
tent helpof a w
ell experienced R/C
pilot if you arenot already an experienced R
/C pilot at this tim
e.
Rem
emb
er: Take you
r time an
d fo
llow
direc-
tion
s to en
d u
p w
ith a w
ell-built m
od
el that is
straigh
t and
true.
Th
e p
roto
type
Skyla
ne
tha
t we
igh
ed
11
pounds with all of the options, including flaps
and operational lighting, was flow
n with an O
S.61 S
F. T
his en
gin
e provid
ed excellen
t per-
form
ance
and
mo
re than
eno
ug
h p
ow
er,even
in g
usty w
ind
s.A
lthough larger enginesca
n b
e u
sed
to p
owe
r this m
od
el, th
e extra
horsepower is n
ot
needed.T
he included adjustable engine mount w
illh
old
a ra
ng
e o
f en
gin
es fro
m .6
0 2
-stroke
through 1.20 4-stroke.A
special Top Flite header and m
uffler areavailable that w
ill fit inside your cowling. T
heya
re p
rima
rily de
sign
ed
for 2
-stroke
en
gin
es
mounted horizontally, as used on our prototype.
Header for O
.S .61S
F (TO
PQ
7920)H
eader for SuperT
igre S61K
& S
75K(TO
PQ
7925)M
uffler for above (TOP
Q7916)
OP
TIO
NA
L F
LA
PS
Th
is mo
de
l is de
sign
ed
to in
corp
ora
tescale flaps; how
ever, be assured that flaps are
op
tion
aland n
ot n
ecessaryfor an excellent
flying experience. The only difference is, w
ith-out flaps the takeoff roll is a little longer andthe landing speed is slightly faster.
The flaps are not difficult to assem
ble, butthey do require good craftsm
anship if they areto fit w
ell. They add nicely to the m
odel’s flightch
ara
cteristics a
nd
scale
ap
pe
ara
nce
wh
ilecausing no bad effects. O
nly slight trim correc-
tion is needed when they are used w
ith the rec-om
mended throw
s. The flaps add drag and lift
to th
e m
od
el o
n la
nd
ing
ap
pro
ach
es, w
hich
gives the plane a very steady, locked-in feel.
EN
GIN
E S
EL
EC
TIO
N
Th
e recom
men
ded
eng
ine size ran
ge is as
follo
ws:
.60 to .91 cu. in. 2-stroke
.90 to 1.20 cu. in. 4-stroke
The C
essna 182 Skylane w
ill flyw
ellw
itha
ny
of th
e re
co
mm
en
de
d e
ng
ine
s. Th
e
4-s
troke
en
gin
es
an
d m
os
t .90
2-s
troke
engines will turn a larger prop at low
er rpm.
This is often desirable for scale realism
. Many
.60 2-stroke engines produce about as much
ho
rse
po
we
r as
the
po
pu
lar .9
0 2
-stro
keengines. B
oth are fine choices for the Skylane.
If you use a .60 2-stroke, a Schnuerle-ported
engine is preferred.
DE
CIS
ION
S Y
OU
MU
ST
MA
KE
EA
RLY
IN T
HE
BU
ILD
ING
SE
QU
EN
CE
NO
TE
: We, as the kit m
anufacturer, can pro-vid
e yo
u w
ith a
top
qu
ality kit a
nd
gre
at
instructions, but ultimately the quality and flya-
bility of your finished model depends on how
you
build it; therefore, we cannot in any w
ayguarantee the perform
ance of your completed
model, and no representations are expressed
or implied as to the perform
ance or safety ofyour com
pleted model.
PR
EC
AU
TIO
NS
4
If you plan to compete w
ith the trim schem
es
ho
wn
on
the
bo
x, h
ere
are
a fe
w th
ing
s
to consider:T
he
full-size
Ce
ssna
18
2 “Q
” Skyla
ne
,N
735PE
, that was m
odeled for this kit is hang-ered near B
irmingham
, Alabam
a. The 182Q
ver-sion w
as manufactured from
1977 through 1980.D
uring this time 2,540 w
ere built. We designed
our model from
Cessna’s ow
n 1979 3-view draw
-ings for accurate scale outline.
If you plan to enter your Skylane in com
peti-tion, this kit w
ill qualify for the Sp
ort S
cale cate-g
ory w
itho
ut a
ny cha
ng
es. A
lways w
ork fro
m
photos of a full-size aircraft when finishing your
mo
de
l be
cau
se th
at is w
ha
t you
will n
ee
d fo
rjudging docum
entation. For dim
ensional accura-cy, the Top F
lite Cessna 182 is exactly 1:5
1¼3
scale.
❏4 to 6 channel radio w
ith 5 to 7 servos.❏
Engine (see page 4)
❏P
rop
elle
rs (see
en
gin
e in
structio
ns fo
r recom
mended sizes).
❏1 or 2 P
ilot figures (1/5 scale recomm
ended)❏
Fuel Tank (G
reat Planes
®12 oz. G
PM
Q4105
recomm
ended) ❏
3-1/4” Main W
heels (2) (Dubro 325T
)❏
2-3/4” Nose w
heel (1) (Dubro 275T
)❏
(2) 3
/16
” Wh
ee
l Co
llars
(Gre
at P
lan
es
GP
MQ
4308 recomm
ended)❏
Top
Flite
Su
pe
r Mo
no
Ko
te®
(3-4
rolls, S
ee
Finishing
section)❏
Paint (see F
inishingsection)
❏2
4” S
ilicon
e F
ue
l Tub
ing
(Gre
at P
lan
es
GP
MQ
4131 recomm
ended)❏
1/2” Latex Foam
Rubber P
adding (Hobbico
®
HC
AQ
1050 recomm
ended)❏
2-1/4” Spinner
(Top Flite TO
PQ
5405 recomm
ended)
Op
tion
al:
❏F
uel Filler V
alve (Great P
lanes GP
MQ
4160recom
mended)
❏(6
) La
rge
Hin
ge
Po
ints (fo
r flap
s) (Ro
ba
rt#309 recom
mended)
❏To
p F
lite H
ea
de
r & In
-Co
wl M
uffle
r(S
ee
page 4 for more inform
ation)❏
Ram
#03 Landing Lights (RA
MQ
2303)❏
Ram
#04 Rotating B
eacon (RA
MQ
2304)❏
Ra
m #
14
Big
Airp
lan
e N
avig
atio
n L
igh
ts(R
AM
Q2314)
❏R
obart Robostrut N
osegear (RO
BQ
1707) or
❏R
obart Front Wheel S
trut Cover (R
OB
Q2703)
We
reco
mm
en
d T
op
Flite
Su
pre
me
™C
As
and Epoxies
❏(2) 2 oz. C
A (T
hin) (TOP
R1003)
❏(2) 2 oz. C
A+
(Medium
) (TOP
R1008)
❏1 oz. C
A- (T
hick) (TOP
R1011)
❏6-M
inute Epoxy (TO
PR
1040)❏
30-Minute E
poxy (TOP
R1043)
❏T
itebond®
Wood G
lue (optional)❏
Hand or E
lectric Drill
❏D
rill Bits: 1
/16
”, 3/3
2”, 1
/8”, 5
/32
”, 3/1
6”,
13/64”, 1/4”, 15/64”❏
Soldering Iron and S
ilver Solder
❏S
ealing Iron (Top Flite)
❏H
eat Gun (Top F
lite)❏
Hobby S
aw (X
-AC
TO®
Razor S
aw)
❏H
obby Knife, #11 B
lades❏
Razor P
lane (Master A
irscrew)
❏P
liers❏
Screw
drivers (Phillips and flatblade)
❏R
ound file (or similar tool)
❏T-P
ins (short & long)
❏S
tring❏
Straightedge w
ith scale
SU
GG
ES
TE
D S
UP
PL
IES
AN
D TO
OL
S
OT
HE
R IT
EM
S R
EQ
UIR
ED
DO
CU
ME
NTA
TIO
N
Th
ree
-view
dra
win
gs a
nd
ph
oto
pa
cks of
N735P
E and other C
essna 182’s are availablefrom
:S
cale Mo
del R
esearch,
3114 Yukon Ave, C
osta Mesa, C
A 92626
(714) 979-8058
NO
TE
S F
OR
CO
MP
ET
ITIO
NM
IND
ED
MO
DE
LE
RS
Th
e fla
ps re
qu
ire o
ne
extra ch
an
ne
l, a
Y-harness, and two standard servos. T
hey area highly recom
mended fun option
for those who
wish to install them
. More inform
ation on theuse of the flaps m
ay be found in the “Flying”
section.
OP
ER
AT
ION
AL
LIG
HT
ING
We installed an operational lighting system
for added realism and scale appearance. If you
plan to use a similar system
you should routethe w
iring befo
re enclosing the wing and fin. In
lieu of installing the actual wires, string can be
taped into position for use in pulling the wires
through the structure after covering. We used
a separate servo connected to the retractcir-
cuit of the radio (instead of “Y-ing” into the flapservo) to operate the landing lights. T
he rotat-ing beacon and position lights w
ere connectedto
a h
idd
en
tog
gle
switch
. (Se
eO
ptio
na
lLighting
in the next section)
5
❏N
ylon Strapping Tape
(required for bending sheeting)❏
Masking Tape (required for construction)
❏S
andpaper (coarse, medium
, fine grit)*❏
T-Bar S
anding Block (or sim
ilar)❏
Chalk S
tick (local drug store)❏
Waxed P
aper❏
Thin C
ardstock or a File F
older❏
Lig
htw
eig
ht B
alsa
Fille
r, such
as H
obb
icoH
obbyLite™
❏1/4-20 and 8-32 Taps and Tap W
rench❏
Isopropyl Rubbing A
lcohol (70%)
❏A
uto Body F
iller (Bondo
®or sim
ilar)❏
Drem
el ®M
oto-Tool ®or sim
ilar (optional)
*NO
TE
: On
ou
r wo
rkbe
nch
, we
have
fou
r 11
” T-B
ar sa
nd
ers, e
qu
ipp
ed
with
#5
0, #
80
, #1
50
and #220-grit sandpaper. This setup is all that is
required for almost any sanding task. C
ustomsa
nd
ing
blo
cks can
be
ma
de
from
ba
lsa fo
rsa
nd
ing
ha
rd to
rea
ch sp
ots. W
e a
lso ke
ep
some #320-grit w
et-or-dry sandpaper handy forfinish sanding before covering.
CO
MM
ON
AB
BR
EV
IAT
ION
S U
SE
D IN
TH
ISB
OO
K A
ND
ON
TH
E P
LA
NS
:
Deg =
Degrees
Elev =
Elevator
Fuse =
Fuselage
LE =
Leading Edge (front)
LG =
Landing Gear
Lt = Left
Ply =
Plyw
oodR
t = R
ightS
tab = S
tabilizerT
E =
Trailing Edge (rear)
”=
Inches
TY
PE
S O
F W
OO
D
BA
LS
A B
AS
SW
OO
D P
LYW
OO
D
Metric C
onversio
n C
hart
Inch
es x 25.4 = mm
(con
version
factor)
1/64” =
.4 mm
1/32” =
.8 mm
1/16” =
1.6 mm
3/32”=
2.4 mm
1/8”=
3.2 mm
5/32”=
4.0 mm
3/16”=
4.8 mm
1/4”=
6.4 mm
3/8”=
9.5 mm
1/2”=
12.7 mm
5/8”=
15.9 mm
3/4”=
19.0 mm
1”=
25.4 mm
2”=
50.8 mm
3”=
76.2 mm
6”=
152.4 mm
12”=
304.8 mm
18”=
457.2 mm
21”=
533.4 mm
24”=
609.6 mm
30”=
762.0 mm
36”=
914.4 mm
6
7
SE
RV
OT
RA
Y
WIN
DO
WF
RA
ME
CA
BIN
SID
E
BO
TTO
M
HO
RIZ
ON
TAL
STA
BR
IBS
“S’s”
FIN
DR
ILL
GU
IDE
INS
TR
UM
EN
T PA
NE
L
STA
BS
AD
DL
E
STA
B T
ES
TAB
TE
FIN
TE
HO
RN
RE
INF
OR
CE
ME
NT
FU
SE
KE
EL
WIN
G S
AD
DL
E B
RA
CE
TAN
K R
OO
F
NO
SE
GE
AR
DO
UB
LE
R
CA
BIN
SID
ETO
P
DO
RS
AL
FIN
FO
RM
ER
S
FIR
EW
AL
LS
IDE
SU
PP
OR
TS
2 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
CE
S6F
03
CE
S6F
04
CE
S6S
02
CE
S6F
02
CE
S6F
01C
ES
6F05
CE
S6F
06
CE
S6F
07
CE
S6F
08
3/32" X 3" X
21" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 6-5/8" X
19" PLY
1/4" X 2-3/4" X
15" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 6-5/8" X
19" PLY
3/32" X 3" X
18" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 5-3/4" X
19" PLY
1/8" X 5-3/4" X
19" PLY
1/8" X 5-3/4" X
19" PLY
1/8" X 5-3/4" X
19" PLY
DIE
-CU
T PA
TT
ER
NS
8
CE
NT
ER
AF
T S
PAR
AIL
ER
ON
HA
TC
HF
LA
PH
AT
CH
AF
T
AF
T
INN
ER
SPA
R
SPA
RO
UT
ER
FL
AP
HO
RN
UP
PE
R S
PAR
JOIN
ER
LO
WE
R S
PAR
JOIN
ER
MA
IN W
HE
EL
PAN
TA
XL
E S
UP
PO
RT
STA
BG
US
SE
T
GU
SS
ET
GU
SS
ET
S
FIN
GU
SS
ET
RU
DD
ER
RIB
S “R
’s”
OU
TE
R D
IHE
DR
AL
BR
AC
E PA
RT
S
STA
BJO
INE
R (S
J)
CO
WL
RIN
GTO
P B
OT
TOM
FL
AP
DR
ILL
GU
IDE
PAR
TS
PO
LYH
ED
RA
LB
RA
CE
PAR
TS
WIN
G JIG
PAR
TS
DIH
ED
RA
LG
AU
GE
CE
NT
ER
LE
VE
RT
ICA
L F
INR
IBS
“V’s”
MA
IN W
HE
EL
PAN
T S
PAC
ER
S
FL
AP
DR
ILL
GU
IDE
PAR
TS
WIN
G B
OLT
PL
AT
ES
EL
EVA
TOR
RIB
S “E
’s”
1 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.
1 RE
Q.
2 RE
Q.1 R
EQ
.
CE
S6W
07C
ES
6W01
CE
S6W
02
CE
S6W
03
CE
S6W
04
CE
S6W
05C
ES
6W08
CE
S6W
09
CE
S6W
10
CE
S6W
06
CE
S6S
01
1/8" X 2-3/4" X
21" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 2-3/4" X
21" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 3-3/4" X
19" PLY
1/8" X 3-3/4" X
19" PLY
1/16" X 3-3/4" X
11-3/4" PLY
3/32" X 3" X
30" BA
LS
A
3/32" X 3" X
30" BA
LS
A
3/32" X 3" X
30" BA
LS
A
3/32" X 3" X
21" BA
LS
A
3/32" X 3" X
24" BA
LS
A
1/8" X 2-3/4" X
21" BA
LS
A
DIE
-CU
T PA
TT
ER
NS
1. U
nro
ll the
pla
n sh
ee
ts. Re
-roll th
e p
lan
sinside-out to m
ake them lie flat.
2. Rem
ove all parts from the box. A
s you do, fig-ure out the nam
e of each part by comparing it
with the plans and the parts list included w
ith thiskit. U
sing a felt tip or ball point pen, lightly write
the part nam
eor size
on each piece to avoidconfusion later. U
se the die-cut patterns shown
on pages 7 and 8 to identify the die-cut parts andm
ark th
em
be
fore
rem
ovin
g th
em
from
the
sheet. Save all scraps. If any of the die-cut parts
are
difficu
lt to p
un
ch o
ut, d
o n
ot fo
rce th
em
!Instead, cut around the parts w
ith a hobby knife.A
fter punching out the die-cut parts, use your T-B
ar or sanding block to ligh
tlysand the edges to
remove any die-cutting irregularities.
3. As you identify and m
ark the parts, separatethem
into groups, such as fuse
(fuselage), win
g,
fin, stab
(stabilizer), and hard
ware.
1. Work on a flat surface over the plans covered
with w
axed paper. Refer to the plans to identify
the parts and their locations. The plans m
ay becut apart if space is a problem
.
2. Punch out both sets of the die-cut 3/32” balsa
ribs S-1
through S-7. T
here is a jig tab on theb
otto
m e
dg
e o
f ea
ch o
f the
se rib
s. If an
y of
these break off, carefully glue them back on w
itha
dro
p o
f thin
CA
. Lig
htly sa
nd
any im
pe
rfec-
tions. You may need to finish cutting the notch in
the forward portion of
S-1
for the Stab
Join
er(S
J) with a knife. U
se a pen to mark the exten-
sions of the bottom edge of the ribs across the
fore and aft ends of the jig tabs. These m
arksw
ill help when you trim
off the jig tabs later.
3. The stab Trailin
g E
dg
es(S
) are die-cut from1/4” balsa. S
ince some crushing m
ay occur dur-ing die-cutting w
ood of this thickness, they aresupplied slightly long and can be trim
med. True
up all edges of these pieces with a T-bar.
❏❏
4. Cut the stab L
eadin
g E
dg
es(L
E’s) to
length from the 1/4” x 15” tapered balsa stock.
They should be about 1/4” longer than the length
shown on the plans for the stab LE
.
❏❏
5. Center the 1/2” x 5/8” x 9-3/4” balsa T
EC
enter B
raceover the plans and pin it in place.
Use a triangle and pen to m
ark the inboard endsof the S
tab TE
. Rem
ove the TE
Center B
racefrom
the building board.
❏❏
6. A
pp
ly thick C
A to
on
e h
alf o
f the
TE
Center B
race, then align the inboard end of aS
tab T
Ew
ith the reference line you just drew.
Glue the T
E C
enter Brace in position. T
he T
EC
enter B
race mu
st be cen
tered o
n th
e Stab
TE
. Repeat this operation for the other half of
the TE
, then use long T-pins to pin the assembly
over the plans.N
OT
E: P
ositio
n th
e ou
tbo
ard en
ds o
f the
TE
ab
ou
t 1/2
” ab
ov
e th
e b
oa
rd. T
he
TE
Cen
ter Brace sh
ou
ld b
e raised ab
ou
t 3/8”.(S
ee next p
ho
to.) F
IN / S
TA
B LE
Bu
ild th
e ho
rizon
tal stabilizer
BU
ILD
TH
E TA
IL S
UR
FAC
ES
Zipper-top food storage bags are a handy
way to store your sm
all parts as you sort, iden-tify, and separate them
into sub-assemblies.
Get ready to
build
9
❏❏
7. Pin the left an
d rig
ht
S-3
andS
-6ribs to
the
build
ing
bo
ard
over th
eir lo
catio
ns o
n th
eplans. A
djust the height of the Stab T
E to align it
evenly with the aft edge of the ribs. G
lue the ribsto the S
tab TE
and to the TE
Center B
race with
thin CA
.
❏❏
8. Align and glue all of the rem
aining Stab
ribs to the TE
.
❏❏
9. Glue the tw
o die-cut 3/32” balsa Stab
Gu
ssetsinto the junction of S
-6 and the Stab
TE
. The G
ussets should be centered between
the top and bottom of the ribs and S
tab TE
. Glue
the die-cut 1/8” ply Fo
rward
Stab
Brace
into theslots in the S
-1 ribs and to the inside edges ofthe S
-2 ribs.
❏❏
10
. Sa
nd
on
e e
nd
of tw
o sh
ap
ed
ba
lsaS
tab LE’s to exactly m
atch the angle at the cen-ter of the S
tab. Leave the outboard ends long forthe tim
e being. Center the LE
(vertically) on thefront of the ribs, then tack glue the S
tab LE’s to
the forward edge of ribs S
-1 and S-6 and to the
Forw
ard Stab B
race (this will align the LE
). Glue
the
rem
ain
ing
ribs to
the
LE
, che
cking
for
straightness as you proceed.
❏❏
11. Glue both S
-7 ribs to the Stab LE
.
❏❏
12. Glue the 1/4” x 1/2” x 7/8” balsa S
tabS
ub
TE
to the aft edge of S-7 and to the side of
S-6. M
ake sure that the Stab S
ub TE
is posi-tioned exactly 90 degrees to S
-6.
❏❏
13. Trim the S
tab LE’s flush w
ith the S-7’s.
Rein
force all o
f the jo
ints w
ith m
ediu
m C
A.
Sand the tips of the LE
, sub TE
, and TE
flushw
ith S-7 and S
-6.
❏❏
14. Rem
ove the pins, then lightly sand thetop surface of the stab fram
e to blend all partsand rem
ove any excess CA
. Take care no
t toch
ang
e the sh
ape o
f the airfo
il.
HO
W TO
MA
KE
WIN
G A
ND
STA
B S
KIN
S
A. W
he
reve
r pra
ctical, p
re-jo
in th
e b
alsa
sheets to make a “skin” before attaching them
to the structure.
B. M
any modelers like to sort the w
ood so theyca
n p
ut th
e b
estw
oo
d w
ith th
e m
ost eve
ngrain structure on the top of the w
ing and stab.
C. M
ake your skin larger than needed to allow
Lightly sand a bevel along the front edge ofthe S
tab ribs
to match the sw
eep angle of theLE
. This w
ill give you a better fit and a strongerglue joint.
10
❏❏
15. Make tw
o6”x 30”
stab skin
plan
ksfrom
four 1/16” x 3” x 30” balsa sheets. From
these planks, cut four stab skins. See the sketch
for the proper layout on the wood. R
efer to thep
lan
s fo
r the
ex
ac
t sh
ap
es
an
d s
izes, b
ut
remem
ber to make the skins slightly oversize.
❏❏
16. Pin the stab structure to your building
surface using pins only at the tips and diagonallyunder the LE
& T
E. M
ake sure th
at the jig
tabs
are flat on
the bu
ildin
g su
rface.D
on’t hide thepins under the skin.
❏❏
17. Use the off-cut 1/16” m
aterial from the
skin planks to make a 1” w
ide cross-grain strip tofit betw
een the S-1’s from
the LE to the T
E. G
luethe strip in place betw
een the ribs, flush with the
top edge.
❏❏
18. Test-fit the skins over the stab frame.
Make sure the skins m
eet flush at the center.A
djust them w
ith a sanding block if necessary.A
pply an even bead of medium
or thick CA
toth
e u
pw
ard
-facin
g e
dg
es o
n o
ne
side
of th
efra
me. P
lace
a skin
in its p
rop
er p
ositio
n a
nd
pre
ss it firmly d
ow
n u
ntil th
e g
lue
ha
s set.
Repeat this step for the other top skin. Trim
offthe excess balsa, but save any big scraps foruse w
hen making the elevators.
❏❏19. R
emove the stab from
the building board.Trim
off the jig tabs with a sharp knife. Trim
andblend the LE
and TE
to the ribs as you did before.C
heck all glue joints, adding glue as necessary.
❏❏
20. Cut another 1” w
ide cross-grain stripfrom
1/16” x 6” off-cut balsa sheeting and glue itbetw
een the two S
-1 ribs flush with their b
otto
med
ges.
❏❏
21. It’s imp
ortan
t to get a good glue bondb
etw
ee
n th
e sta
b fra
me
an
d th
e b
otto
m sta
bskins. A
pply a heavy bead of m
edium or thick
ST
AB
SK
IN
12-1/8"13"
13"12-1/8"
3"S
TA
B S
KIN
for misalignm
ent. On a large surface such as
the wing, 3/8” extra is suggested.
D. T
o m
ak
e s
kin
s, th
e fo
llow
ing
ste
ps
are sug
gested
:
1. True up the edges of the sheets with a
me
tal stra
igh
ted
ge
an
d a
sha
rp kn
ife o
r a
“T-Bar” sanding block.
2. Test-fit the sheets together to make sure
they match w
ell.
3. M
ET
HO
D “A
”: Ed
ge
glu
e th
e sh
ee
tstogether w
ith thin CA
, over a flat surface cov-e
red
with
wa
xed
pa
pe
r. A q
uick w
ipe
of th
ejo
int w
ith a
fresh
pa
pe
r tow
el w
ill rem
ove
excess glue and make sanding easier. M
arkthe poorest surface to identify it as the “inside”surface.
ME
TH
OD
“B”: E
dg
e g
lue
the
sh
ee
tstogether w
ith Titebond
®w
ood glue. (Titebond
is easier to sand and won’t leave a ridge at the
seam, as C
A is prone to do.) S
mear the glue
lightly along an edge with your finger, then join
the sheets over a flat (waxed paper covered)
building board. Pin the sheets to the board to
hold them together. W
ipe off any excess gluebefore it dries.
4. P
lace
the
skin o
n a
larg
e fla
t surfa
ceand sand it w
ith a large flat sanding block andfresh, sharp 220 paper. U
se light pressure anda brisk
circular
motion.
5. Trim the perim
eter of the sheet to eventhings out.
11
CA
to all of the upward facing
edges on one sideof the stab fram
e. Place a skin on the fram
e andhold it in place w
ith your hands until the gluesets. R
epeat this for the other bottom skin. B
ecarefu
l no
t to b
end
or tw
ist the stab
du
ring
this step
.
❏❏
22. Trim off the excess balsa from
aroundthe perim
eter of the stab. True up the ends ofthe stab w
ith a sanding block. Round the LE
ofthe stab to m
atch the cross sectio
non the plan.
❏❏
1.C
ut two 1/16” x 3” x 36” balsa sheets to
make four 15” long sheets. R
efer to the sketch andthe elevator plans, then glue the leftover balsa“w
edges” that you cut from the stab skins to the 15”
sheets. These joined sheets w
ill be used to make
the top and bottom E
levator skins.
❏❏
2. Use the
pattern
on
the p
lans to cut four
Elevator skins. S
ort the skins so that the bestsurfaces w
ill be facing outward, and on the top.
❏❏
3. C
ove
r the
eleva
tor p
lan
with
wa
xed
paper, then pin a skin in position. Use the “tic”
marks on the plan to draw
the rib locations onthe skin.
❏❏
4. Draw
a line along the length of the skin’sT
E 3/8” in from
the edge. Rem
ove the skin fromth
e bu
ildin
g b
oa
rd, th
en
ho
ldin
g it a
lon
g th
eedge of your w
ork bench, sand a taper from the
line
tow
ard
s the
TE
so th
at th
e T
E w
ill be
approximately 1/32” thick.
❏❏
5. Locate the 3/8” x 3/4” x 11-5/8” shapedbalsa E
levator L
E. D
raw tw
o lines, 1/32” in fromeach edge, on one side of the LE
as shown in
the photo. Use the lines as a reference to taper
the top and bottom of the LE
toward the elevator
TE
with
a T-b
ar sa
nd
er. P
roc
ee
d c
are
fully,
checkin
g yo
ur p
rog
ress again
st the h
eigh
t of
the elevato
r ribs at each
locatio
n.
❏❏
6. Glue the LE
to the inside surface of the theelevator skin, flush w
ith the forward edge of the
skin. Glue the 3/32” die-cut balsa ribs (E
-1through
E-7) to the skin and to the LE
with thin C
A.
❏❏
7. Test fit a 1/2” x 1” x 1-5/8” balsa Torq
ue
Ro
dblock betw
een ribs E-1 and E
-2. Sand the
ends, if necessary, for a good fit. Sand a slight
angle on the forward edge of the Torque R
od
3/8"1/32"
3"S
CR
AP
15"
ELE
VA
TO
R S
KIN
Bu
ild th
e elevators
12
block (the one that will contact the elevator’s LE
)to m
atch the angle of the LE. G
lue the TorqueR
od block in position when you are satisfied w
iththe fit.
❏❏
8. Carefully sand the top of the Torque R
odblock flush w
ith the taper of the ribs.
❏❏
9. Mark and sand the inside T
E of an ele-
vator skin as you did in step 4. Apply a bead of
thick CA
to LE, T
E, and all ribs, then glue the top
skin into position. Hold the assem
bly flat until theC
A cures.
❏❏
10
. True
up
all e
dg
es w
ith a
T-ba
r or
sanding block.
❏❏
11. Test fit the Stab, E
levator, 5/8” x 7/8” x6-1/2” shaped balsa
Stab
Tip
, and the 5/8” x27/32” x 1-9/16” balsa E
levator B
alance Tab
together. Make any adjustm
ents with light sand-
ing. Mark the “break” betw
een the Stab and the
Elevator on the S
tab Tip. C
ut the Stab T
ip apartalong this line.
❏❏
12
. Glu
e th
e fo
rwa
rd b
alsa
Sta
b T
ips
in position.
❏❏
13. Glue the E
levator Balance Tab flush
with the E
levator Tip. C
enter
the Stab T
ip on theoutboard end of the E
levator, before using thickC
A to
glu
e in
pla
ce. Ma
ke su
re th
at b
oth
the
Eleva
tor L
E a
nd
TE
are
cen
tere
d b
efo
re th
e
CA
cures.
❏❏
14. Tape the elevator assembly to the S
tab.M
ake
su
re th
at th
e S
tab
Tip
an
d E
leva
tor
Balance Tab are flush along the outside edge.
There should be a 1/32”-1/16” gap betw
een theE
levator Balance Tab and the S
tab. If not, useyo
ur T-b
ar sa
nd
er to
corre
ct the
pro
ble
m b
ya
ltern
ate
ly san
din
g th
e in
side
ed
ge
s of th
eE
levator Balance Tab and the S
tab.
❏❏
15. When satisfied w
ith the fit, use a razorplane and sanding block to shape the S
tab Tip
to blend with the E
levator and Stab.
❏❏
16. Sand a radius around the B
alance Tabas show
n in the photo.
❏❏
17
. Sa
nd
a ra
diu
s aro
un
d th
e o
utb
oa
rdedges of the S
tab and Elevator T
ip.
13
❏1
8. Ta
pe
the
Eleva
tors to
the
Sta
b m
akin
gsure that you have the correct clearance aroundthe B
alance Tabs. Hold the bent 1/8”
Elevato
rJo
iner W
irean
dH
orn
up to the Elevator and
mark the location of the Joiner W
ire holes thatw
ill be perpendicular to the hinge line (see theplans for the joiner location).
NO
TE
: Th
e E
leva
tor H
orn
is o
ff-ce
nte
r.W
he
n lo
ok
ing
at th
e to
p s
urfa
ce
of th
eS
tab
, the
Ho
rn w
ill be
to th
e rig
ht o
f S
tab cen
ter.
❏19. D
rill 9/64” holes in the elevators for theJo
ine
r wire. C
ut slo
ts inb
oa
rd o
f the
ho
les to
allow the w
ire to be inset into the elevators, flushw
ith th
e L
E. S
an
d th
e E
levator L
Eto
a “V
”shape to allow
for Elevator travel —
refer to theplans for the correct angle.
❏20. Test-fit, but do not glue the joiner w
ire intothe E
levators. Check to see that the E
levatorsalign w
ith each other properly and that they fitthe S
tab without binding. M
ake adjustments by
removin
g the Joiner W
ire and then bending it,if required.
❏1. C
over the Fin/R
udder section of the plansw
ith waxed paper.
❏2. P
unch out the die-cut 3/32” balsa ribs V-1through V-6. B
e sure to preserve their jig tabs.
NO
TE
: If you
plan
to in
stall an o
peratio
nal
beaco
n lig
ht o
n to
p o
f the F
in d
rill a 3/16”h
ole th
rou
gh
the cen
ter (fron
t to b
ack, top
to b
otto
m) o
f each rib
. Th
is ho
le will p
ro-
vide a p
assage fo
r the w
iring
.
❏3. C
ut a 15” length of the tapered 1/4” balsaS
tab
ilizer/F
in L
Esto
ck to m
atch
the
pla
ns
exactly, as the length of the LE sets the angle of
the fin. Notice that the F
in LE fits into a notch on
top of F-8.
❏4. P
unch out the die-cut 1/4” balsaF
in T
Ea
nd
ligh
tly san
d th
e e
dg
es to
tou
ch th
em
up.
Sand (or cut) the tips to m
atch the sweep angle
as shown on the plans.
❏5. S
and an angle on the ends of each rib tom
atch the sweep angle of the LE
and TE
. Pin
ribsV-1 and V-6 to the building board over their
proper locations. Center the LE
on the front ofthe ribs and glue it in place. C
enter the Fin T
Eon the aft edge of the ribs and glue it in place.
❏6. P
ut ribsV-2
throughV-5 into their places
and glue them to the LE
and TE
. Rem
emb
er, alljig
tabs sh
ou
ld co
ntact th
e wo
rk surface.
❏7. G
lue the die-cut 3/32” balsaF
in G
usset
into the corner of V-6 and the Trailing E
dge.
❏8. A
pply extra CA
+ glue to any joints that do
not appear to be well glued.
❏9
. Ble
nd
the
LE
to m
atch
the
ribs o
n th
eupw
ard facing (left) fin side. Sand the T
E, if nec-
essary, to blend smoothly w
ith the ribs.
❏10. M
ake a skin for each side of the fin using1/16” x 3” x 30” balsa sheet. Leave excess balsaon one edge of the skin so it o
verhan
gs p
ast V-1 ab
ou
t 5/8”; this will allow
fitting to the stablater. W
ith the structure flat on the table, glue onthe left (upw
ard-facing) skin.
30"
3"
FIN
SK
IN
Bu
ild th
e fin
14
❏11. R
emove the fin from
the building boardand trim
off the jig tabs. Blend the LE
and TE
tothe ribs on the right side of the fin.
NO
TE
: If you plan to route wiring for a bea-
con through the fin, install a 15” length ofo
uter p
ush
rod
tub
e (no
t sup
plied
) thro
ug
hthe 3/16” holes you drilled in step #2. G
lue itin
po
sition
with
med
ium
CA
, leaving
the
excess tube protruding from V-1.
❏12. U
se medium
or thick CA
to glue on therig
ht sid
e skin
. Be
sure
to g
et a
go
od
bo
nd
between the ribs and the skin.
❏13. True up the edges of the fin sheeting w
itha
san
din
g blo
ck. Sh
ap
e th
e L
E to
ma
tch th
ecross section on the plans. D
on’t trim the bottom
edge of the sheeting at this time.
❏14. G
lue the shaped 3/4” balsa Fin
Tip
to thetop of the fin. S
haping should be done later, with
the fin taped to the rudder.
NO
TE
: If adding a beacon light, drill a holethrough the top of the Fin Tip that aligns w
iththe w
iring tube before you glue it in place.
❏1
. Use
on
e 1
/16
” x 3” x 3
0 b
alsa
she
et to
make tw
o rud
der skin
s, using the rudder skinpattern on the w
ing plan. You will need to edge
glue a small w
edge shaped piece of sheeting tothe T
E of the skin to provide the correct w
idth.You should have m
ore than enough material left
over from the previous assem
blies to accomplish
this step.
❏2
. Pin
on
e o
f the
rud
de
r skins to
the
(wa
xpaper covered) plans and draw
the location ofeach rib using the “tic” m
arks as a guide. Draw
aline the length of the rudder skin, 3/8” in from
theaft edge, as you did w
ith the elevators. Rem
ovethe rudder skin from
the board and taper the aftedge to 1/32”. Taper the aft edge of the otherrudder skin to 1/32”. (S
ee next photo.)
❏3. Locate the 3/8” x 3/4” x 12” tapered balsa
rud
der L
E. C
ut th
e tip
s to m
atch
the
swe
ep
angle of the rudder. Lightly sand both sides ofthe rudder LE
to match the angle tow
ard the aftedge of the rudder.
❏4. R
e-pin the rudder skin over the plans. Glue
the rudder LE to the surface of the rudder skin,
flush with the front edge, using m
edium C
A. T
hew
ide end of the rudder LE is at the bottom
endof the rudder.
❏5. S
lightly taper the forward edge of the rudder
ribsR
-1through R
-6to m
atch the sweep angle of
the rudder LE, then glue them
in position overthe location lines that you drew
in step #2.
❏6. S
hape one end of the 1/4” x 1/2” x 1-1/4”balsa rudder To
rqu
e Blo
ckto m
atch the anglea
t the
inte
rsectio
n o
f the
rud
de
r LE
an
d R
-1.
Glue the Torque B
lock in position when satisfied
with the fit.
❏7. R
emove the rudder assem
bly from the board,
then lightly sand the frame to blend all joints. G
luethe second rudder skin to the fram
e with thick C
A.
To prevent twists, be sure that the assem
bly is heldon a flat surface w
hile the CA
cures.
EX
CE
SS
30"
3"
Bu
ild th
e rudd
er
15
❏8. True up all rudder edges w
ith a sanding block.
❏9. P
osition the rudder against the TE
of the finw
ith the top of the rudder 1/32” above th
e top
of th
e main
bo
dy o
f the fin
. Tape the fin andrudder securely together w
ith masking tape.
NO
TE
: Befo
re pro
ceedin
g, stu
dy th
e ph
oto
at step 15 to
see wh
at you
will acco
mp
lishin
the n
ext six steps.
❏10. Test fit the 3/4” shaped balsa R
ud
der T
ipon top of the rudder. It should butt against theF
in Tip squarely, and have a clearance gap of
1/3
2” a
bove
the
fin. M
ake
ad
justm
en
ts with
asanding block if needed.
❏11. U
se thick CA
to glue the Rudder T
ip to theru
dd
er. B
e su
re th
at e
veryth
ing
is cen
tere
dbefore the C
A cures.
❏12. D
raw a center reference line across the
top
of th
e ru
dd
er a
nd
fin b
locks. A
pie
ce o
fm
asking tape stretched across the center of theblocks w
ill help you draw a fairly straight line.
❏13. U
se a razor plane and sanding block toshape the top of the fin and rudder. F
orscale
rea
lism
, the
Ru
dd
er T
ip sh
ou
ld b
e s
ligh
tlyw
ider
than the rudder. Apply 4 layers of m
askingtape to each side of the rudder to prevent youfrom
removing too m
uch material. T
he Fin T
ipm
ay be sanded flush with the fin. R
ound off thetop 3/8” of both the F
in and Rudder T
ips. When
the top is shaped and sanded, remove all m
ask-ing tape.
❏1
4. D
raw a
cen
terlin
e o
n th
e ru
dd
er’s L
E.
Sand a “V
” bevel along this line with reference to
the
pla
ns fo
r the
corre
ct an
gle
. Hin
gin
g a
nd
installation of the torque rod will com
e later inthe assem
bly process.
❏15. S
and a radius around the forward edge of
the Rudder T
ip. Hold the fin and rudder together
to check the clearance between the R
udder Tip
and the Fin T
ip. Continue sanding the R
udderT
ip radius until there is a 1/32” gap between the
two parts.
Okay, the tail feathers are m
ore or less com-
ple
te, so by n
ow you
are
on
a ro
ll. Th
e sta
blooks like the w
ing for a .20-size model, doesn’t
it? We’ll build the w
ing next so you’ll reallyhave
something to im
press your buddies when they
drop in to see “how the ol’ C
essna is doing.”
NO
TE
: Th
e win
g p
anels are b
uilt “U
PS
IDE
-D
OW
N” o
n th
e p
lan
s. T
he
jig ta
bs
are
attached
to w
hat is, in
the en
d, th
e TOP
sur-
face of th
e win
g. S
ince it is th
e stand
ard co
n-
ventio
n to
sho
w th
e Top
View
of th
e win
g,
and
the w
ing
pan
els are bu
ilt up
side-d
ow
n,
the L
EF
T w
ing
pan
el is built over th
e RIG
HT
Win
g To
p V
iew an
d vice-versa. T
his d
oes n
ot
presen
t any pro
blem
s — ju
st be su
re to bu
ilda left an
d a rig
ht w
ing
.
❏1
. Pu
nch
ou
t all th
e d
ie-cu
t 3/3
2” a
nd
1/8
”balsa w
ing Rib
s. Sm
ooth out any imperfections
with
san
dp
ap
er. B
e su
re to
kee
p th
e jig
tab
sattached to the ribs.
❏2. P
unch out the 1/8” plyD
ou
blers
andW
ing
Bo
lt Plates.
Bu
ild th
e center sectio
n
BU
ILD
TH
E W
ING
16
❏3. Lay out b
oth
setsof balsa R
ibs W-2
andW
-3
, ply D
ou
blers
W-2B
an
d W
-2C, a
nd
the
ply
Wing B
olt Plates exactly as show
n in the photo.T
his way you w
on’t assemble tw
o right or two left
sides. Glue the D
oublers to the Ribs and lam
inateth
e
two
p
airs
of
Win
g
Bo
lt P
late
s w
ith
30-Minute E
poxy. After the epoxy has cured, test
fit the Wing B
olt Plates into the slots at the aft end
of W-2 and W
-3. Make slight adjustm
ents to theslots if required, but don’t m
ake the fit too looseas this is a critical area for a nice tight bond.
❏4. A
ttach the wing plan (the part show
ing thecenter section) to a flat building board and coverit w
ith waxed paper. C
utting apart the wing panel
sections of the plan makes handling easier.
❏5
. Lo
cate
the
3/8
” x 3/8
” x 20
” ba
sswo
od
Cen
ter Sp
ar. Cut tw
o 9-1/4” pieces from it. P
inone of the 3/8” x 3/8” x 9-1/4” bassw
ood Cen
ter
Sp
arsto the plan using the m
ethod shown in the
sketch. The C
enter Spar is a little longer than
actually needed to allow for the dihedral angle at
W-3. It w
ill be trimm
ed to size later.
❏6. P
osition ribW
-1and rib assem
blies W-2
andW
-3 on the Center S
par with the jig
tabs
tou
chin
g th
e plan
. Be sure that the ply doublers
are facing the correct direction.
❏7. Insert (w
ithout gluing) the die-cut 1/8” balsaC
enter A
ft Sp
arinto the slots above the jig tabs.
Insert the second basswood C
enter Spar into
the
forw
ard
rib n
otch
es. M
ake
sure
tha
t bo
thS
pars are flush with the upper edge of the ribs.
❏8. Interlock the 1/8” die-cut ply C
enter L
E w
iththe tabs on the LE
of ribs W-3 and W
-1.
❏9. S
tudy the structure. Are all parts over their
respective locations on the plans and in align-m
ent? If not, ligh
tlyuse fine grit sandpaper to
adjust the fit. Do
n’t reach
for th
e CA
yet!
❏10. M
ake sure the W-3 ribs are flush w
ith theA
ft Spar and the C
enter LE. U
se the 1/8” die-cutply D
ihed
ral Gau
ge on the in
side of the W
-3ribs at the forw
ard Spars to set the ribs angle at
this location. Hold a straightedge alongside the
W-3’s to check for straightness.
❏1
1. W
he
n yo
u a
re su
re th
at eve
rythin
g is
straight and true (sight down the T
E and shim
any low ribs w
ith folded paper under the jig tabs)w
ick thin
CA
into
every join
t. Hold the LE
andW
-3’s in tight contact for a few seconds to allow
the CA
to work. F
ollow the initial gluing by apply-
ing a fillet of medium
CA
around the joints.
Isn’t interlocking construction great?!
NO
TE
: Do
no
tu
se any CA
un
til step 11.
17
❏12. C
heck the fit of the1/4” x 1-7/8” D
owels
and the Wing B
olt Plates. M
ix up a small batch of
6-Minute E
poxy, then glue these parts in position.
NO
TE
:T
he W
ing
Bo
lt Plates m
ust b
e flush
with
the o
utsid
e surface o
f the W
-3’s.
❏13. Trim
and sand only the basswood C
enterS
par ends flush with the W
-3’s. Be sure to leave
the tip
so
f the C
enter A
ft Sp
ar and
the C
enter
LE
in p
laceas they w
ill be used when joining
the center section to the outer wing panels.
❏14. C
ut a 9-1/4” length from a 3/32” x 1/2” x
30” tapered balsa TE
stick. Look at the crosssection on the fuse plan for the angle of the T
E.
Center the T
E on the aft edge of the center sec-
tion
ribs, th
en
glu
e it in
pla
ce w
ith th
in C
A.
Carefully sand the ends flush w
ith the W-3’s.
❏15. Trim
four of the pre-cut 1/16” x 2-3/4” x 1-1/2” S
hear W
ebs
to fit between the W
-1 and W-
2 rib
s at th
e fo
rwa
rd C
en
ter S
pa
rs. Glu
e th
eS
hear Webs to b
oth
sides
of the Center S
parsw
ith medium
CA
This com
pletes the wing center section fram
e,so, zipping right along, let’s m
ove on to the outerw
ing panels.
HIN
T:You w
ill speed up the building process ifyou prepare tw
o “wing panel kits” before you
start gluing. We also suggest that you assem
blea
ll fou
r spa
rs even
tho
ug
h yo
u m
ay on
ly be
building one half of the wing at a tim
e.
❏1. P
lace aw
ing panel plan on your buildingboard and cover it w
ith waxed paper.
❏❏
2. C
ut fo
ur 1
/8” x 3
/8” x 2
4” h
ard
ba
lsaO
uter S
par D
ou
blers
to 22-3/4”. Sand a chisel
point ono
ne en
dof each piece starting
2” fromthe end.
❏❏
3. Use m
edium C
A to glue the O
uter Spar
Doublers to the 1/4” x 3/8” x 36” balsa
Ou
terS
pars. T
he un-tapered end of the Outer S
parD
ou
ble
r mu
st be
flush
with
on
e e
nd
of th
e
Outer S
par.
❏❏
4. P
in a
n O
uter S
par assem
bly
to th
ebuilding board at three or four locations usingthe cross-pinning technique.
NO
TE
: Do
no
tap
ply g
lue to
Rib
s un
til Step
7.
❏❏
5. Position the die-cut 3/32” balsa ribs W
-4through W
-14on the spar. T
hese should be ver-tical and aligned over their appropriate locationsas indicated on the plans. T
he jig tab
slocated
near the aft end of the ribs should all con
tactth
e wo
rk surface.
OU
TE
R S
PA
RS
PA
R D
OU
BLE
R
2"
Bu
ild o
uter w
ing
pan
els
WIN
G T
E
18
❏❏
6. N
OT
E: C
om
ple
te th
is s
tep
on
ly if
you
’re add
ing
op
eration
al flaps. S
lide two lay-
ers of waxed paper betw
een ribs W-6 and W
-7from
the TE
to just forward of the A
ft Inner Spar
no
tch. T
he
wa
xed
pa
pe
r will h
elp
preve
nt th
erib
s from
sticking
tog
eth
er w
he
n yo
u cu
t the
Flaps free later on.
❏❏
7. Fit the die-cut 1/8” balsa A
ft Inn
er Sp
arand
Aft O
uter S
par
into the aft notches of ribsW
-4 through W-6 and W
-7 through W-14 respec-
tively. The upw
ard facing edge of the Aft Inner
Spar protrudes above the ribs. M
ake a mental
note of the protruding angle, then, after remov-
ing the Aft Inner S
par from the fram
e, sand abevel on this edge so that it w
ill be flush with the
ribs. Although you could sand it in place, you
would run the risk of deform
ing the wing ribs.
❏❏
8. Sight dow
n the TE
of the wing from
theroot end m
aking sure all ribs are aligned. Use
paper to shim under the jig tabs of any ribs that
are low.
❏❏
9. Check that the upw
ard-facing edges ofthe ribs and the top surface of the A
ft Spars are
even and that all of the jig tabs are touching thew
ork su
rface
or sh
ims. W
he
n e
veryth
ing
isaligned, w
ick thin CA
into all joints. Wick thin C
Ain
to all se
am
s aro
un
d th
e m
atin
g su
rface
s of
W-6 and W
-7.
❏❏
10. Place part
Aand B
of the 1/8” die-cutply
Ou
ter Dih
edral B
racesover the pattern on
the plan and mark the indicated reference line
on both lon
g ed
ges of each piece.
NO
TE
: Bo
th p
arts are sligh
tly narro
wer at
on
e end
. Use 6-M
inu
te Ep
oxy to
glu
e the
parts to
geth
er as sho
wn
in th
e ph
oto
. Be
sure to
make o
ne left an
d o
ne rig
ht set.
❏❏
11. Use a razor saw
to cut a 1/4” wide slot
from the upper forw
ard Spar notch dow
n to thelow
er Spar through ribs W
-6 and W-7. Insert the
Outer D
ihedral Brace into the slot you just cut
with the narrow
end toward the w
ing tip and theshort portion of the assem
bly facing the leadingedge. T
he angled edge should be facing upward
be
twe
en
ribs W
-7 a
nd
W-8
. Do
n’t g
lue it in
place yet, but leave it in position.
❏❏
12. Hold the upper O
uter Spar in position
on the ribs, with the inboard end flush w
ith W-4.
Mark the S
par at the seam betw
een ribs W-6
and W-7. S
core the inside of the spar two thirds
of the way through w
ith a razor saw. T
heinside
is th
e
side
w
ith
the
ta
pe
red
1
/8”
Ou
ter
Spar D
oubler.
❏❏
13. Press the upper
Outer S
parinto the
wing notches and check for a flush fit at each rib.
When satisfied, rem
ove the Outer S
par, then use3
0-M
inute
Ep
oxy tog
lue th
e Ou
ter Dih
edral
Brace in position. A
pply a bead of epoxy to theupper edge of the O
uter Dihedral B
race, and,before the epoxy cures, install the O
uter Spar
Assem
bly and glue it to all the ribs with thin C
A.
NO
TE
: Wo
rk som
e epoxy in
to th
e the saw
-cu
t befo
re laying
the S
par in
place.
❏❏
14. Cut four 3-1/8” long S
ervo H
atch R
ailsfrom
1/4” x 3/8” x 30” balsa. Glue tw
o of thesepieces into the notches in ribs W
-4 and W-5 and
two betw
een ribs W-7 and W
-8. These w
ill sup-port the flap and aileron servo hatches. Install
19
the rails even if you don’t plan to add flaps, asth
ey
ad
d a
little e
xtra
stre
ng
th a
nd
fill in
the notches.
❏❏
15. Glue the 1/8” die-cut G
usset G
-3to the
Aft O
uter Spar and W
-7, as shown on the plans.
❏❏
16. Hold the 36” shaped balsa L
Eup to the
wing and m
ark it at W-7. C
ut three quarters ofthe w
ay through the LE (from
the flat side) with a
razor saw to allow
it to flex at W-7. C
enter th
eL
E vertically
on the ribs, thentack g
lue it in
position at W-4, W
-7 and W-14. S
ight down the
LE from
both ends to check that all of the ribsare centered and that the fram
e isn’t curved ortw
isted. Once again, be sure that all th
e jig tab
sare firm
ly on
the bu
ildin
g b
oard
, then perma-
nently glue the LE to all of the ribs.
❏❏
17. Cut the tapered 30” balsa F
lap S
par
tofit fro
m W
-4 to
W-7
the
n g
lue
it into
the
“V”
notches just behind the aft Inner Spar.
❏❏
18. Center a 1/2” x 15” tapered balsa T
Eon
the aft edge of W-4 and the last W
-6, then glue itin position to only W
-4 and W-6. Lay a straight-
edge across the aft end of the ribs to check thatall ribs are aligned and level and that the T
E is
straight. When everything looks good, glue all
the remaining ribs to the T
E, centering each rib
as you proceed.
❏❏
19. Glue the die-cut 1/8” balsa gussets
G1
andG
2 in position, as shown on the plans.
❏❏
20
. Trim th
e e
xcess m
ate
rial fro
m th
eS
pa
rs, LE
, TE
, etc., a
nd
san
d a
ll en
ds flu
sh.
Rein
force all jo
ints
that still need extra glue byadding m
edium C
A.
❏❏
21. Refer to the plan for the location of the
sing
le and
do
ub
le1/16” x 2-3/4” x 1-1/2” balsa
Sh
ear Web
s. Glue the S
hear Webs in position
with thick C
A (N
ot between W
-4 and W-5).
❏❏
22. Locate the 1/2” x 1/2” x 6” balsa stick.C
ut six 1
” len
gth
s to u
se a
s Aile
ron
Hin
ge
Blo
cks. Fit and glue 3 blocks w
here shown on
the plans. Save the other 3 for use on the sec-
ond wing panel.
Well, that about w
raps up the framing for half of
the
win
g. Ta
ke a
sho
rt bre
ak to
ad
mire
you
rhandiw
ork, have a cup of coffee, clean the CA
offyour fingers, and kiss your spouse good night.W
hen you’re fully revived, clean the sawdust off
your bench, swap the plan sheets, and g
et busybuilding the other half.You can rest later.
❏❏
1. Position the three 1/8” ply parts of the
Po
lyh
ed
ral B
rac
es
ove
r the
sketch
on
the
plans. Look carefully at each piece and you will
notice that they form a slight “V
” shape, with one
end longer than the other. After you align each
piece over the drawing, m
ark an index line oneach part as show
n, then extend it around toboth edges.
❏❏
2. With
ou
tg
luin
g, stack the three pieces
tog
eth
er a
nd
com
pa
re th
e a
ssem
bly with
the
photo and the plans. Repeat this process w
iththe second set of braces, but this tim
e flip thepieces end-for-end w
hen you stack them.
Prep
are the p
olyh
edral b
races
FLA
P S
PA
R
20
You should now have a rig
ht
hand and aleft
hand set of Polyhedral B
races, as shown in the
ph
oto. Tra
cing
aro
un
d th
e e
dg
es o
f the
two
shorter parts will help alignm
ent when you glue
them together.
❏❏
3. W
he
n sa
tisfied
tha
t the
bra
ces a
reaccurate, use
6-Minute E
poxy to glue the partsto
ge
the
r with
the
alig
nm
en
t ma
rks pe
rfectly
aligned.
❏❏
1. Carefully rem
ove a 3/8”-wide strip of balsa
from betw
een the sparson both the W
-3 ribs ofthe C
enter Section and the W
-4 ribs of the outerpanels. T
his will allow
the Polyhedral B
races to beinserted and glued betw
een the spars.
❏❏
2. Test fit (but don’t glue) the Polyhedral
braces into the center and outboard wing panels.
Th
e lon
ger en
do
f the jo
iner is th
e end
that
plu
gs
into
the
ou
tbo
ard
pa
ne
ls.
Sa
nd
the
en
ds, if n
ece
ssary, fo
r a g
oo
d fit. T
he
win
gp
an
els sh
ou
ld m
ate
eve
nly a
lon
g th
e jo
int
without any unnecessary tw
isting or bending toline things up. If you have to force the panels tofit,
loc
ate
th
e
pro
ble
m
an
d
fix
it b
efo
reproceeding. A
ny twists w
ill become a perm
anentpart of the structure after the panels are joinedand w
ill be difficult to correct.
❏❏
3. Use only a spot of C
A to glue the tw
o1/4” x 1-1/16 “ x 5-7/8” balsa W
ing
Jig B
locks
to theW
-2 jig tab
sand the
top
of the spar.
Now
for the hard part — cleaning a space on
your work bench large enough to spread out and
join the wing.
IMP
OR
TAN
T: Ch
eck you
r wo
rk surface w
itha m
etal straigh
tedg
e to m
ake sure th
at it’sp
erfectly flat befo
re pro
ceedin
g. M
ake a“d
ry ru
n” o
f the
follo
win
g s
tep
be
fore
actually p
erform
ing
it with
glu
e.
❏❏
4. Place the C
enter panel on the Jig Blocks
in th
e m
idd
le o
f you
r wo
rk be
nch
. Ad
d so
me
weight to hold it in place (a few
magazines or
small sandbags are handy for this). P
repare 1/2o
un
ce o
f 30
-Min
ute
Ep
ox
y. L
ibe
rally a
pp
lye
po
xy
to
th
eW
-3 R
ibs
, th
e P
oly
he
dra
lB
rac
es
,an
d th
e s
pa
r en
ds
. (If you
will b
einstalling F
laps, don’t put epoxy on the “Flap”
portion of the ribs. Insert waxed paper betw
eenW
-3 and W-4 at the flaps.)
Plug the P
olyhedralB
races into
the Ou
tbo
ard W
ing
Pan
els. Plug
the
Ou
tbo
ard
Win
g P
an
els in
to th
e C
en
ter
Sectio
n and align the R
ibsfor a flush fit. T
hep
rotru
din
g C
en
ter S
ectio
n L
E a
nd
Aft C
en
ter
Spar tabs w
ill help with alignm
ent. Once all the
panels are in position, clamp the ribs together
and center the Polyhedral B
races between the
Spars as show
n on the top view of the plans.
Pu
t weig
hts o
n th
e two
W-14 rib
sto hold the
jig tabs and spars on the work surface. B
efore
the ep
oxy kicks off,d
ou
ble ch
eck you
r wo
rk.
IMP
OR
TAN
T: Make certain that both the upper
and
low
er Sp
ars tou
ch th
eir mates o
n th
eadjoining panel. If, after all your efforts, you endup w
ith a small gap, pack epoxy into the cavity.
❏❏
5. Use a razor saw
to cut a 1/6” wide x 3/8”
deep slot on bo
th sides of the bottom
spars atW
-3. Rem
ember, the w
ing is upside down on the
be
nch
so th
e b
otto
m sp
ars a
re p
rese
ntly o
n
the “top.”
Join
the w
ing
pan
els
21
❏❏
6. Test fit the 1/16” die-cut ply bottom S
par
Jo
ine
rin
the
slots. Ju
st like th
e P
olyh
ed
ral
Braces, the S
par Joiners have one end that islo
ng
er th
an
the
oth
er. T
he
lon
ge
r en
d p
oin
tstow
ards the wing tip. E
qually sand the ends ifneeded for a good fit betw
een the ribs. Use 6-
min
ute
or 3
0-M
inu
te E
poxy to
glu
e th
e S
pa
rJo
ine
rs in p
ositio
n. C
lothes pins make handy
clamps w
hile the epoxy cures.
❏❏
7. Tu
rn th
e w
ing
ove
r an
d re
pe
at th
eprocess of installing the S
par Joiners on the topw
ing spars.
Ou
r sug
ge
sted
win
g sh
ee
ting
pro
cess a
llows
you to sheet each of the wing panels w
ith oneskin per side —
plus a little extra for the flaps.T
his technique is better than sheeting the wing
with
ind
ividu
al sh
ee
ts, an
d a
llows yo
u to
pre-sa
nd
all o
f the
sea
ms th
at w
ill be
over o
pe
nstructure.
All balsa sheeting w
ill usually bend when it’s cut
from the log since internal stresses are relieved.
For the best results, trim
the edges of the wing
sheeting with a long m
etal straightedge and ash
arpknife before joining them
. You may also
try turning the sheets different ways to see if the
ed
ge
s will lin
e u
p eve
nly. If th
e b
en
d is o
nly
slight, use 150-grit sandpaper on a long sanding
block to
smo
oth
ou
t the
curva
ture. F
or m
ore
info
rmatio
n o
n m
aking
win
g skin
s refer back
to p
age 10 fo
r the H
ot T
ip.
NO
TE
: Do
the fo
llow
ing
steps fo
r bo
th th
erig
ht an
d left w
ing
pan
els.
❏1. S
ort through the remaining 1/16” x 3” x 36”
balsa sheets and pick out the 6 best sheets tob
e u
sed
for th
e to
p su
rface
s of th
e o
utb
oa
rdw
ing panels. Pick the best three sheets from
the1
/16
” x 3” x 2
1” sh
ee
ting
to u
se fo
r the
top
Center S
ection skin
❏2
. La
y wa
xed
pa
pe
r ove
r a fla
t, sm
oo
thw
ork surface.
❏3. M
ake fou
r ou
tbo
ard w
ing
skins
by edgegluing th
ree 1/16” x 3” x 36” balsa wing sheets
together to make (four) 9” x 36” skins. M
akeo
ne
center sectio
n skin using fo
ur
sheets of 1/16” x3” x 21” balsa. T
his skin will be cut in half after
sand
ing
to make
two
12” x 10-1/2” skins. Refer
to page 10 for tips on making skins.
NO
TE
: Wh
en
sh
ee
ting
, be
su
re th
at th
ew
ing
is re
stin
g s
qu
are
ly o
n th
e c
en
ter
section
Jig B
locks, w
eigh
ted d
ow
n o
n a flat
surface, an
d th
at the W
-14 jig tab
s are inso
lid co
ntact w
ith th
e build
ing
surface.
❏4. H
old a 1/16” x 12” x 10-1/2” center sectionskin on the bottom
surface of the wing w
ith oneedge butted up to the LE
. Mark the perim
eter ofthe skin. T
he side ed
ges o
f the skin
should becen
tered o
n th
e join
tbetw
een ribs W-3 and W
-4
. Cu
t the
skin clo
se to
the
corre
ct size th
en
sand
it for an exact fit.
❏5
. Glu
e th
e ce
nte
r skin in
po
sition
usin
gm
ed
ium
or th
ick CA
. Ho
ld th
e skin
in co
nta
ctw
ith the frame until the glue has cured.
❏❏
6. Fit one of the 9” x 36” skins in place on
an
ou
tbo
ard
win
g p
an
el, w
ith o
ne
lon
g e
dg
ebutted tightly against the inner LE
. The inboard
edge should overlap the center section. Tape theskin in place. W
ith a flexible ruler, mark the edge
that mates w
ith the center panel. Flip the w
ingover and m
ark the tip and TE
from the back side.
Allow
an extra 1/4” around these two edges.
Rem
ove the skin and cut it to the marked size. If
necessary, use 220 grit sandpaper to fine tunethe inboard edge for an exact
fit. The photo at
step #9 shows approxim
ately what your sheet
should look like when it’s trim
med.
Sh
eet the b
otto
m o
f the w
ing
22
❏❏
7. Wo
rking
qu
ickly, apply a bead of thick
CA
to the structure that the skin will touch. D
on'tglue hatch rails yet. A
pply glue to the Spar last.
Position the skin over the fram
e, then press itinto place.
Imp
ortan
t:B
efore the CA
kicks off,w
eight down the center panel and the T
E of the
wing at W
-14 to set the wash
ou
t ang
le. Repeat
steps 6 and 7 for the other outer wing panel.
❏❏
8. After the C
A has cured, turn the w
ingover and apply a bead of thick C
A to the inside
of the LE / S
kin junction and any other areasthat need a little extra glue.
❏❏
9. Cut tw
o 14-1/2” pieces from a 1/16” x 3”
x 36” balsa sheet. Save the off-cut piece for use
in a few m
inutes. Cut the 14-1/2” sheets to the fit
the uncovered area of the flaps. Use a leftover
pie
ce o
f 1/1
6” b
alsa
she
etin
g to
ma
ke tw
otriangular pieces to fill in rem
aining un-sheetedarea.
❏❏
10. Turn the wing over and place it on foam
rub
be
r or a
soft su
rface
to a
void
pre
ma
ture
hangar rash.
NO
TE
: if you
are no
t installin
g flap
s, do
n’t
mark o
r cut th
e two
inb
oard
op
enin
gs.
❏❏
11. Use a sharpened piece of w
ire or longT-pin to bore sm
all holes through the skin fromthe in
side
to mark the location of the flap and
aileron servo hatches.
❏❏
12. Rough cut the hatch openings on the
inside of your guide holes, then use a 1/16” plyH
atc
h C
ov
er
to m
ark a
nd
cut th
e fu
ll sizeopening. R
emem
ber, it’s faster to enlarge a holethat’s too sm
all than to shrink one that’s oversize.A
fter enlarging holes, use thin CA
to glue theskin to the hatch rails.
❏❏
13. Use a sharpened piece of w
ire to borethrough the exposed side of the W
ing Bolt plate
to mark the holes in the b
otto
mw
ing skin for thew
ing bolts. Mark these holes n
ow
, as it will be
difficult to find the location after the top wing skin
is applied. To avoid splitting the balsa, bore theholes in the skin w
ith a grinding stone and moto-
tool rather than going through with a drill.
❏❏
14. You can simplify the job of “fishing” the
servo wires through the enclosed w
ing with a
little preparation. Tape one end of a 30” length ofstring to the inside of the w
ing sheeting just pastth
e a
ilero
n se
rvo h
atch
op
en
ing
. Th
rea
d th
estring through the lightening holes in the ribs intothe center section. B
ore a 1/2” hole for the servole
ad
s to exit th
rou
gh
the
bo
ttom
of th
e w
ing
.S
ecure the string next to the hole with another
pie
ce o
f tap
e. R
ep
ea
t this p
roce
du
re fo
r the
oth
er w
ing
pa
ne
l. Wh
en
the
time
com
es to
thread the servo wires, just tie them
to the stringfrom
the hatch end and pull them through to the
center compartm
ent exit hole.
If you plan to install navigation lights on the wing
tips, use the string technique described in the
The best balsa filler is n
o balsa filler! Take
your time fitting all sheeting and skins in place.
With a little bit of careful sanding you w
ill berew
arded with perfectly m
atched joints and alighter, stronger airfram
e.
23
pre
viou
s step
, or g
lue
two
larg
e-d
iam
ete
rpushrod tubes (not supplied) inside the w
ing,ahead of the spars, to serve as a conduit for the w
ires.
❏❏
15
. Glu
e th
e 1
/2” x 1
/2” x 1
” ba
sswo
od
Win
g S
trut M
ou
nt B
lock
to the inboard side ofthe W
-6 rib and to the sheeting at the locations
ho
wn
o
n
the
p
lan
s. W
e
rec
om
me
nd
6-M
inute Epoxy for this job. To help locate the
blocks later, drill a 1/16” hole through the centerof the blocks, out through the bottom
sheeting.
❏❏
16. True all edges with a sanding block.
Mark the location of the A
ileron Hinge B
locks onthe outside edge of the aft O
uter Spar.
❏❏
17. Carefully cut off all of the jig tabs on the
top surface of the wing. Lightly sand the tops of
the ribs and spars. Clean up any glue blobs that
will interfere w
ith the top sheeting, then doublecheck your w
ork.
If you aren’t installing operational flaps (the neatlooking, highly effective, sim
ulated Fowler F
laps)skip
the n
ext section
and proceed to “Sheet
Th
e To
p O
f Th
e W
ing
”. Are
you
sure
you
w
on’t reconsider?
NO
TE
: Th
is kit inclu
des a sp
ecial set of
win
g jig
s to h
old
the w
ing
at the p
rop
erw
asho
ut an
gle (2 d
egrees w
asho
ut at each
tip) w
hile yo
u ap
ply th
e top
skins. Tw
istedw
ing
s a
re a
ma
jor c
au
se
of b
ad
fligh
tch
aracteristics. Po
lyhed
ral ang
les can vary
slig
htly,
so
if
yo
ur
tip
jigs
re
qu
iread
justm
ent, ju
st be su
re that b
oth
tip jig
sare m
od
ified th
e same, an
d are th
erefore
ide
ntic
al. B
e c
are
ful n
ot to
ch
an
ge
the
wash
ou
t ang
le (the n
egative an
gle o
f attacko
f the tip
ribs) if yo
u ad
just th
e jigs.
❏❏
1. Locate all of the 1/8” die-cut ply wing jigs
as shown in the photo. A
ssemble the tw
o partsof both T
E Jig
sas show
n.
Sh
eet the to
p o
f the w
ing
❏❏
3. Turn the wing over, then
carefully
cutaw
ay the
ba
lsa sh
ee
ting
from
be
twe
en
the
marks. D
on’t cut through the ribs until the topo
f the
win
g h
as b
ee
n sh
ee
ted
an
d yo
u a
reinstructed to do so.
That’s all you need to do for now
regarding theflaps. Let’s m
ove on and put the skins on thetop of the w
ing.
❏❏
2. Mark the location for the F
lap L
Eby
ins
ertin
g a
sh
arp
en
ed
wire
thro
ug
h th
esheeting at the locations show
n in the photo.
❏❏
1. Cut the shaped 5/8” x 9” balsa F
lapH
ing
e Blo
ckinto four pieces 1-1/2” long, and
two pieces 1” long. G
lue the blocks to the aftIn
ne
r Sp
ar, sh
ee
ting
, an
d rib
s as sh
own
on
the plans.
Do
the fo
llow
ing
steps if yo
u are b
uild
ing
op
eration
al flaps.
Even though building operational flaps requires
a little bit of patience and elbow grease, you
will be rew
arded by more scale appearance
and slower landings than the less am
bitiousm
odeler. If that isn’t enough, they look greatduring slow
fly-bys and shorten the takeoff roll.
Prep
are the w
ing
pan
elsfo
r the flap
s
24
❏❏
2. Slide the die-cut 1/8” ply L
E Jig
sover
the
do
we
ls, with
the
flat e
dg
e to
wa
rds th
esheeted (bottom
) side of the wing.
❏❏
3. Tack glue the die-cut 1/8” ply TE
Jigs
tothe sheeting at the T
E of W
-3.
❏❏
4. P
lace
a d
ie-cu
t 1/8
” plyw
oo
d T
ip Jig
under each W-14 rib w
ith the raised tip of the jigbutting up to the T
E spar. Tack glue it in place.
NO
TE
: Use th
e same p
roced
ure to
sheet th
eto
p o
f the w
ing
as you
used
for th
e bo
ttom
.
❏❏
5. Cut the top C
enter P
anel S
kinfrom
theskin you m
ade earlier. Rem
ember that it should
line up with the dividing line betw
een ribs W-3
and W-4. W
hen satisfied with the fit, glue it in
place with thick C
A.
❏❏
6. Check the fit of an outboard skin to the
wing structure. M
ake adjustments if required to
fit flush with the LE
and Center P
anel. Sand a
sligh
t beve
l to th
e e
dg
e o
f the
skin th
at w
illco
nta
ct the
LE
to a
llow
for a
be
tter g
luin
gs
urfa
ce
. Us
e th
ick C
A to
glu
e th
e s
kin
inposition. H
old the skin firmly in place w
hile theC
A cures. M
agazines make good w
eights.W
ickth
in C
A a
lon
g th
e L
E se
am
, wip
ing
off a
ny
excess CA
before it hardens.
❏❏
7. Repeat step 6 for the other outer panel.
❏❏
8. Measure, cut and glue a 1/16” x 3” x 36”
ba
lsa
sh
ee
t to fit o
ver th
e F
lap
s a
nd
the
openings at the aft edge of the wing skins, as
you did for the bottom of the w
ing.
At th
is po
int yo
u sh
ou
ld h
ave th
e m
ain
win
gstructure fully sheeted. You m
ay now rem
ove allJig
pa
rts from
the
win
g a
nd
san
d o
ff an
y glue m
arks.
❏❏
1. Trim the sheeting w
here it protrudes pastthe edge of the structure.
❏❏
2. S
an
d th
e w
ing
Lead
ing
Ed
ge
un
til itb
len
ds
we
ll with
the
sh
ee
ting
to fo
rm a
sm
ooth airfoil.
❏❏
3. Square off the w
ing tips with a T-bar.
❏❏
4. Use a pointed piece of w
ire to mark the
ho
les
for th
e w
ing
bo
lts fro
m th
e b
otto
m,
thro
ug
hthe top w
ing skin. Use a hobby knife to
carefully cut a 1/4” hole in the sheeting aroundth
e p
oin
ts you
ma
rked
. Inse
rt on
e o
f the
1/4
”nylon w
ing bolts through the wing from
the top,and trace around the head w
ith a pen. Enlarge
the holes to the circles you just drew to allow
thew
ing
mo
un
ting
bo
lts to se
at a
ga
inst th
e w
ing
mounting plates. U
se a round file or Moto-Tool
and grinding drum to avoid tearing the sheeting.
IMP
OR
TAN
T: Th
e Ailero
ns m
ust b
e fitted to
the
win
g a
nd
the
hin
ge
be
ve
ls s
an
de
db
efore in
stalling
the w
ing
tips o
r cuttin
g th
eflap
s loo
se.
❏❏
5. Ta
pe
a ta
pe
red
2-3
/32
” x 21
” ba
lsaA
ileron
to th
e O
uter A
ft Sp
arw
ith o
ne
en
dagainst W
-7. Don’t be alarm
ed if the Aileron T
Eis higher than the T
E at W
-7; this will be taken
care of when the aileron LE
is tapered. Draw
aline on the A
ileron, parallel to the edge of W-7.
Rem
ove the Aileron, then cut and sand it to this
line
. C
he
ck
the
fit
an
d
ma
ke
an
y
min
or
corrections as needed.
WIN
G C
OM
PL
ET
ION
Glue a piece of scrap ply to the side of the jig
and also to the W-14 ribs (as show
n here) toprevent the jig from
moving or having to glue it
to the sheeting.
25
❏❏
6. Tape the Aileron back into position. M
arkthe tip end w
ith a straightedge placed along W-
14. Draw
a line 1/16” in
bo
ard o
f the first lin
e.C
ut off the Aileron tip on the second (inboard)
line
. By so
do
ing
the
Aile
ron
will h
ave 1
/32
”clearance on both ends w
hen it’s installed.
❏❏
7. D
raw
a ce
nte
rline
on
the
LE
of th
eA
ilero
n. S
an
d a
“V”
sha
pe
d b
evel a
lon
g th
ise
dg
e. Re
fer to
the
win
g cro
ss sectio
n o
n th
eplans for the required angle.
❏❏
8. Tape the Aileron secu
relyin position
with its T
E alig
ned
with
the T
Eat W
-7.
❏❏
9. Tape a shaped balsa Wing T
ip in position.It should be centered on W
-14 and the aft endshould be centered on the T
E of the A
ileron. Tracethe airfoil onto the inside edge of the w
ing tip.N
OT
E: H
orn
er T
ips
are
an
op
tion
on
fu
ll-scale Cessn
as. If you
prefer, yo
u m
ays
imp
ly c
arv
e a
sta
nd
ard
tip w
itho
ut th
eu
nd
ercamb
er. Draw
an arc th
e wid
th o
f the
Ailero
n’s T
E (as sh
ow
n o
n th
e plan
s) if you
wan
t to carve H
orn
er Tip
s. Rem
ove the tip
.
❏❏
10. Use a long carving blade to carve aw
aym
ost of the excess wood and rough in the shape
of th
e tip. To
carve
a H
orn
er T
ip, cut aw
ay aw
edge of balsa as shown in the photo, then use
a ro
un
d sa
nd
ing
too
l (e.g., 8
0-grit sa
nd
pa
pe
rw
rapped around a short piece of broom handle)
to curve the underside.
❏❏
11. When the W
ing Tip has been shaped
close
to fin
ishe
d size
, glu
e it to
W-1
4 w
ithm
edium C
A. D
on’t glue it to the Aileron. F
inishsanding the W
ing Tip w
ith 220 grit sandpaper,blending it w
ith the wing sheeting and LE
. Fine
tun
e th
e cu
rved
un
de
rcam
be
r po
rtion
of th
eW
ing Tip w
ith a round sanding tool and 220 grit.T
he thickness of the Tip’s T
E should m
atch thethickness of the A
ileron TE
.
❏❏
12. Refer to the plans for the aileron horn
location. Position a die-cut 1/8” x 5/8” x 5/8” ply
Ho
rn R
ein
forc
em
en
t on
the
bo
ttom
of th
ea
ilero
n a
t this lo
catio
n a
nd
score
aro
un
d its
pe
rime
ter w
ith a
ho
bby kn
ife. R
em
ove
ba
lsafrom
within the score m
arks to recess the hornre
info
rcem
en
t. Use
thick C
A to
glu
e th
e h
orn
reinforcement in place.
❏❏
13
. Re
pe
at s
tep
s 5
-12
for th
e o
the
r w
ing panel.
If you are building your wing w
ithout operationalflaps, there’s nothing left to do except fit the w
ingto the cabin during final assem
bly. Invite yourbuddies back to the shop for a progress update.A
lso, your floor needs sweeping.
NO
TE
: If you
are NO
T bu
ildin
g o
peratio
nal
Fla
ps
, sk
ip th
e fo
llow
ing
se
ctio
n a
nd
pro
ceed to
BU
ILD
TH
E F
US
EL
AG
E.
26
❏❏
9. Trim
off th
e exce
ss ba
lsa fro
m th
eInner A
ft Spar, then use a 3/4” dow
el wrapped
with 220-grit sandpaper to sand a radius on
the protruding portions of the ribs. Cut a 1/4” x
1/2” slot in the Inner Aft S
par to allow the F
lapH
orn and Clevis to clear.
❏❏
10. Reinforce the underside of the w
ingsheeting (w
here it overhangs the aft inner spara
t the
Fla
ps) by g
luin
g le
ftover 1
/16
” x 1/4
”balsa strips betw
een the ribs on the undersideof the top sheeting. S
and a bevel along thisedge to allow
the flap to clear when it’s in the
upposition.
Fit th
e flaps
❏❏
1. Use a T-bar to true-up the aft edge of
the wing sheeting in the flap section.
❏❏
7. Shape the F
lap LE to m
atch the crosssection on the plans. A
razor plane, whittling
knife, and coarse sandpaper help the job goquickly. T
he die-cut 1/8” ply Flap
Hin
ge D
rillG
uid
em
ay be used to test the curvature of theLE
(See step # 2 of “F
it The F
laps”).
❏8. R
epeat steps 1 - 7 for the other Flap.
❏❏
6. Cut a 1/2” x 1-1/4” x 14-1/2” balsa F
lapL
Eto fit on both sides of the F
lap Horn. C
ut a1
/16
” de
ep
no
tch
in o
ne
of th
e F
lap
LE
sections to allow passage of the F
lap Horn.
Glue the F
lap LE in position exactly
as shown
in the photo, with the top of the F
lap flush with
the top of the Flap LE
.
❏❏
4. S
an
d th
e L
E o
f the
Fla
p R
ibs flu
sh(and at the sam
e angle) with the F
lap Spar.
Use a long T-bar or sanding block to m
aintaina straight LE
.
❏❏
5. Refer to the plans for the location of
the 1/16” die-cut birch ply Flap
Ho
rn. N
OT
E:
There is a different F
lap Horn location for each
flap, so double check your work over the plans.
Glu
e
the
F
lap
H
orn
in
p
os
ition
w
ith
thick CA
.
together, cut the inboard and outboard ends ofthe F
laps free with a hobby knife or razor saw
.
❏❏
3. Use a n
ew #11 b
lade
to carefully cutthrough each rib at the aft d
ie-cut
line. In theevent that som
e CA
has glued the wax paper
❏❏
2. Tu
rn th
e w
ing
ove
r, the
n u
se
astra
igh
ted
ge
an
d h
obby kn
ife to
cut th
rou
gh
the
top
she
etin
g, a
cross th
e tw
o re
fere
nce
marks, along the length of the flap.
❏❏
1. When you look inside the slot that you
cut in the sheeting along the Flap LE
, you will
see
two
pa
rtially d
ie-cu
t line
s on
ea
ch rib.
Inse
rt a p
oin
ted
pie
ce o
f wire
be
twe
en
the
lines, through the top wing sheeting at each
end of the flap. We are u
sing
a win
g sectio
nm
ocku
p fo
r the p
urp
ose o
f explan
ation
.
BU
ILD
TH
E F
LA
PS
27
NO
TE
: Th
e 1/8” die-cu
t plyw
oo
d fo
rmers
are
sta
mp
ed
on
ly w
ith th
e n
ec
es
sa
ryp
ortio
n o
f their n
ame. F
or exam
ple, F
-2B is
stamp
ed 2B
.
❏1. P
in the bo
ttom
view of the F
uselage planto
a fla
t bu
ildin
g su
rface
, the
n co
ver it w
ithw
axed paper. Cut the plans apart if necessary.
❏2. U
se 30-Minute E
poxy to glue the following
1/8” die-cu
t ply p
artstogether to m
ake sub-assem
blies:A
)Tw
oF
-1form
ers. Make sure the notches
are aligned.B
)Tw
o F-1B
formers. D
on
’tglue them
to F-1.
C)
Two F
use K
eel parts. Apply w
eight to holdthem
flat.D
)Tw
o FW
-Aand one F
W-B
Firew
all. Make
sure that FW
-B is on the “bottom
” of thestack and that all the tabs are aligned.
E)
F2-B
and F2-D
. F2-D
must be glued to the
forw
ard face
of F2-B
. Make sure that the
dowel holes are aligned.
❏3. P
in the 3/16” x 3/8” x 48” groovedM
ainS
tring
ers to the plans. Be sure that the M
ainS
tringers are aligned with the outside edge of
the formers and N
OT
the outside sheeting lineon the plans. W
hen pinning the Main S
tringersat F
-1,alig
n th
em w
ith th
e dash
ed lin
e that
extend
s past F
-1. The 1/8” g
roo
ve faces toth
e ou
tside
of the fuse. Leave excess material
extending beyond F-1 and at the tail for trim
ming
to size later.
IMP
OR
TAN
T: Befo
re starting
assemb
ly, drill
a 3/16” pu
shro
d h
ole th
rou
gh
each o
f the
pu
nc
h-m
ark
s o
n fo
rme
rs F
-2 - F
-8. A
llfo
rme
rs mu
st be
insta
lled
with
the
stam
pe
did
en
tificatio
n nu
mb
er fa
cing
forw
ard
. Th
is isnecessary to align the pushrod holes.
Bu
ild th
e fuselag
e bo
ttom
framew
ork
BU
ILD
TH
E F
US
EL
AG
E
❏❏
5. Plug the flaps w
ith the hinges into thew
ing. Check the fit and run the flaps through
the
ir com
ple
te ra
ng
e o
f mo
tion
. Ma
ke a
ny
req
uire
d a
dju
stme
nts u
ntil th
e fla
ps sw
ing
freely. Rem
ember, the flaps m
ust close
flush
against the wing T
E.
❏❏
4. W
he
n a
go
od
fit is ob
tain
ed
, insta
lllarge R
obart Pivo
t Po
int H
ing
es. NO
TE
: The
hinges are no
t glu
ed in until after
the finishh
as
be
en
ap
plie
d. D
ete
rmin
e th
e h
ing
elocations from
the plans (if you forgot to mark
the
m in
the
aft in
ne
r spa
r), the
n d
rill 3/1
6”
ho
les a
t the
hin
ge
loca
tion
s usin
g th
e d
rillguides to obtain the correct angle for the hinge
❏❏
2. Assem
ble the two F
lap D
rill Gu
ides
(A&
B) by gluing the six die-cut 1/8” ply pieces
as shown.
❏❏
3. Test fit the flaps. Check that all edges
are flush.
28
❏4. P
osition (without glue)
F-1
through F-9
overth
e p
lan
s an
d M
ain
Strin
ge
r. Are
you
r 3/1
6”
pushrod holes drilled?
IMP
OR
TAN
T N
OT
E: C
ut th
e “Fo
rmer A
ng
le”Tem
plate fro
m th
e plan
s and
glu
e it to stiff
cardsto
ck or scrap
wo
od
. Trim an
d san
d it
to s
ize. H
old
it on
the
AF
T s
ide
of a
llfo
rme
rs to
po
sitio
n th
em
at th
e c
orre
ct
an
gle
wh
ile g
luin
g. A
ny
sm
all w
arp
s o
rtw
ists
will b
e ta
ke
n o
ut w
he
n th
e 3
/16
”strin
gers are g
lued
in later.
❏5
. Usin
g th
e F
orm
er A
ng
le te
mp
late, sta
rtgluing the
form
ers to the Main S
tringers startingw
ith F-3, w
orkin
g to
ward
s the rear. D
on
’t glu
eF
-1 or F
-2 yet.
❏6. Insert (w
itho
ut g
luin
g) tw
o 3/16” x 3/16” x48” strin
gers
into the lowest notches on both
sides, that run from F
-1 to F-9 as show
n in thephotograph. S
tarting at F-9, ch
eck the fo
rmer
an
gle
on
ce
ag
ain
with
the
Fo
rme
r An
gle
temp
late. Make sure that you straighten out any
twists, then glue the stringers to F
-9 with thin
CA
. Continue forw
ard, checkin
g an
d alig
nin
geach form
er before reaching for the CA
. F-3 is
the
las
t form
er y
ou
ne
ed
to g
lue
to th
estrin
gers at th
is time.
❏7. Insert and glue the 1/8” die-cut form
er LF
into the slot in the fuse Keel. M
ake sure that it issq
ua
re a
nd
flush
with
the
top
an
d b
otto
m o
f the K
eel.
❏8
. Inse
rt the
Ke
el a
ssem
bly into
the
up
pe
rcenter notches of F
-2 and F-3. T
he notches onth
e tip
s of L
F sh
ou
ld b
e re
sting
on
the
3/1
6”
stringers. Adjust F
-2 so that the bottom ends are
over the dashed reference lines on the plan andthe forw
ard edge of the Keel is flush w
ith the aftsid
e o
f F-2
. Glu
e F
-2, th
e K
ee
l an
d L
F a
t all
points of contact.
❏9. G
lue the two halves of the die-cut 1/8” ply
Servo
Traytogether. C
ut four 1/8” x 1/4” x 2-1/4”doubler strips from
scrap ply left over from die-
cut sheets. Glue these doublers on both ends of
the servo holes for reinforcement.
❏1
0. C
are
fully lift F
-1 o
ut o
f the
fram
e. Youdidn’t glue it in, did you?
Insert the forward end
of the Servo Tray into the F
irewall opening in F
-1. T
he servo reinforcement strips should face
away
from the building board.
❏11. F
it F-1 and the S
ervo Tray back into thefuse fram
e. Work the aft end of the S
ervo Trayinto the notch in F
-2. Align F
-1 over the plan.
29
Wh
en
everyth
ing
is locke
d in
pla
ce, glu
e th
eassem
bly together. The 3/16” side stringers m
ayn
ow
be
trimm
ed
flush
with
the
forw
ard
ed
ge
of F
-1.
❏12. Lightly sand the outside of the tw
o 36”outer pushrod tubes then insert them
throughthe holes in F
-2 through F-8. Trim
the tubes sothat 1/4” protrudes past F
-2 and F-8. A
pply adrop of m
edium C
A to the pushrod tubes at each
former excep
t F-2.
❏1
3. U
se 3
0-M
inu
te E
poxy to
glu
e th
e 1
/4”
birch ply Lan
din
g G
ear Plate
between form
erLF
and F-3. B
e sure that the notches fit well and
that the Landing Gear P
late is firmly against the
Ke
el. W
hile
the
ep
oxy cure
s the
re a
re a
fewother parts w
e can work on.
❏1
4. C
ut tw
o 3
/16
" string
ers fro
m th
e 2
4"
lengths provided, to fit from
F-2 to
F-4 in
the
first set of n
otch
es above th
e Main
Strin
ger.
Glue them
in place, then sand the ends flushw
ith the formers.
❏1
5. G
lue
the
1/8
” die
-cut p
ly No
se
Ge
ar
Do
ub
lerto the aft side of F
-1. Be sure to align
the stringer notches.
❏16. C
enter the nylon No
se Gear B
earing
onth
e ta
pe
red
1-1
/4” x 1
-5/8
” ba
sswo
od
No
se
Gear B
lock
. Ma
rk the
mo
un
ting
ho
les in
the
Nose G
ear Block, then drill the holes w
ith a 1/8”bit. D
rill the four ind
ex marks
on the forward
side of F-1 w
ith a 5/32” bit.
❏17. Install the N
ose Gear B
earing/Block on
F-1 w
ith four 4-40 x 1” Pan H
ead Bolts and four
4-40 Blind N
uts. The w
ide end of the Nose G
earB
lock p
oin
ts away fro
m th
e bu
ildin
g b
oard
.D
rill out theN
ose Gear W
ire Hole w
ith a 13/64”drill bit. R
emove the N
ose Gear B
earing/Block
then use thick CA
to mount the bassw
ood blockp
erm
an
en
tly to F
-1. B
e su
re th
at a
ll of th
em
ounting holes stay in alignment.
❏18. A
fter the epoxy on the 1/4” Landing Gear
Plate has fully cured (an hour or m
ore) clamp
both of the bent aluminum
Main
Lan
din
g G
earstruts in position. T
he struts should touch theK
eel and F-3. U
se a 9/64”drill bit to drill through
the
mo
un
ting
ho
les
in th
e s
truts
an
d a
lso
thro
ug
h th
e L
an
din
g G
ea
r Pla
te. En
larg
e th
eholes in o
nly
the plyw
oo
dLanding G
ear Plate
with
an
11
/64
” (or 3
/16
”) drill b
it to p
rovid
eclearance for the 8-32 m
ounting bolts.
❏19. U
se an8-32 Tap
to cu
t thread
sin the
aluminum
Main Landing G
ear mounting holes as
we
ll as th
e a
xle m
ou
ntin
g h
ole
s. Tem
po
rarily
install the Landing Gear in the fuse w
ith six 8-32x 1/2”
socket head cap screws.
❏20. IM
PO
RTA
NT: B
efore yo
u d
o th
is step,
ma
ke
ce
rtain
tha
t the
Ma
in S
tring
ers
are
pin
ned
or w
eigh
ted F
LA
T o
nto
the b
uild
ing
surface.
Cut and install all the rem
aining 3/16”square stringers for the fuse bottom
. Check each
former for tw
ists and the correct angle beforeyou use glue. U
se the Form
er Angle Tem
plateas you proceed. T
he inside ends of the centerstringer should be sanded for a flush fit, thenbutt glued to the ends of the K
eel.
❏21. G
lue two of the four 1/8” x 3/16” x 24”
Main
Su
b-S
tring
ersinto the groove in one of
MA
INS
UB
-ST
RIN
GE
RS
TR
ING
ER
MA
IN
30
the Main S
tringer. Use T
hin CA
, wiping up any
excess before it dries. Repeat for the other side.
These S
ub-Stringers w
ill provide a ledge for theside sheeting.
❏2
2. L
igh
tly san
d a
ll join
ts an
d b
len
d th
estrin
ge
rs with
the
form
ers in
pre
pa
ratio
n fo
rsh
ee
ting
. Th
e b
otto
m fu
se fra
mew
ork is n
owready for sheeting.
❏1
. Re
move
the
Ma
in L
an
din
g G
ea
r struts,
the
n p
in th
e fu
se fra
mew
ork b
ack o
n th
e fla
tb
uild
ing
surfa
ce. P
ush
T-pin
s in a
t an
an
gle
thro
ug
h th
e M
ain
Su
b-S
tring
er in
a w
ay tha
tw
on’t interfere with the sheeting.
❏❏
2. Pin one of the 3/32” x 4” x 48” balsa
Fu
se Sid
e Sh
eets to the Main S
tringer. Curve
the sheet into contact with the fram
e, then usepins, m
asking tape and clothes pins to hold itagainst the the stringers.
❏❏
3. M
ark th
e to
p e
dg
eo
f the
first fu
ll-len
gth
3/16” Strin
ger onto the F
use Side sheet,
working from
the insid
eof the fuse.
❏❏
4. Rem
ove the Fu
se Sid
esheet. C
arefullycut aw
ay the excess material. C
heck the fit andm
ake adjustments as needed w
ith a hobby knifeand sanding block to the top and bottom
edges.W
he
n th
e sh
ee
t is flush
with
the to
p o
f the
string
er, carefully trim aw
ay another 3/32” fromthe b
otto
medge. T
he Fuse S
ide sheet shouldnow
bisect the stringer, allowing for a glue surface
for the next sheet. Test fit the Fuse S
ide sheet onthe other side of the fuse, then cut a second F
useS
ide using the first one as a pattern.
❏❏
5. W
ipe
a d
am
p p
ap
er to
we
l ove
r the
ou
tside
surfa
ce o
f the
Fu
se S
ide
to a
id w
ithcurving the balsa.
❏❏
6. R
ea
lign
a F
use
Sid
e sh
ee
t with
the
framew
ork, then wick som
e thin CA
into the jointbetw
een the Main S
tringer and the Fuse S
idestartin
g m
idw
ay betw
een th
e fron
t and
back
of th
e Fu
se. C
are
fully w
ork o
utw
ard
in b
oth
directions along the Main S
tringer, holding theF
use Side in tight contact w
ith the Main S
tringeras you proceed.
❏❏
7. Clip and pin (or tape) the to
p ed
ge
ofthe F
use Side to the first stringer. W
ick thin CA
into the joint, but wipe off any excess before it
cure
s. Avo
id u
sing
CA
acce
lera
tor a
s it will
crea
te lu
mp
s alo
ng
the
sea
m th
at w
ill cau
seproblem
s when you try to add the next piece of
she
etin
g. R
ep
ea
t Ste
ps 4
, 5 a
nd
6 fo
r the
other side.
❏❏
8. R
ub
a p
iece
of
cha
lk a
lon
g th
e to
poutside edge of a F
use Side sheet.
❏❏
9. Cut tw
o 3/32” x 3” x 36” balsa sheetsdow
n to 26”. Save the cut off pieces for later use.
❏❏
10. Wet the outside of one of these sheets,
then flex it with
the g
rain for a m
inute or two to
soften it up and start a curve. Align the sheet
along the centerline of the 3rd stringer and thece
nte
rline
of F
-3, th
en
tem
po
rarily h
old
it inplace w
ith clothespins. Mark the low
er edge tom
atch the top edge of the Fuse S
ide by pressingit against the chalk. R
emove the sheet, turn it
over and cut along the chalk line for a perfect fit!
Sh
eet the fu
selage b
otto
m fram
e
31
❏❏
11. Apply m
edium C
A to all fram
e partsth
at th
e sh
ee
t will co
nta
ct ex
ce
pt
the
top
string
er.R
oll th
e sh
ee
t into
po
sition
, startin
galong the low
er edge. Hold it in position by hand
and with clothespins until the C
A cures. W
ickth
in C
A a
lon
g th
e to
p se
am
, wip
ing
off th
eexcess before it cures. R
epeat Steps 7-11 for
the other side of the fuse.
❏❏
12. Cut tw
o 13-1/4”
lengths from a 3/32” x
3” x 36”balsa sheet. H
old one of the 13-1/4”sheets in position on the top edge of the F
useS
ide from F
-3 to F-1. D
raw a line on the sheet
that bisects F-2, top to bottom
. Rem
ember, F
-2angles forw
ard. Cut the sheet on the line.
❏❏
13. Use the sam
e sheeting technique asS
teps 7-11 to sheet from F
-3 forward to F
-2. Ifthe sheeting is not w
ide enough, glue a strip ofleftover 3/32" balsa to one edge. U
se the secondhalf of the 13-1/4” balsa sheet to sheet from
F-2
to F-1. If the sheeting is not w
ide enough, glue astrip of leftover 3/32” balsa to one edge.
❏14. R
epeat Steps 12 and 13 for the other side
of the fuse.
❏❏
15. Mark the location of the M
ain LandingG
ear by pushing a long T-pin through the sheetingbetw
een LF and F
-3 with the pin flat on the upper
surface of the Landing Gear P
late. Use the pin as
a reference point to cut a 1/4” x 1-1/2” slot for theM
ain Landing Gear. T
he slot must be even w
iththe Landing G
ear Plate and F
-3. Don’t w
orry if theslot is slightly oversized as it w
ill be covered with
an AB
S fairing during final assem
bly.
❏❏
16
. Cle
an
up
the
insid
e e
dg
es o
f the
sheeting along the third stringer with a T-bar and
150-grit sandpaper. Clip a 3/32” x 2” x 30” balsa
sheet along the centerline of the center stringer,from
LF to F
-9. Use the chalk technique to m
arkthe outline, then
trim the sheet to size. G
lue thesheet in position.
❏❏
17
. Fit, cu
t an
d g
lue
the
oth
er 2
”-wid
ebottom
sheet in the same m
anner.
❏❏
18. Cut the 3/32” x 2-3/4” x 24” forw
ardbottom
sheet into two 12” lengths. U
se the same
cha
lk tech
niq
ue
to fit, cu
t an
d g
lue
the
two
forward bottom
sheets between LF
and F-1.
❏❏19. W
hen the all of the balsa sheeting is dry,lightly sand the joints w
ith 220-grit sandpaper.S
and the sheeting flush with F
-1 and F-9.
32
Rem
ove the hull (I meant to say fuselage) from
the building board, and install the landing gearw
ith six 8-32 x 1/2” socket head cap screws. T
helanding gear struts provide a built-in stand tohelp avoid hangar rash on the underside. Lookspretty sleek, huh?
SP
EC
IAL
BU
ILD
ER
’S N
OT
E: A
s this model has
been designed with the scale builder in m
ind,th
e se
rvos, re
ceive
r, ba
ttery a
nd
tan
k are
all
hidden under the instrument panel so they are
less co
nsp
icuo
us a
nd
leave
the
cab
in in
terio
ro
pe
n fo
r un
limite
d d
eta
iling
. Be
cau
se o
f this
loca
tion
you
will fin
d it m
uch
ea
sier to
insta
llthese com
ponents before the top of the fuse isassem
bled. We are not saying that they can’t be
installed (or removed) later, it’s just m
uch easierto do it now
.
❏B
efore assembling the fuse top, fuel proof and
paint the interior from F
-1 to F-2 including the
servo tray. We used K
& B
Black S
uper Poxy paint
with satin catalyst to do both jobs at one tim
e.
❏1. Locate the tw
o .074” x 36” Pu
shro
d W
ires.C
ut six o
r seven
1/4
” lon
g bu
shin
gs o
f inn
er
pushrod tube, then slide these along the wire
from the unthreaded end. S
pace them out evenly
but make sure that the bushings on the ends are
at le
ast 4
” from
the
en
d o
f the
wire
. If the
bushings slide too easily, use a small drop of thin
CA
to h
old
the
m in
po
sition
. Slid
e a
silicon
eR
etainer
onto the rear of a nylonC
levis, thenscrew
the
Clevis o
nto
the
Pu
shro
d a
bo
ut 1
4tu
rns. M
ake
a se
con
d P
ush
rod
in th
e sa
me
manner.
❏2. M
ake sure that the CA
on the bushings hasth
oro
ug
hly cu
red(you don’t w
ant the Pushrods
glued to the inside of the tubes ) then insert theP
ush
rod
wire
s ove
r the
top
of F
-1 in
to th
efo
rward
en
d o
f the
Pu
shro
d Tu
be
s an
d slid
ethem
all the way through.
❏3. C
ut the Ru
dd
er Servo
Ho
rn p
atternfrom
the plans and glue it to a large servo wheel w
ithrubber cem
ent. Cut out the custom
horn shapew
ith a razor saw and grinding w
heel. Drill the
clevis holes with a 1/16” bit.
❏4
. Insta
ll thre
e se
rvos a
s show
n w
ith th
eir
sp
line
d s
ha
fts to
wa
rd F
-1. D
ep
en
din
g o
nengine choice (2-stroke or 4-stroke), the throttleservo location can be on either the left or theright side of the servo tray. T
he receiver switch
can
also
be
insta
lled
in th
e se
rvo tray a
t this
time, o
r you
cou
ld m
ou
nt it th
rou
gh
the
fuse
sheeting during final assembly.
❏1. D
rill four 15/64” diameter holes through the
laminated F
irewall for the engine m
ounting bolts atthe m
arked locations. Insert four 8-32 blind nutsinto the holes from
the aft side (that’s the side with
the lightening hole) and seat them w
ith gentle tapsfrom
a hamm
er. Wick a little thin C
A around the
edge of each nut to secure it in position.
Fram
e fuselag
e top
Install p
ush
rod
s and
servos
Fu
elpro
of an
d p
aint th
e interio
r
33
NO
TE: Test fit the entire follow
ing assembly
(Steps 2-5) before using any glue.
❏2. M
ix 1/4 oz. of 30-Minute E
poxy. Use epoxy
to glue the two die-cut 1/8” ply F
irewall S
ide
Su
pp
orts
to F-1 and the S
ervo Tray.
❏3. U
se epoxy to glue the Firew
allbetween the
two S
ide Supports and then glue the die-cut 1/8”
ply Tank R
oo
f in position.
❏4. U
se medium
CA
to glue the die-cut 1/8” plyIn
strum
ent P
anel
(IP)
to th
e to
p o
f the
Ma
inS
tringer3-5/8”
behind the forward edge of F
-1and also to the aft edge of the Tank R
oof. Lineup the Tank R
oof between the punched index
marks on IP.
❏5. U
se epoxy to glue F-1B
to the top edge ofF
-1 and the Tank Roof. A
couple of scrap sticksspot glued to the forw
ard face of F-1 w
ill helpalign F
-1B.
NO
TE
: Befo
re the ep
oxy cures, u
se clamp
sa
nd
ma
sk
ing
tap
e to
ho
ld a
ll pa
rts in
alignment and in tight contact w
ith each other.
❏6. G
lue F-5B
, F-6B
, F-7B
and F-8B
on top offo
rme
rs F-5
thro
ug
h F
-8. H
old
a stra
igh
ted
ge
across both former halves to align them
.
❏7. Lightly taper the top forw
ard edge of thetw
o die-cut 1/8” ply Stab
Sad
dles
to allow for
the curvature of the sheeting, then glue them to
the
top
of th
e M
ain
Strin
ge
r be
twe
en
F-8
B
and F-9.
❏8. D
raw an “X
” from corner to corner on tw
o5/16” x 3/4” x 7/8” bassw
ood Stru
t Blo
cksto
loca
te th
e ce
nte
r po
int. D
rill a 1
/16
” dia
. ho
leth
rou
gh
the
the
Stru
t Blo
ck wh
ere
the
line
scro
ss. Po
sition
the
Stru
t Blo
cks on
seco
nd
stringer (See the strut section on the w
ing plan)from
the bottom at F
-2. You will need to sand a
slight radius on the Strut B
locks so that they will
fit flush against the sheeting. Sand a taper along
the forward edge so that they w
ill fit flush againstF
-2. It is important to keep both S
trut Blocks the
same size. G
lue them in place w
hen satisfiedw
ith the fit.
❏9. G
lue the die-cut 1/8” plyF
-2B/F
-2Dand F
-3
Bfo
rme
rs to th
e M
ain
Strin
ge
r ab
ove
F-2
and F
-3.
❏10. G
lue the die-cut 1/8” ply former doublers F
-2C
andF
-3C to the forw
ard faces of F-2B
and F-
3B. T
he notches interlock with the M
ain Stringer.
34
❏1
1. C
he
ck alig
nm
en
t, the
n g
lue
the
die
-cut
1/8” plyW
ing
Sad
dle B
racesinto the notches
on F-2B
and F-3B
.
❏1
2. F
it the
die
-cut 1
/8” p
ly rea
rW
ind
ow
Fram
esinto the notches in F
-5B and the W
ingS
addle Braces. T
he upper ends should protrudeabove the W
ing Saddle B
race about 3/32”. Glue
the
Re
ar W
ind
ow
Fra
me
s into
po
sition
the
nlig
htly sa
nd
the
pro
trud
ing
tips, le
aving
ab
ou
t1/16” above the W
ing Saddle B
race.
❏1
3. G
lue
the
top
an
d b
otto
m d
ie-cu
t 3/3
2”
balsa Cab
in S
ides
together.
❏14. A
lign both Cabin S
ides fore and aft on theM
ain
Strin
ge
r be
twe
en
IP a
nd
F-5
B. F
it the
notch at the upper front corner of the Cabin S
idew
ing rootsto the tabs at the top of F
-2B. G
luethe C
abin Sides to the M
ain Stringers, F
-2B and
F-3B
, but n
ot to
the W
ing
Sad
dle B
race.
❏1
5. P
ress d
own
on
the
mid
dle
of th
e W
ing
Saddle B
race until it is about 1/16” below the top
edge of the Cabin S
ide, then wick thin C
A along
the seam to hold it in position. W
hen cured, adda fillet of m
edium C
A to the joint to secure it in
place. This depression w
ill allow for the addition
of
Fo
am
W
ing
S
ad
dle
Ta
pe
a
nd
m
ino
radjustm
ent to the wing’s alignm
ent if needed.
❏16. R
epeat Step 15 for the other side of the
fuse. Sand the edge of the C
abin Sides flush
with the R
ear Window
Frames.
❏17. U
se 30-Minute E
poxy to glue the 3/8” x7/8” x 1” hardw
oodW
ing
Bo
lt Blo
cksinto the
pockets of the Wing S
addle Braces and to F
-3B.
Make sure that you obtain a solid bond betw
eenall parts. Turn the fuse upside dow
n and add
afillet o
f epo
xy around the edges of the Wing
Bolt B
locks un
der
the Wing S
addle Braces.
❏1
. Insta
ll a3
/16
” Wh
ee
l Co
llar a
nd
Se
tS
crewo
n th
e N
ose
Ge
ar W
ire, b
etw
ee
n th
eupper and low
er parts of the Nose G
ear Bearing.
Th
e to
p e
nd
of th
e N
os
e G
ea
r Wire
mu
st
pro
trud
e 3
/16
” ab
ove th
e to
p o
f the
Be
arin
g.
Install the No
se Gear S
teering
Arm
on the topend of the N
ose Gear W
ire as shown. U
se a 6-32 x 1/4” S
ocket H
ead C
ap S
crewto secure the
Nose G
ear Steering A
rm in position, angled 1-
1/8
” forw
ard
of F
-1 w
he
n th
e w
he
el’s a
xle is
parallel to F-1. S
ee plan bottom view
for angle.
❏2. C
ut 1/2” from the th
readed
end
of the 4-40x 12”
No
se Wh
eel Steerin
g P
ush
rod
wire. F
ileoff any burrs from
the cut end. Screw
a 4-40 Hex
Nu
tand M
etal Clevis onto the P
ushrod. Use the
pa
ttern
on
the
pla
ns to
be
nd
the
Pu
shro
d a
sindicated, but don’t cut off the excess yet.
❏3. D
rill a 3/32” hole through the outer hole ofthe N
ose Gear S
teering Arm
. Insert the heavy-
du
ty Screw
Lo
ck Pu
shro
d C
on
necto
rup from
the
bo
ttom
of th
e N
ose
Wh
ee
l Ste
erin
g A
rm,
the
n se
cure
it with
a S
tar W
ash
er. In
sert th
eu
nth
rea
de
d e
nd
of th
e P
ush
rod
thro
ug
h th
eC
onnector toward F
-1. View
the fuse from above
to align the Pushrod w
ith the rudder servo, thenm
ark F-1 using the P
ushrod as a punch.
❏4. D
rill a 3/16 hole through F-1 on the m
arkyou just m
ade.
❏5
. Ho
ok u
p yo
ur ra
dio
an
d ch
eck that th
eru
dd
er servo is cen
tered. C
ut the Pushrod to
Install n
ose g
ear steering
35
its correct length, then insert it from the servo
location through F-1 into the C
onnector on theN
ose Wheel S
teering Arm
. Clip the M
etal Clevis
onto the servo horn. Align the servo horn and
No
se W
he
el S
tee
ring
Arm
as sh
ow
n o
n th
ep
lan
s. Se
cu
re th
e P
us
hro
d in
the
Qu
ickC
on
ne
ctor w
ith a
4-4
0 x 1
/4” S
ocke
t He
ad
C
ap Screw
.
❏6
. Wh
en
the
No
se W
he
el S
tee
ring
Arm
isadjusted, rem
ove the Nose G
ear Wire. F
ile a flatsp
ot w
he
re th
e ste
erin
g a
rm lo
cking
screw
con
tacts th
e w
ire so
the
stee
ring
arm
can
be
locked in position.
Depending on your choice of engine, 2-stroke or
4-stroke, you may have to be a little inventive for
throttle, tank and muffler hookup. T
he installationo
f a 2
-stroke
.60
to .9
0 size
en
gin
e is p
retty
stra
igh
tforw
ard
. Us
e th
e s
ervo
loc
atio
ns
pro
vide
d o
n th
e S
ervo
Tray, mo
un
t the
tan
ksidew
ays as shown, and use a Top F
lite In-Cow
lM
uffle
r (TO
PQ
79
16
). So
me
4-stro
ke e
ng
ine
sa
llow
the
thro
ttle lin
kag
e to
be
rota
ted
18
0d
eg
ree
s, the
reb
y pe
rmittin
g th
e sa
me
servo
setu
p a
s a 2
-stroke
en
gin
e. T
he
O. S
. .91
Surpass is one such engine.
This m
odel flies very well on an O
. S. .61 S
F
2-stroke engine. As the .61S
F also allow
s for them
ost “sterile” setup with everything contained in
the cowl, w
e will detail its installation. W
e havealso included instructions for those w
ho prefer touse one of the larger 4-stroke engines.
❏1. R
emove the spacer bar from
the back ofboth E
ngine Mount halves and trim
off any burrs.S
na
p th
e E
ng
ine
Mo
un
t ha
lves to
ge
the
r an
dplace the engine of your choice betw
een the rails,adjusting the w
idth between the rails accordingly.
❏2. P
osition the engine so that the propellerbackplate is exactly 6-1/4” (159 m
m) from
the aftedge of the E
ngine Mount. M
ark, drill and tapthe engine m
ounting holes to accept the 8-32socket head cap screw
s included with this kit.
❏3. Install the E
ngine Mount on the F
irewall as
shown w
ith four 8-32 x 1-1/4” Socket H
ead Cap
Screw
s, #8 Flat W
ashers and #8 Lock Washers.
Use the index m
arks on the Firew
all to centerthe E
ngine Mount.
NO
TE
: We stro
ng
ly recom
men
d th
at AL
Len
gin
es be m
ou
nted
ho
rizon
tally to p
rovide
eno
ug
h co
olin
g airflo
w o
ver the cylin
der
via the n
orm
al cow
l air inlets.
❏4. B
olt the engine to the mount.
If usin
g th
e op
tion
al Top
Flite In
-Cow
l Mu
ffleran
d H
eader, p
erform
the fo
llowin
g step
:
❏5. B
olt the Top Flite H
eader (not included) tothe engine. U
se the Silicone S
leeve to attach theTop F
lite In-Cow
l Muffler (not included) to the
Header. M
ake a spacer block for the muffler from
scrap. NO
TE
: Do n
ot
use balsa. Use epoxy to
glu
e th
e sp
ace
r blo
ck to F
-1 in
line
with
the
mu
ffler m
ou
ntin
g lu
gs. S
ho
rten
the
mu
ffler o
rheader connection tubes if required, so that them
uffler can be screwed to the spacer using the
supplied screws and silicone w
ashers.
❏6. D
rill a 3/16” hole through the Firew
all in linew
ith the servo and throttle arm on the engine.
Keep
the h
ole clo
se to th
e level of th
e servotray so
tha
t the
pu
shro
d w
ill be
able
to p
ass
under the Fuel Tank.
Install en
gin
e and
tank
36
NO
TE: D
ue to the variety of hook-up methods
preferred
by differen
t mo
delers, w
e do
no
tprovide any throttle linkag
e hardware in m
ostof our kits. H
owever, w
e do offer the following
method as one that w
orks well. You probably
have the materials buried som
ewhere under
your workbench.
❏7. Insert a short length of outer pushrod tube
through the throttle hole in the Firew
all. Attach a
Ball Link to the throttle arm
on the engine. Screw
a Ball Link S
ocket onto a 2-56 x 12” threadedw
ire p
ush
rod
. Inse
rt the
pu
shro
d th
rou
gh
the
outer pushrod tube, then attach the Ball Link and
Socket. B
end a “dog leg” in the pushrod near these
rvo so
tha
t the
wire
will b
e ju
st ab
ove
the
servo horn. Attach the pushrod w
ire to the servow
ith a
sma
ll pu
shro
d C
on
ne
ctor. C
on
ne
ct the
servo
to yo
ur ra
dio
an
d a
dju
st the
pu
shro
dlength and position on the servo horn to obtainfull throttle m
ovement.
❏8
. Asse
mble
a 1
2 o
z. Gre
at P
lan
es
Fu
el
Tank
(GP
MQ
4105) with the rig
ht an
gled
fuelp
ickup
tub
e. Th
e Ta
nk is in
stalle
d “sidew
ays”under the Instrum
ent Panel w
ith the back endpointing tow
ard the right side of the fuse. Work a
small piece of 1/4” foam
rubber above and belowth
e Ta
nk, th
en
slide
a co
up
le o
f scrap
ba
lsasticks under the tank to secure it in position andprovide throttle pushrod clearance. W
e flew all of
ou
r test flig
hts w
ith th
e ta
nk m
ou
nte
d in
this
position and experienced no problems.
❏9. M
ark and drill 1/4” fuel tube holes throughthe firew
all, being careful not to damage the tank.
Install both the fuel supply and pressure tubes.For ease of fueling w
e suggest a Great P
lanes
Fu
el F
iller V
alv
e(G
PM
Q4
16
0) th
at ca
n b
em
ounted on the cowling during final assem
bly.
❏1
. Ch
eck th
e fit o
f the
Sta
b w
ith th
e S
tab
Sa
dd
le. M
ake
an
y ad
justm
en
ts to th
e S
tab
Saddle very carefully, so that you d
on
’t chan
ge
the bu
ilt-in in
ciden
ce ang
le.
❏2. P
ut the stab on the saddle and add a small
we
igh
t to
h
old
it
in
pla
ce
. P
lac
e
a
36
”straightedge across the W
ing Saddle and clip it
to F-2B
. Sight across the top of the S
tab to thestra
igh
ted
ge
from
six to te
n fe
et b
eh
ind
the
mo
de
l. If bo
th S
tab
tips a
re n
ot e
qu
idista
nt
below the straightedge, m
akesm
alladjustments
to the Stab S
addle to correct the problem. U
se as
tring
, pin
ne
d to
the
top
ce
nte
r of F
-2, to
equalize the distance of the Stab tips.
A=
A
AA
Attach
the stab
and
finU
se scrap 3/16” or 1/4” plywood to m
ake two
servo
mo
un
ting
blo
cks ap
pro
xima
tely 3
/4”
squ
are. U
se e
poxy to
glu
e th
ese
blocks a
sshow
n above the Fuel Tank R
oof so that theservo horn aligns w
ith the throttle arm on the
engine. Use the sam
e pushrod technique asdescribed in S
tep 8 for a direct hookup. The
down-side to this m
ethod is that the servo will
not be accessible after sheeting without cutting
into the top of the fuse...but, because servosa
re g
en
era
lly qu
ite re
liable, th
is may n
ever
be necessary.
SE
RV
O O
PT
ION
FO
R 1.20 E
NG
INE
To sim
plify th
e th
rottle
ho
oku
p fo
r a 1
.20
4-
stroke engine you may w
ant to consider thefollow
ing suggestion.
37
❏3. W
hen the Stab is aligned w
ith the Fuse,
draw light reference m
arks on the Stab to help
you accurately reposition it after the glue hasbeen applied.
❏4. A
pply 30-Minute E
poxy to the Stab
Sadd
le,then lay the S
tab in place. Apply a w
eight to holdthe S
tab in position until the epoxy cures. Double-
check alignment before the epoxy kicks off.
❏5. H
old the Fin on top of the S
tab with the LE
in the notch at the top of F-8B
. Refer to the plans
and you will see that the F
in TE
is 1/8” forward
of the Stab T
E notch (see photo at step 7). M
arkth
e b
otto
m e
dg
e to
sho
w w
he
re fin
she
etin
gneeds to be trim
med to allow
a flush
fitw
ith theS
tab.
❏6. P
ut the Fin in position and sight it from
6to10 feet behind the m
odel. If it is not vertical,m
ake adjustments to the bottom
edge a little at atim
e with fine sandpaper. W
hen you are satisfied
with
the
fit, pin
the
Fin
in p
ositio
n. C
are
fully
me
asu
re fro
m th
e F
in tip
to th
e S
tab
tips to
double check your “eyeball” method and to be
sure that your sanding is accurate.
❏7. M
ark the aft center of the Fin’s T
E on the
Stab. T
his is where the R
udder Torque Rod w
illexit the S
tab. Mark the location of the fin prior to
removal for future realignm
ent. Rem
ove the Fin
from the S
tab.
❏8. A
lign the die-cut 1/8” plyF
in D
rill Gu
ide
with the F
in center mark on the S
tab as shown.
Carefully drill a 3/16” h
ole
through the Stab into
the rear of the fuse while keeping the drill bit
aligned with the F
in Drill G
uide.
❏9. Trim
the threaded portion of the 1/8” bentw
ire Ru
dd
er Torq
ue R
od
so that 5/8” of threadrem
ains. Screw
the nylon Rudder H
orn onto theth
rea
de
d e
nd
un
til flus
h w
ith th
e e
nd
of
the threads.
❏10. Insert the R
udder Torque Rod through the
hole in the Stab from
inside the fuse. Try not todam
age the Stab as the Torque R
od exits theh
ole
. If satisfie
d w
ith th
e fit a
nd
alig
nm
en
t,rem
ove the Rudder Torque R
od and roughen upth
e su
rface
of th
e p
lastic b
ea
ring
tub
e w
ith
100-grit sandpaper. Co
at the To
rqu
e Ro
d w
irew
ith p
etroleu
m jelly
at both ends of the plasticbearing tube. C
oat the Plastic B
earing Tube with
6-Minute E
poxy, then reinsert it into the hole inth
e S
tab
. Th
e P
lastic B
ea
ring
Tub
e sh
ou
ldprotrude above the S
tab about 1/16”.
NO
TE
: Befo
re installin
g th
e Fin
, we n
eed to
finish
up
the p
ush
rod
ho
oku
ps so
that th
eF
in w
on
’t be in
the w
ay wh
en yo
u tu
rn th
efu
se up
side d
ow
n.
❏11. C
lean the aft ends of both wire pushrods
with
stee
l wo
ol. C
lea
n th
e e
nd
s with
alco
ho
l.G
rip a pushrod with a pair of pliers, then push a
Co
up
ling
Sleeve onto the w
ire halfway using
an
oth
er p
air o
f plie
rs. Do
the
sam
e w
ith th
eother pushrod.
A=
A
AA
38
❏12. S
crew a nylon C
levis onto a 2-56 x 4”th
readed
Pu
shro
dat least 14 revolutions. S
lidea S
ilicone Retainer over the P
ushrod, onto theaft end of the C
levis. Clip the C
levis onto theR
udder Torque Rod H
orn and center the TorqueR
od
(i.e., n
eu
tral ru
dd
er). W
ith th
e s
ervo
centered, position the 4” pushrod over the Split
Coupling S
leeve, then mark it w
here it will just
miss touching the other pushrod already in the
Sleeve. R
epeat this procedure for the Elevator.
❏13. Trim
and clean(as you did during S
tep 11)the short P
ushrods, then push them into the aft
end of the Coupling S
leeves. Use liquid Flux and
Silver S
old
er to so
lde
r the
Pu
shro
ds in
to th
eC
ou
plin
g S
lee
ves. If yo
u h
ave
n’t d
on
e th
isoperation before, read H
ot Tip for Silver S
oldering.
Now
tha
t mo
st of th
e fid
dly w
ork is fin
ishe
d,
clean up your bench and let’s get back to what
many people consider “the fun stuff”–finishing
the airframe.
❏14. If you are installing a beacon light on the
Fin, drill a hole through the S
tab that matches
the location of the conduit you installed earlier.
❏15. M
ix up some 30-M
inute Epoxy and add a
da
sh o
f micro
ba
lloo
ns to
“thicke
n it u
p” a
nd
create a fillet. Apply the epoxy m
ixture to the LE,
TE
an
d b
otto
m o
f the
Fin
. Alig
n th
e F
in, a
nd
press it into position. Use m
asking tape to hold itin position w
hile the epoxy cures. Once the tape
is in place, check the Fin to m
ake sure that it’son the fuse centerline an
d perpendicular to the
Stab. U
se any leftover epoxy to form a sm
all filletaround the base of the F
in.
❏1. C
ut 3/16” x 3/16” x 24” balsa Stringers to fit
the top aft formers from
F-5B
to the top of theS
tab. Ta
pe
r the
Strin
ge
rs to b
len
d w
ith th
esurface of the S
tab. Leave about 3/16” of eachS
tringer protruding forw
ardof F
-5B to provide a
“ledge” for the rear window
. Use thin C
A to glue
them in place.
Co
mp
lete the fu
selage to
p
B. R
oughen the area to be soldered with fine
sandpaper, then clean again.
C. A
ssemble the item
s to be soldered.
D. A
pply a small am
ount of soldering flux. Acid
based liquid flux works best w
hen one or more
of the items is steel.
E. H
eat the metal w
ith a soldering gun or iron,and apply solder to the m
etal. The m
etal must
ge
t ho
t en
ou
gh
to m
elt th
e so
lde
r an
d th
esolder m
ust flow freely into the joint.
F. Do not m
ove the parts until the solder hascooled.
G. Test the joint by pulling hard.
H. C
lea
n o
ff the
excess flu
x with
alco
ho
l or
solvent. Coat the parts w
ith a very fine film of oil.
HO
T T
IP F
OR
SILV
ER
SO
LD
ER
ING
Use
this p
roce
ss wh
en
sold
erin
g m
eta
l tom
etal, such as brass tube to wire, or pushrod
ends to wire.
A. T
horoughly clean the items to be soldered
with alcohol or degreasing solvent. P
ay speciala
tten
tion
to th
ein
sid
e o
f the
Th
rea
de
d
Brass C
ouplers.
39
❏2. C
ut 3/16” square balsa Stringers to fit from
F-1B
to IP. Glue them
in position with thin C
A.
❏3. U
se the pattern on the wing plan to cut an
Upper S
ide Panel (not to be confused w
ith TopP
anel) from a 3/32” x 2-3/4” x 24” balsa sheet.
The curved portion should be sanded for a snug
fit under the Stab w
hen the bottom of the sheet
is on the Main S
ub-stringer. Trim the length to fit
flush with the C
abin Side and the aft end of the
Stab. T
he top edge should bisect the stringer.D
ampen the outside surface of the sheet, flex it
to sta
rt a cu
rve, th
en
glu
e it in
pla
ce w
ithm
edium C
A. R
epeat this step for the other sideof the fuse. IM
PO
RTA
NT
: Be sure to get a good
glue bond between the sheeting and the bottom
of the Stab.
❏4. O
nce again, use the pattern on the wing
plan to rough cut the Top Panel from
a 3/32” x2-3/4” x 24” balsa sheet. T
his time, carefully
sand the aft areas to fit closely with the S
tab andth
e
Fin
. Trim
th
e
len
gth
e
ven
w
ith
the
overhanging stringers at F-5B
. The Top P
anelshould bisect the top center stringer. R
epeat thisstep for the other side. U
se the chalk techniqueto m
ark the top center cut line.
❏5. U
se the off-cut pieces of 3/32” balsa fromthe low
er fuse sheeting to sheet the area from F
-1B
to 1-1/2” past
the In
strum
ent P
anel. T
heeasiest w
ay to do this small section is to m
ake a“skin” by edge gluing three sheets together, thencutting them
as a unit to fit over the front end ofthe fuse.
❏6. R
efer to the shape of the Instrument P
anelanti-glare shield on the plans, then carefully cutand sand the top forw
ard sheeting to conform to
this shape.
❏7. S
and off the protruding portion of the Main
Sub-S
tringer ledgefrom
along both sides of thefuse w
ith a T-bar or sanding block.
❏8. D
raw a centerline from
the middle of the F
inLE
along the top of the fuse to F-5B
. The tip of
the center stringer may be used for reference.
Use the plans as a guide to spot glue the die-cut
3/32” balsa Do
rsal Fin
Fo
rmer D
-3in position.
It must be centered on the centerline you drew
.
9. Measure and cut a 7/32” x 1/2” x 15” tapered
balsa Top
Ed
ge
stringer (leftover from the w
ingcenter section T
E) to fit from
the Fin’s LE
to thetop of the fuse, as show
n on the plans. Glue it in
position. Slide die-cut 3/32” balsa D
-1 and D-2
under the Top Edge stringer until they fit. G
luethem
in position.
❏10.H
old a 1/16” x 3” x 30” balsa sheet againstthe D
orsal Fin fram
ework and trace the outline,
allowin
g a little extra fo
r sand
ing
. Bevel the aft
edge to fit the curvature of the Fin at the LE
.G
lue the sheet to the Dorsal F
in’s frame and to
the fuse top sheeting being careful no
t to bu
ildin
any twists. R
epeat this step for the other side.
40
❏11. S
and the shaped 1/4” balsa Do
rsal Fillet
to blend with the top of the D
orsal Fin and the
Fin’s LE
. Glue it in place, then sand it to blend
with
the
two
Fin
s. Th
e re
su
lt sh
ou
ld b
e a
smooth, constant radius, w
ithout any “bumps” on
the ends.
❏12. B
lend the Dorsal F
in to the Vertical F
inw
ith several thin
coats
of balsa filler. The object
is to h
ave th
e w
ho
le F
in a
ssem
bly ap
pe
ar a
sone flow
ing piece.
NO
TE
: Do
no
t make a fillet w
here th
e Fin
assemb
ly meets th
e fuse.
❏13. W
hile you have the balsa filler handy, takeca
re o
f an
y din
gs a
nd
op
en
sea
ms b
etw
ee
n
the sheeting.
❏14. Test fit the four segm
ents of the die-cut1/8” balsa
Co
wl R
ing
on F-1.
NO
TE
: Th
ere are top
and
bo
ttom
pairs o
fparts to the C
owl R
ing. Glue the C
owl R
ing toF-1 w
ith thick CA
, so that you will have a few
secon
ds to
make last-m
inu
te adju
stmen
ts.The C
owl R
ing should be inset from the fuse
sheeting by about 1/16” all around.
❏15. U
se 30-Minute E
poxy to glue each of the1
/2” x 1
/2” x 5
/8” M
ap
le C
ow
l Mo
un
t Blo
cksin
to th
e n
otch
es a
rou
nd
the
Co
wl R
ing
. As
Cow
lings are usually subjected to a fair amount
of vibration, be sure to get a good bond between
the Blocks, the C
owl R
ing and F-1.
❏16. G
lue the two 1/32” x 3/8” x 4-5/8” birch ply
strips to the forward sides of F
-2B. T
hey extendfrom
the Main S
tringer to the top of F-2D
andprovide a little extra support for F
-2B.
By now
you should be looking at a Cessna. If
not, you’ve been working on the w
rong kit.
❏1. C
lean out wing dow
el holes with a 1/4” drill
bit, to assure easy wing dow
el fits.
❏2
. Insta
ll the
win
g a
nd
che
ck the
fit. Ma
keadjustm
ents as necessary. Hold a string (w
ith
AAA
=A
Mo
un
t the w
ing
to th
e fuselag
e
41
one end attached to a pin centered at the tail)o
ut to
a w
ing
tip. Pu
t a p
iece
of ta
pe
on
the
string to mark the intersection of the string and
the wing tip. S
wing the string over to the other
wing tip and check to see if the distances are the
same (see diagram
). Adjust the position of the
trailin
g e
dg
e o
f the
win
g u
ntil th
e w
ing
is
properly aligned.
NO
TE
: Make su
re the w
ing
is held
securely
and
cann
ot sh
ift wh
ile you
are drillin
g th
em
ou
ntin
g h
oles.
❏3. L
igh
tly mark the center of the w
ing mount
holes on the Mounting B
locks, with a 1/4” d
rillb
it inserted through the Bolt P
lates in the wing.
Do n
ot drill through the M
ounting Blocks w
iththe 1/4" B
it.
❏4. R
emove th
e win
g and drill the holes w
ith a#10
(or 13/64”) drill bit through the wing m
ountblocks. K
eep the drill as vertical as possible. Tapthe holes w
ith a 1/4-20 tap. A
dd a couple drops ofthin C
A to the holes to harden the threads, then
re-tap the holes after the CA
has fully cured.
❏5. B
olt the wing in position w
ith 1/4-20 x 2”nylon W
ing
Bo
lts. The nylon W
ing Bolts m
ay beshortened to 1-1/2” if desired.
NO
TE
: Hin
gin
g is
us
ua
lly d
on
e a
fter
coverin
g an
d p
aintin
g; h
ow
ever, becau
seth
e con
trol lin
kages w
ill be en
closed
in th
efu
se
, you
sh
ou
ld te
mp
ora
rily in
sta
ll the
hin
ge
s W
ITH
OU
T u
sin
g C
A s
o th
at th
ec
lev
ise
s c
an
be
ad
jus
ted
. Th
e h
ing
elo
cation
s are sho
wn
on
the p
lans.
❏C
ut 15 hinges (3/4” x 1”)from
the 2” x 9” CA
hingestrip. Trim
the corners at a45 degree angle to m
akeinsertion easier.
❏1. U
se a #11 blad
ein a hobby knife to cut
ma
tch
ing
hin
ge
slo
ts in
the
Sta
b a
nd
the
Elevators at the locations show
n on the plans.Te
st fit the
Eleva
tors to
the
Sta
bilize
r with
all
hinges and
the wire joiner in place. M
ake sureboth E
levators are set at the same angle. M
akea
dju
stme
nts to
the
join
er w
ire a
nd
pu
shro
dlength if necessary.
Do
steps 2 an
d 3 A
FT
ER
the m
od
el has b
eencovered
.
❏2. C
hamfer the ends of the joiner w
ire slightlyw
ith a
file. R
ou
gh
en
the
“arm
s” with
coa
rse
san
dp
ap
er. C
lea
n th
e “a
rms” th
oro
ug
hly w
ithru
bbin
g a
lcoh
ol. W
ork a
ge
ne
rou
s am
ou
nt o
f 3
0-M
inute
Ep
oxy into
the
wire
join
er h
ole
s in
the elevators.
❏3. W
ork the elevator hinges into the stab and,as you do this, insert the w
ire joiner all the way
into the elevator holes. Wipe aw
ay any excessepoxy. G
lue the hinges in place using 4-6 dropsofth
inC
A on b
oth
sides o
f each h
ing
e.
❏1. H
old the Rudder against the F
in. Mark the
location of the Torque Rod tiller
on the LE of the
Rudder. D
rill a 9/64” hole into the Rudder LE
that is in line with the Torque R
od tiller. A hand-
turnedP
in Vice is a good tool for this purpose.
❏2. C
ut a 9/64”-wide groove from
the bottom of
the
Ru
dd
er to
the
tiller h
ole
. Re
am
ou
t the
groove with a 9/64” drill bit or round file. Insert
the Torque Rod tiller into the hole, then seat the
Ru
dd
er a
ga
inst th
e F
in T
E. M
ake
wh
ate
ver
adjustments are necessary to align the R
udderin
the
ne
utra
l po
sition
. Do
uble
che
ck tha
t the
servo is centered.
Hin
ge th
e rudd
er and
aileron
s
Hin
ge th
e elevator
1"1"
3/4"
HIN
GE
TH
E C
ON
TR
OL
SU
RFA
CE
S
42
❏3
. Insta
ll thre
e h
ing
es in
the
Ru
dd
er a
nd
F
in assembly.
Do
steps 4 an
d 5 after th
e mo
del is covered
.
❏4. P
ack 30-Minute E
poxy into the tiller hole inthe R
udder, then install the Rudder in the sam
em
anner as the Elevators.
❏5
. Hin
ge
the
Aile
ron
s u
sin
g th
e s
am
ete
chn
iqu
e a
s the
Eleva
tors a
nd
Ru
dd
er, b
ut
without the torque rod insertion steps.
TH
ER
E S
HO
UL
D B
E N
O H
ING
E G
AP
❏1. B
evel the 3/4” x 3” x 6” balsa Lo
wer A
ftF
use B
lock
to fit flush with F
-8. Glue the B
lockto the stringers and to F
-8. Use a razor plane
and sanding block to shape the Block to blend
with the shape of the F
use.
❏2
. Trim th
e le
ft an
d rig
ht A
BS
pla
stic Tail
Co
ne
halves to the cut line, then sand the edgessm
ooth. Glue the tw
o halves together with thin
CA
. Hold the Tail C
one up to the aft end of theF
use and mark the location of the elevator joiner
wire on each side. N
otch out the Tail Cone to
allow the joiner w
ire to fit through it. Use thick
CA
to glue the Tail Cone in position.
❏3
. Ble
nd
the
Tail C
on
e to
the
Fu
se b
yroughening the plastic w
ith coarse sandpaper, thenapplying balsa filler around the joint. W
hen the filleris dry, feather the edges w
ith a sanding block.
❏4. S
and a 1/32” recess around the protrudingtop sheeting at F
-5B so that the B
utyrate Rear
Window
will fit flush w
ith the fuse top. Several
layers of masking tape w
rapped over the topsheeting m
akes a handy guide for sanding evenchannels such as this.
❏5
. Trim th
e B
utyra
te R
ea
r Win
do
w to
the
embossed cut lines. Test fit the R
ear Window
an
d m
ake
ad
jus
tme
nts
as
ne
ed
ed
with
asanding block and 220-grit sandpaper.
❏6
. Ro
ug
he
n th
e in
side
ed
ge
s of th
e R
ea
rW
indow w
here it will contact the fuse, then glue
it in position with R
C-56 glue or 6-M
inute Epoxy.
❏7. U
se balsa filler to feather the Rear W
indowin
to th
e fu
se a
fter th
e g
lue
ha
s cure
d. (S
ee
directions for Step 3.)
❏8. Install the w
ing then fit a 1/4" x 1-5/8" x 1-5/8" balsa shim
on each inboard wing root to
fill the
ga
p b
etw
ee
n th
e W
ing
an
d th
e C
ab
inS
ides. Leave about a 1/16” gap on both sides, toallow
for the thickness of the Front Windshield.
FU
SE
LA
GE
FIN
ISH
ING
TOU
CH
ES
43
❏1. U
se a new
# 11 blad
ein a hobby knife to
score around the cutlines
inside all three partsof the A
BS
cowl as show
n in the photo. Flex the
AB
S along the scores until the excess m
aterialbreaks free. U
se a Moto-Tool and cutting burr to
cut the air intakes and propshaft opening.
❏2. U
se a sanding block to clean up the edgesand to m
ake any adjustments that m
ay be neededfor a nice flush fit. R
oughen the inside edges of thejoints w
ith coarse sandpaper, then fit the threeparts together and secure them
with tape. C
arefullyw
ick thin CA
around the joints and allow the parts
to cure. Do not use C
A accelerator.
❏3
. Fo
r ad
de
d s
tren
gth
, ep
ox
y 1
”-wid
efiberglass cloth tape across all of the seam
s onthe inside of the cow
l.
IMP
OR
TA
NT
: Ho
t air g
en
era
ted
by
the
eng
ine M
US
T b
e vented
from
the co
wl
or
you
r eng
ine w
ill overh
eat and
qu
it! While
we experienced no overheating problem
s with
our eng
ine ru
nn
ing
sligh
tly richand both air
inlets open, you may prefer n
ot to open b
oth
air inlets. By leaving only the inlet in front of
the
cylind
er o
pe
n,m
ore
air is fo
rced
dire
ctlyove
r the
cylind
er a
nd
ou
t thro
ug
h th
e co
wl
flaps. If you choose to open the second inlet, ad
um
my
cy
lind
er h
ea
d o
r ba
ffle c
ou
ld b
ein
stalle
d b
eh
ind
the
op
en
ing
to re
strict the
air-flow
into the cowl.
❏4
. Use
a h
ob
by kn
ife to
cut a
lon
g th
eem
bossed lines on the inside of the cowl for the
cowl flap openings. U
se the patterns on the plansto cut the cow
l flap sides from excess 1/16” ply
leftover from the servo hatch die-cut sheet. C
utout the cow
l flaps from
the AB
S sheet, using the
cut lines for reference. Glue the cow
l flap sides tothe inside edges of the cow
l, then center the flapacross the sides and glue it in place.
❏5. F
ill the seams on the outside of the cow
lw
ithB
ondo®
type automotive body filler.
❏1
. Mo
un
t the
en
gin
e. S
lide
the
Co
wl in
toposition as far as it w
ill fit. Cut a slot in the C
owl
for th
e N
ose
Ge
ar. S
an
d th
e h
ard
wo
od
Cow
lM
ounting Blocks and balsa C
owl R
ing until theC
owl fits flush w
ith the fuse. With the cow
l inposition, install a spinner on the prop shaft andch
eck th
e cle
ara
nce
aro
un
d th
e fro
nt o
f the
Cow
l. Sand the aft edge of the C
owl until the
spinner is centered and is 1/16” away from
thefront of the C
owl.
❏2. D
raw a short line to extend the centerline of
ea
ch C
ow
l Mo
un
ting
Blo
ck on
to th
e fo
rwa
rdedge of the balsa sheeting.
❏3. S
andwich a T-pin betw
een two scraps of
1/4” balsa to make a quickie height gauge. G
luethe top to the bottom
piece of balsa with C
A.
Hold the height gauge and the C
owl flat on the
work bench, then rotate the height gauge around
the perimeter of the cow
l to ligh
tlyscribe a line.
NO
TE
: A p
en o
r pen
cil may b
e sub
stituted
for th
e “Pin
” so lo
ng
as the p
oin
t is 1/4”ab
ove the w
ork su
rface.
Fit th
e cowl to
the fu
selage
and
eng
ine
Assem
ble the cow
l
44
❏4
. Tap
e th
e C
owl o
n th
e fro
nt o
f the
fuse.
Exte
nd
the
cen
terlin
es yo
u d
rew
in ste
p 2
forward to the line on the C
owl. D
rill 1/16” piloth
ole
s into
the
Cow
l Mo
un
ting
Blo
cks at e
ach
intersection. Rem
ove the Cow
l and enlarge theholes in o
nly th
e Co
wlto 3/32”.
❏5. Install the needle valve. If you w
ill be usinga 4-stroke engine, install the choke control w
ireas w
ell.
❏6. U
se thin cardstock or a file folder to make
locatio
n tem
plates
as shown in the photo. In
the
case
of a
2-stro
ke e
ng
ine
you
will n
ee
dtem
plates for the glow plug access, needle valve
and muffler exhaust. Larger 4-stroke engines w
illalso require a tem
plate for the cylinder head andchoke button. Tape these securely to the fusebehind F
-1.
❏7
. Re
mo
ve th
e co
ntro
l exten
sion
s (an
d 4
-stroke engine if that is w
hat you have chosen) butle
ave
the
tem
pla
tes in
pla
ce. S
lide
the
cow
lunder the tem
plates and fasten in position with
#2 x 3/8” sheet metal screw
s. Use a pen to trace
the openings on the cowl. R
emove the cow
l, thenuse a M
oto-Tool and grinding stone (or power
drill and a round file) to cut the openings.
❏8. P
ut the engine back on the mount w
ith acouple of screw
s, then check the fit of the cowl
op
en
ing
s. Ma
ke a
dju
stme
nts a
s ne
cessa
ry, alittle at a tim
e.
❏9. D
rill a 3/8” hole in the cowl betw
een F-1
and the engine’s carb to install an optional fuelfiller valve (G
PM
Q4160).
❏❏1. Trim
the upper and lower
Wh
eel Pan
tsto
the cut lines. Sand the edges sm
ooth with 150-
grit sandpaper.
❏❏2. P
osition a Main Landing G
ear strut in there
cesse
d p
ortio
n o
f the
low
er se
ction
of th
eW
he
el P
an
t, 5/16” abo
ve the b
otto
m ed
ge
.M
ark the axle hole through the Landing Gear.
❏❏
3. Drill a 3/16”
hole through the mark you
just made and also through the in
dex m
arkon
the 1/16” die-cut birch ply Axle S
up
po
rt.
❏❏
4. Glue the 1/8” die-cut balsa W
heel P
ant
Sp
acersto the ply A
xle Support as show
n. Testfit the support assem
bly inside the Wheel P
ant,th
en
san
d th
e b
alsa
Sp
ace
rs to m
atch
the
contours of the Wheel P
ant.
❏❏
5. To align the support assembly, insert the
8-32 x 1-1/2” Axle B
olt
through the hole in theW
he
el P
an
t. Slid
e th
e su
pp
ort a
ssem
bly on
tothe bolt and glue it in position to the inside of theW
heel Pant w
ith medium
CA
.
Assem
ble and install wheel pants
45
❏❏
6. Roughen the m
ating area of both Wheel
Pa
nt h
alve
s with
coa
rse sa
nd
pa
pe
r. Tap
e th
eupper half of the W
heel Pant in position, then
wick thin C
A around the seam
. Rem
ove the tapeand fill the seam
with B
ondo®. S
and the Bondo
when it has hardened.
NO
TE
: Rem
ove the L
and
ing
Gear fro
m th
em
od
el to d
o th
e next several step
s.
❏❏
7. Trim the A
BS
upper and lower
Lan
din
gG
ear Fairing
sto the cut lines. C
ut a slot in bothparts to fit at the top and bottom
of the LandingG
ea
r as sh
own
. Slid
e th
em
on
to th
e L
an
din
gG
ear strut but don’t glue them in position yet.
❏❏
8. Assem
ble the Axle and 3-1/4” w
heel assh
own
in th
e p
ho
to. Th
e H
ex Nu
t sho
uld
no
tinhibit free rotation of the w
heel.
❏❏
9. Insert the Axle through the hole in the
wooden support assem
bly, then screw it into the
Landing Gear strut. (H
int:
Grind a screw
driverslot in the threaded end of the axle bolt.) S
crewanother 8-32 hex nut onto the A
xle bolt from the
other side of the Landing Gear strut, locking the
axle in place. Check that the w
heel still rotatesw
itho
ut b
ind
ing
. Pu
t a d
rop
of th
in C
A o
n th
eouter hex nut to lock it in place.
❏❏
10
. Insta
ll the
Ma
in L
an
din
g G
ea
r, the
nslid
e th
e u
pp
er F
airin
g in
to co
nta
ct with
the
Fuse. S
and the Fairing edges to obtain a good fitw
ith th
e cu
rvatu
re o
f the
Fu
se. P
ut a
sma
llam
ount of 6-Minute E
poxy insid
e the F
airing
wh
ere it tou
ches th
e Lan
din
g G
ear strut, then
slide it back into contact with the F
use. Do
NO
Tg
lue th
e Fairing
directly to
the fu
seas it m
ustbe able to flex w
ith the Landing Gear and also
allow you to rem
ove the Landing Gear strut for
maintenance if needed.
❏❏
11
. Alig
n th
e b
otto
m e
dg
e o
f the
Wh
ee
lP
ants with your w
orkbench, with the m
odel in aleve
l attitu
de. S
crew a
#2
x 3/8
” she
et m
eta
lscrew
through the small hole next to the A
xleinto the W
heel Pant to hold it in alignm
ent.
❏❏
12. Slide the low
er Landing Gear Fairing
down until it touches the W
heel Pant. W
ick thinC
A around the edges to attach it to the P
ant. Fill
in the bottom edge recess w
ith Bondo and sand
it smooth.
❏❏
13
. Th
e A
BS
No
se G
ea
r Wh
ee
l Pa
nt
asse
mble
s in th
e sa
me
ma
nn
er a
s the
Ma
inLanding G
ear Pants, but has no inner support
assembly. C
ut out the opening on the bottom for
the wheel. D
rill a 3/16” hole for the axle wire.
❏❏14. Insert the N
ose Gear W
ire into the axleh
ole. S
lide
a 3
/16
” wh
ee
l colla
r on
to th
e w
irefro
m th
e in
side
follo
we
d b
y a 2
-3/4
” wh
ee
lfo
llow
ed
by an
oth
er w
he
el co
llar. C
en
ter th
ew
heel and tighten the wheel collar set screw
s.A
pply a liberal coating of 6-Minute E
poxy to therecessed gear w
ire to hold it in place.
NO
TE
: Befo
re installin
g th
e No
se Gear W
ireclean
it with
rub
bin
g alco
ho
l and
rou
gh
enth
e section
that w
ill be g
lued
to th
e wh
eelp
ant b
efore in
stalling
it.
15. Fill the joint seam
and the Nose G
ear wire
recess with B
ondo®.
16. OP
TIO
NA
L: We added a short section of a
Robart dum
my oleo strut to our prototype to give
a more scale appearance.
46
NO
TE
: See th
e win
g p
lan fo
r a view o
f the
strut en
ds.
❏❏
1. Poke a T-pin through the hole you drilled
in the Wing S
trut Mounting block out through the
Fuse side. R
emem
ber? You glued them behind
F-2 at the low
er corner of the Fuse.
❏❏2. M
easure and cut two shaped W
ing Struts
to fit b
etw
ee
n th
e p
in p
oin
ts an
d th
e S
trut
attachment blocks buried in the w
ing. Bevel the
two ends to fit closely to the W
ing and the Fuse.
❏❏
3. Trim the A
BS
Wing S
trut Fairings to thecut lines. C
ut an airfoil shape to match the S
trutin
the
en
ds o
f a p
air o
f Fa
iring
s. Slid
e th
eFairings over the S
trut and check the fit between
the
Win
g a
nd
the
Fu
se. U
se a
rou
nd
file o
rM
oto
-Too
l an
d sa
nd
ing
dru
m to
sha
pe
the
outside ends of the Fairings to blend w
ith theF
use and the Wing.
❏❏
4. C
en
ter th
e low
er F
airin
g ove
r the
pin
point and tape it in position around the edges.W
hile
ho
ldin
g th
e S
trut in
ap
proxim
ate
ly the
correct position, tack glue the lower Fairing to it
with a drop or tw
o of CA
.
❏❏
5. Center the upper Fairing and S
trut overthe m
ark you made during “W
ing Construction”,
then tack glue it to the Strut.
❏❏
6. W
hile
ho
ldin
g th
e S
trut in
a vise
(or
propped up so it can’t fall over) fill the Fairingcavity to the brim
with a 30-M
inute Epoxy and
micro
ba
lloo
n m
ixture
. Wh
en
the
ep
oxy h
as
cured, fill the other end in the same m
anner.
❏❏
7. Grind or file the epoxy filler to m
atch theF
use and Wing contours.
❏❏
8. Ta
pe
the
Stru
t asse
mbly in
po
sition
.C
are
fully d
rill a 1
/16
” dia
me
ter h
ole
in th
em
ounting block, perpendicular to the Fairing. Ifyo
u m
iss the
Mo
un
ting
Blo
ck, ad
just th
e d
rillangle and try again. E
nlarge the correct hole ino
nly th
e F
airin
g to
1/8
”. Drill a
cou
nte
rsink
rece
ss ab
ou
t 1/8
” de
ep
x 3/1
6” d
iam
ete
r toaccept a #4 x 3/4” sheet m
etal screw at each
Fairing attachment point.
Nearly every im
perfection in your wood structure
will s
ho
w th
rou
gh
the
co
verin
g m
ate
rial;
therefore, before covering, you should make a
fina
l che
ck of th
e e
ntire
structu
re. F
ix an
y“dings,” then sand the entire structure sm
ooth,using progressively finer grades of sandpaper.
Fuel proofing m
ay be done after covering.
❏1. F
uelproof the engine compartm
ent, payingspecial attention to the firew
all. Either G
rey (mix
black and white) K
&B
epoxy paint or 30-Minute
Epoxy is recom
mended.
❏2. F
uelproof any external exposed wood (eg:
flap pushrod exits). Matching brush-on K
&B
orP
erfect Paint w
orks nicely here.
SP
EC
IAL
NO
TE
: Do
no
t co
nfu
se
this
pro
ce
du
re w
ith “c
he
ck
ing
the
C.G
.” or
“balan
cing
the airp
lane fo
re and
aft.” Th
atvery im
po
rtant step
will b
e covered later in
th
e man
ual.
Now
tha
t you
have
the
ba
sic airfra
me
ne
arly
completed, this is a good tim
e to balance theairplane laterally
(side-to-side). Here is how
todo it:
❏1
. Tem
po
rarily a
ttach
the
win
g a
nd
en
gin
e(w
ith muffler) to the fuselage.
❏2. W
ith the wing level, lift the m
odel by theengine propeller shaft and the fin post (this m
ayrequire tw
o people). Do this several tim
es.
❏3. If one w
ing always drops w
hen you lift them
odel, it means that side is heavy. B
alance bygluing w
eight to the other wing tip.
NO
TE
: An
airplan
e that h
as been
laterallyb
ala
nc
ed
will tra
ck b
ette
r in lo
op
s a
nd
o
ther m
aneu
vers.
Balan
ce the airp
lane laterally
Fu
el pro
ofin
g
Fin
al sand
ing
FIN
ISH
ING
Install w
ing
struts an
d fairin
gs
47
Th
e C
essn
a 1
82
do
es n
ot re
qu
ire m
uch
painting to obtain the scheme show
n on the boxa
s mo
st of th
e fin
ish is d
on
e w
ith To
p F
liteM
onoKote. T
he only painting that is required arethe plastic parts such as the cow
l, wheel pants,
fairings and wing struts. T
here are many other
schemes used on C
essnas but the one shown
on the box has proven to be highly visible in theair and is “scale.”
The technique w
e will describe here is the
how the m
odel pictured on the box was finished.
In general, it involves covering most of the m
odelw
ith MonoK
ote, then priming and painting the
co
wl a
nd
su
rfac
e d
eta
ils. Ma
ke s
ure
the
structu
re is sm
oo
thly sa
nd
ed
with
32
0-g
ritsandpaper. R
emove all dust from
the structureso the M
onoKote w
ill stick well.
Cover the aircraft w
ith MonoK
ote using these
qu
en
ce b
elow
. Ma
ke su
re th
e M
on
oK
ote
isthoroughly stuck dow
n to the structure and all ofth
e
ed
ge
s
are
s
ea
led
. U
se
a
T
op
F
liteM
on
oK
ote H
ot S
ock
on your covering iron toavoid scratching the M
onoKote.
NO
TE
:W
hen covering areas that involve sharpjunctions, (like the tail section) cut narrow
strips(3
/8” to
1/2
”) an
d a
pp
ly the
m in
the
corn
ers
befo
recovering the m
ajor surfaces. The larger
pie
ces o
f Mo
no
Ko
te w
ill overla
p a
nd
cap
ture
the
se sm
alle
r pie
ces. T
his te
chn
iqu
e a
lsobypasses the need to cut the M
onoKote in these
areas after it has been applied.
DO
NO
T, un
der any circu
mstan
ces, attemp
tto
cu
t the
co
ve
ring
ma
teria
l afte
r it ha
sb
een ap
plied
to th
e Fin
and
Stab
, except
arou
nd
the lead
ing
and
trailing
edg
es and
the
tip. M
od
ele
rs w
ho
do
this
ofte
n c
ut
thro
ug
h th
e covering
and
part-w
ay into
the
balsa stab
skin. T
his can
weaken
the stab
to th
e po
int w
here it m
ay fail in flig
ht!
1.Tail Junction S
trips (See note above.)
2.R
udder, left side3.
Rudder, right side
4.B
ottom of elevators
5.Top of elevators
6.S
tab bottom7.
Stab top
8.F
in, left side9.
Fin, right side
10.F
use bottom11.
Fuse sides
12.F
use top13.
Ends of ailerons and flaps
14.B
ottom of ailerons and flaps
15.Top of ailerons and flaps
16.T
E surfaces of w
ing (at ailerons and flaps)17.
Bottom
of left wing panel
18.B
ottom of right w
ing panel19.
Bo
ttom
of ce
nte
r pa
ne
l (overla
p cove
ring
1/4” at the outer panels)20.
Top of left wing panel (overlap covering 1/4”
at wing LE
)21.
Top
of rig
ht w
ing
pa
ne
l (overla
p cove
ring
1/4” at the LE)
22.Top of center w
ing panel (overlap covering1/4” at the outer panels)
Reco
mm
end
ed coverin
g seq
uen
ce
piece of MonoK
ote film about 2” larger than
the area to be covered. Strip off the backing
an
d p
ositio
n th
e film
. Tack th
e film
do
wn
smack d
ab in
the m
idd
le of th
e Stab
.
3. Pull (as in stretch) the film
toward the tip,
sealing it to the balsa from th
e center o
ut to
the
tip. W
ork
ou
t an
y w
rink
les
an
d a
irp
ockets
as you proceed with a com
bination ofcircular and back and forth m
otions.
4. D
o th
e s
am
e p
roc
ed
ure
wo
rkin
g th
eo
pp
osite d
irection
from the center.
5. Pull and seal d
iago
nally to
ward
the fo
ur
corn
ers, always starting from
the center. The
trick is to shrink out any wrinkles before you
seal the film to the surface.
6. Use a heat gun to heat and stretch the film
aro
un
d cu
rved
surfa
ces like
the
stab
an
dru
dd
er tip
s, wh
ile p
ullin
g o
n th
e e
xc
es
sm
aterial. You may need to pull hard to get out
all of the wrinkles, so w
ear a glove if you needto. F
ollow-up the heat gun w
ith your sealingiron to secure the bond.
The idea behind this approach (w
hich can bea
pp
lied
to a
ny pa
rt of th
e m
od
el) is to
pre-
stretch th
e Mo
no
Ko
tea
s it’s ap
plie
d, a
nd
remove the air pockets that can expand later
which cause the sags and w
rinkles.You can practically elim
inate wrinkles caused
when the m
odel is left out in the sun or in theb
ack o
f you
r car by fo
llowin
g th
is tech
niq
ue
used in theTo
p F
lite model shop.
1. Cover your sealing iron w
ith a Top
Flite H
ot
So
ck and turn the heat about 3/4 of the way to
the high setting.
2. Say w
e are going to cover the Stab —
Cut a
Cover th
e structu
re with
Mo
no
Ko
te®
48
Pain
ts used
on
the p
roto
type:
We used
K&
B S
uper Poxy
primer and color
coat for all plastic and Butyrate parts.
Su
rface Prep
aration
Ma
sk
th
e
Re
ar
Win
do
ww
ith
vin
yl
electrician’s tape or Frisket ®film
(available at artsupply stores). M
ix equ
al parts of K
&B
primer,
hardener and thinner, then stir the mixture w
ell.S
pray theC
ow
l, Wh
eel Pan
ts, Tail Co
ne, R
earW
ind
ow
Fram
e, Fairing
s andW
ing
Stru
ts with
ath
inco
at o
f prim
er. A
dd
a se
con
d co
at o
fprim
er to areas that need it. Allow
primer to dry
overnight before sanding. Wet sand the prim
erw
ith 320 and 400-grit sandpaper using a blockw
here possible. Most of the prim
er should besanded off.
Ap
ply th
e colo
rsW
e sprayed the parts with K
&B
Super P
oxy.W
e custom m
ixed the paint to match the D
arkR
ed
Mo
no
Ko
te b
y ad
din
g a
little Ye
llow
an
dB
lack to their standard Red color. K
eep a swatch
of M
on
oK
ote
ha
nd
y to te
st an
d co
mp
are
the
color on a regular basis. We used a few
drops ofB
lack a
nd
Blu
e m
ixed
with
Wh
ite to
ma
tchM
onoKote G
ray.
NO
TE
: All p
aints d
ry sligh
tly darker th
anth
ey app
ear wh
ile wet. S
pray o
n th
e colo
rco
at wh
en satisfied
with
the m
atch.
K&
B paints are not difficult to use if you have
spray equipment. U
se equal parts of the mixed
color paint (Part A
) and gloss hardener (Part B
),stir w
ell, then thin the mixture w
ith K&
B thinner
so that it can be sprayed. Use about 33 percent
of the total volume of parts A
and B com
bined,of K
&B
thinner.
We
pa
inte
d a
ll La
nd
ing
Ge
ar a
ssem
blies
intact. The w
heels were m
asked off with paper
stuffe
d in
to th
e W
he
el P
an
ts. By p
ain
ting
the
La
nd
ing
Ge
ar in
this m
an
ne
r, all th
e p
arts
blen
de
d to
ge
the
r mu
ch b
ette
r tha
n if w
e h
ad
painted them separately.
DR
AW
DO
OR
AN
D H
AT
CH
OU
TL
INE
S
For draw
ing the door and baggage compartm
enthatch outlines w
e used aS
taedtler
® L
um
oco
lor
313 Perm
anen
tfine point pen. T
hese pens area
vaila
ble
from
en
gin
ee
ring
/dra
fting
sup
ply
store
s. We
sug
ge
st usin
g th
is pe
n b
eca
use
itw
orks well on M
onoKote and m
istakes can berem
oved with 70%
rubbing alcohol. Your model
may b
e cle
an
ed
with
mo
st clea
ne
rs with
ou
taffecting the lines too badly. R
emem
ber, you caneasily touch-up outlines by using this m
ethod.
AP
PLY
TH
E D
EC
AL
SN
OT
E: T
he d
ecal sheet d
oes n
ot g
ive you
eve
ryth
ing
you
ne
ed
to c
om
ple
tely
trimyo
ur m
od
el, b
ut it d
oe
s p
rov
ide
all th
ein
tricate detailin
g an
d d
ifficult item
s.
1. Study the plans and the photos on the box to
determine the location of individual decals.
2. T
ho
rou
gh
ly c
lea
n yo
ur a
irpla
ne
be
fore
applying decals.
3. Trim the decals as close as practical. C
arefullyapply the decals to the m
odel. You can float thedecals into position by first applying soapy w
ater(tw
o or three drops of dish detergent to a quart ofw
ater) to the model’s surface, then sm
oothing onth
e d
eca
l. Sq
ue
eg
ee
ou
t excess w
ate
r with
acre
dit ca
rd w
rap
pe
d w
ith a
tissue
. Blo
t the
surface dry and let the decal cure for at least 12hours before running the engine.
NO
TE
: Certain
text decals are p
rovided
and
ma
y b
e u
se
d a
t yo
ur d
isc
retio
n. T
he
“N
o S
tep” d
ecals go
on
top
of th
e main
wh
eel pan
ts.
Po
sition
the
tem
pla
te o
n th
e fu
se u
sing
the
window
as a reference point, then trace thedoor outline w
ith a Staedtler pen. You w
ill haveto m
easure the location of the luggage hatch.
HO
T T
IP: P
lace
a sh
ee
t of cle
ar b
utyra
teplastic over the door and luggage hatch on thep
lan
s. Sco
re th
em
on
to th
e p
lastic w
ith a
hobby knife. Bend the plastic along the score
to break it off cleanly. Sand the corner radii
with
32
0-g
rit san
dp
ap
er to
smo
oth
off a
ny
burrs. Lay the plastic template back over the
plans and use a pen to trace the outline of thew
indow fram
e for reference. Cut a hole in the
center of the template so that you can tape it in
po
sition
with
ou
t havin
g a
ny tap
e exte
nd
ing
over the edges.
Pain
ting
49
❏1. S
and the inside of the cockpit with 320-grit
san
dp
ap
er. Tru
e u
p a
ny un
even
ed
ge
s in th
ecockpit area.
❏2. A
ssemble and paint your pilots. W
e used1/5 scale W
illiams B
rothers pilots which required
a 1” block under them to adjust their height. W
eglued and screw
ed our pilots to a piece of 1/8”light ply (not included) w
hich was then screw
edto a a couple of blocks glued to the fuse sides.
❏3. P
aint the interior of the cockpit flat black.
❏4. Install the In
strum
ent P
anel D
ecal. It may
be applied directly to the existing panel.
❏5
.A
dd
an
y oth
er co
ckpit d
eta
ils of yo
ur
choosing at this time.
❏6. Trim
the Fro
nt W
ind
shield
to the cut-linesthen glue it to the m
odel. We recom
mend using
RC
-56 glue or 6-Minute E
poxy to glue on thew
indshield, but if you have a favorite technique,u
se it. Y
ou
sho
uld
rem
ove
a sm
all strip
of
Mo
no
Ko
te (if a
pp
lica
ble
) from
un
de
r the
windshield’s fram
e for good glue adhesion. Use
ma
sking
tap
e to
ho
ld th
e w
ind
shie
ld in
pla
cew
hile the glue sets.
❏7. Trim
the Sid
e Win
do
ws
to fit the openingso
n b
oth
side
s of th
e C
ab
in. B
e su
re to
leave
about 1/8” extra plastic around the perimeter for
gluing. Test fit the Window
s and trim the edges
as n
ece
ssary. G
lue
the
m to
the
insid
e o
f the
Cabin W
indow Fram
e with R
C-56 glue or epoxy.
❏1. W
e made a cutting jig out of scrap ply to aid
in trim
min
g th
e A
BS
extrusio
ns to
the
corre
ctlength for each surface.
❏2. C
ut enough pieces of a specific length tod
o b
oth
side
s of e
ach
con
trol su
rface
, the
nchange the jig for the next length. K
eep eachpiece close to the correct length (no m
ore than1/8”) to avoid w
aste.
❏3
. Use
the
pla
ns a
s a g
uid
e to
dra
w th
elo
catio
n o
f ea
ch co
rrug
atio
n o
n th
e co
ntro
lsurface, then, w
hile holding the corrugation inp
ositio
n, p
lace
on
e d
rop
of th
in C
A in
to th
eopening at each end.
❏4
. Trim o
ff any exce
ss with
a sin
gle-ed
ge
razor b
lade.
Just for the record, the patience required to dothis part of the m
odel will be rew
arded by anextrem
ely realistic finish and a lot of “oohs” and“ahs” at the field.
Install co
ntro
l surface co
rrug
ation
s
For best results, stick the instrum
ent decal to ascrap piece of 1/32” to 1/16” plyw
ood, trim it to
shape, then use spots of self-adhesive Velcro
(hook and loop) to hold it in place.
Co
ckpit fin
ishin
g
50
A F
EW
WO
RD
S A
BO
UT
OP
TIO
NA
L L
IGH
TIN
G
Scale lights m
ake a model like this C
essna come
to life. We added a rotating beacon, dual landing
ligh
ts an
d p
ositio
n lig
hts (se
e p
ag
e 5
for p
art
numbers). T
he rotating beacon is powered by a 9V
transistor battery and a miniature circuit board that
allows you to vary the “rotation” speed. T
he beacona
nd
po
sition
ligh
ts are
turn
ed
on
via a
simp
leto
gg
le sw
itch h
idd
en
with
in th
e co
wlin
g. T
he
landing lights are powered directly from
the flight-pack battery and are plugged into the receiver. B
yactivating a sixth channel, w
e can turn the lights onand off from
the transmitter. You could also “Y
” thelanding lights into the throttle or flap servo so w
heneither is operated, the lights w
ould come on.
Pockets built-in to the cow
l greatly simplify
the installation of landing lights. The w
iring was
modified to include a “D
eans” connector and afirew
all-m
ou
nte
d p
lug
so th
e co
wlin
g ca
n b
erem
oved without having to cut the w
ires.
Th
ecircu
it bo
ard
s an
d 9
V b
atte
ry we
rew
rapped in foam rubber and installed under the
servo tray along with other electronic com
ponents.
❏1
. Ep
oxy the
5/1
6” x 3
/4” x 7
/8” h
ard
wo
od
Servo
Mo
un
ting
Blo
cksto the die-cut 1/16” ply
Flap
and
Ailero
n S
ervo H
atches
. Insta
ll the
Flap and A
ileron servos as shown in the photo
and on the plans. After “fishing”
the servo wires
through to the opening at the center of the wing,
plu
g
the
m
into
a
“Y
” h
arn
es
s. B
efo
rep
erm
an
en
tly screw
ing
the
servo
ha
tche
s inposition, hook up your radio and set centeringand direction
of both sets of servos.
❏2. D
rill 3/32” holes through the Servo H
atchesa
t ea
ch o
f the
six pu
nch
ma
rks. Po
sition
the
hatches in their respective openings, then drill1/16” pilot holes into the h
atch su
pp
ort rails.
Use #2 x 3/8”
flat head
sheet m
etal screws
toinstall the servo hatches.
❏3
. Insta
ll the
Aile
ron
Ho
rns in
line
with
the
pushrod exits as shown on the plans. D
rill 1/16”
ho
les in
to th
e A
ilero
ns a
t the
pro
pe
r ho
rnlocations. S
crew the horns in place w
ith #2 x3/8” sh
eet metal screw
s.
NO
TE
: Pu
t a cou
ple o
f dro
ps o
f thin
CA
into
each screw
ho
le befo
re reattachin
g
the h
orn
s.
❏3. F
our .074 x 4” Th
readed
En
d R
od
sare
sup
plie
d
to
ma
ke
the
F
lap
a
nd
A
ilero
np
ush
rod
s. Screw
a nylon Clevis
and siliconeR
etainer
on each pushrod. The F
lap pushrodsa
re co
nn
ecte
d to
the
servo
s usin
g n
ylon
Fa
slin
ks
™a
s sho
wn
in th
e p
ho
to. A
ilero
npushrods are attached to the servos w
ith sold
erclevises. H
ook up and adjust the Aileron and
Fla
p lin
kag
es. R
efe
r to th
e C
on
trol S
urfa
ce
Th
rows section for m
ovement recom
mendations.
❏4
. Pe
rma
ne
ntly
ins
tall
the
Ele
vato
r (as
described on page 42 inS
teps 3 &
4) and theR
udder (page 43, Steps 4 &
5).
❏1. W
rap the Receiver and B
attery in 1/2” foamrubber (H
obbico HC
AQ
1050) securing the foamw
ith rubber bands.
❏2. P
rotect both components from
fuel leakageby sealing them
in plastic wrap or plastic bags.
Seal the plastic closed w
ith masking tape.
Install receiver, b
attery and
anten
na
Flap
/aileron
con
trol h
oo
kup
FIN
AL
HO
OK
UP
S
AN
D C
HE
CK
S
51
❏3. W
e installed a pushrod tube (not includedin the kit) along the bottom
inside surface of thefuse, to serve as a conduit for the antenna. T
heantenna w
as then inserted and pushed to the aftend of the fuse.
❏4. T
he Receiver and B
attery may be “w
edged”in
pla
ce u
nd
er th
e se
rvo tray w
ith a
dd
ition
al
layers of foam rubber.
❏5. M
ake sure the control surfaces move in the
pro
pe
r dire
ction
as illu
strate
d in
the
follow
ing
sketches:
❏6. A
djust your pushrod hookups as necessaryto provide the control surface m
ovements show
n.
NO
TE
: Th
e surface th
rows an
d b
alance fo
rthis aircraft have been extensively tested. W
eare confident that they represent the settingsat w
hich the Cessna 182 flies best. P
lease setu
p yo
ur aircraft to
the sp
ecification
s listedabove. If, after a few
flights, you would like to
adjust the throws to suit your tastes, that is
fine. The Cessna 182 has larg
e elevators andd
oes n
ot req
uire m
uch
thro
w. To
o m
uch
thro
w can
force th
e plan
e into
a stall, sorem
ember... “M
ore is not better.”
NO
TE
: Th
is section
is VE
RY
imp
ortan
t and
mu
st NO
T b
e om
itted! A
mo
del th
at is no
tp
rop
erly
ba
lan
ce
d w
ill be
un
sta
ble
an
dp
ossib
ly un
flyable.
❏1. A
ccurately mark the balance point on the
bottom of the w
ing on both sides of the fuselage.T
he balance point is shown on the plan (C
G),
an
d is lo
cate
d 4
” (10
2 m
m) b
ack
from
the
leadin
g ed
ge at th
e win
g ro
ot
as shown in the
sketch and on the plans. This is the balance point
at which your m
odel should be balanced for yourfirst flights. Later, you m
ay wish to experim
ent byshifting the balance up to 3/8” fo
rward
or 1/4”
back
to change the flying characteristics. Moving
the
b
ala
nce
fo
rwa
rdm
ay
imp
rove
th
esm
oothness and tracking, but it may also require
more speed for takeoff and m
ake it more difficult
CG
4"
Balan
ce you
r mo
del
CO
NT
RO
L S
UR
FAC
E T
HR
OW
S:
We recom
mend the follow
ing control surfacethrow
s:
NO
TE
:T
hrows are m
easured at the wid
estp
artof the elevators, rudder, and ailerons.
NO
TE
: If you
r radio
do
es no
t have “d
ual
rates”, then
set up
the co
ntro
l surfaces
to m
ove at the h
igh
rate thro
ws.
EL
EVA
TOR
:(H
igh Rate)
1-1/16” up1-1/16” dow
n(Low
Rate)
3/4” up3/4” dow
n
RU
DD
ER
:(H
igh Rate)
1” right1” left
(Low R
ate) 5/8” right5/8” left
AIL
ER
ON
S:
(High R
ate)5/8” up5/8” dow
n(Low
Rate)
1/2” up1/2” dow
n
FL
AP
S:
(Takeoff)1” dow
n(Landing)
2” down
TR
IM
MIX
ING
:If
you
r tra
ns
mitte
r is
programm
able for Flap to E
levator mixing w
edeterm
ined during our flight tests that attitudeco
ntro
l wa
s smo
oth
er w
ith 3
/16
” of
do
wn
Elevator trim
at half Flaps and 3/8” of dow
nelevator trim
at full Flaps.
4-CH
AN
NE
LT
RA
NS
MIT
TE
R
4-CH
AN
NE
LT
RA
NS
MIT
TE
R
4-CH
AN
NE
LT
RA
NS
MIT
TE
R
4-CH
AN
NE
L RA
DIO
SE
TU
P(S
TA
ND
AR
D M
OD
E 2)
TR
AN
SM
ITT
ER
4-CH
AN
NE
L
ELE
VA
TO
R M
OV
ES
UP
RIG
HT
AILE
RO
N M
OV
ES
UP
LEF
T A
ILER
ON
MO
VE
S D
OW
N
RU
DD
ER
MO
VE
S R
IGH
T
CA
RB
UR
ET
OR
WID
E O
PE
N
52
to slow dow
n for landing. Moving the balance aft
makes the m
odel more agile, gives it a lighter
“feel” and often improves landing. In any case,
please start at th
e locatio
n w
e recom
men
dan
d d
o n
ot at an
y time b
alance yo
ur m
od
elo
utsid
e the reco
mm
end
ed ran
ge.
❏2. W
ith the wing attached to the fuselage, all
parts of the model installed (ready to fly) and an
em
pty
fue
l tan
k, sup
po
rt the
mo
de
l at th
ebalance point.
❏3. Lift the m
odel at the balance point. If the taildrops w
hen you lift, the model is “tail heavy” and
you must add w
eight*to the nose to balance. If the
nose drops, it is “nose heavy” and you must add
weight* to the tail to balance. N
OTE
:N
ose weight
may be easily installed by using a spinner w
eight orgluing lead w
eights into the engine compartm
ent.Tail w
eight may be added by using G
reat Planes
(GP
MQ
4485) “stick-on” lead weights and, later, if
the balance proves to be OK
you can open thefuse bottom
and glue these in permanently.
*If po
ssible, atte
mp
t to b
ala
nce
the
mo
de
l bychanging the position of the receiver battery andreceiver first. If you are unable to obtain goodbalance by doing so, th
enit w
ill be necessary toa
dd
we
igh
t to th
e n
ose
or ta
il to a
chieve
the
proper balance point.
Follow
the battery charging procedures in yourra
dio
instru
ction
ma
nu
al. Yo
u sh
ou
ld alw
ayscharge your transm
itter and receiver batteriesthe night before you go flying and at other tim
esas recom
mended by the radio m
anufacturer.
The best place to fly your R
/C m
odel is an AM
A(A
cademy of M
odel Aeronautics) chartered club
field. Ask your hobby shop dealer if there is such
a club in your area and join. Club fields are set
up
for R
/C flyin
g a
nd
tha
t ma
kes yo
ur o
utin
gsafer and m
ore enjoyable. The A
MA
also can tellyo
u th
e n
am
e o
f a c
lub
in yo
ur a
rea
. We
recomm
end that you join AM
A and a local club
so you can have a safe place to fly and havein
sura
nce
to co
ver yo
u in
case
of a
flying
accident. (The A
MA
address is listed on page 3of this instruction book).
If a clu
b a
nd
flying
site a
re n
ot ava
ilable,
you’ll need to find a large, grassy area at least 6m
iles away from
buildings, streets and other R/C
activities. A schoolyard m
ay look inviting but it istoo close to people, pow
er lines and possibleradio interference.
If you are not thoroughly familiar w
ith the operationof R
/C m
odels, ask an experienced modeler to
check your radio installation and control surfaceset-up. E
ngine operation must also be checked
an
d th
e e
ng
ine
“bro
ken
-in” o
n th
e g
rou
nd
byru
nn
ing
at le
ast tw
o ta
nks o
f fue
l thro
ug
h th
ee
ng
ine
. Fo
llow
the
en
gin
e m
an
ufa
ctu
rer’s
recom
men
datio
ns fo
r break-in
.C
heck to make
sure all screws rem
ain tight, that the hinges aresecure, and that the prop is on tight.
Ma
ke it a
ha
bit: C
he
ck the
op
era
tion
of yo
ur
radio befo
re you fly, every time you fly. W
ith thetransm
itter antenna collapsed and the receiver
and transmitter on, you should be able to w
alk atleast 100 feet aw
ay from the m
odel and still haveco
ntro
l. Have
som
eo
ne
he
lp yo
u. H
ave th
em
stan
d by yo
ur m
od
el a
nd
, wh
ile yo
u w
ork th
eco
ntro
ls, tell yo
u w
ha
t the
vario
us co
ntro
lsurfaces are doing.
Repeat this test w
ith th
e eng
ine ru
nn
ing
atva
riou
s spe
ed
s with
an
assista
nt h
old
ing
the
model, using hand signals to show
you what is
happening. If the control surfaces are not always
acting correctly, do
no
t fly!F
ind and correct theproblem
first.
NO
TE
: F
ailu
re
to
follo
w
the
se
s
afe
typ
recautio
ns m
ay result in
severe inju
ry toyo
urself an
d o
thers.
Keep all engine fuel in a safe place, aw
ayfrom
high heat, sparks or flames, as fuel is very
flam
ma
ble. Do
no
t smo
ke n
ea
r the
en
gin
e o
rfu
el; a
nd
rem
em
be
r tha
t the
en
gin
e exh
au
stg
ives
off a
gre
at d
ea
l of d
ea
dly
ca
rbo
nm
onoxide. Therefore, d
o n
ot ru
n th
e eng
ine in
a closed
roo
m o
r garag
e.G
et h
elp
from
an
expe
rien
ced
pilo
t wh
en
learning to operate engines.U
se safety glasses when starting or running
engines.D
o not run the engine in an area of loosegravel or sand; as the propeller m
ay throw such
material in your face or eyes.
Ke
ep
you
r face
an
d b
od
y, as w
ell a
s all
spectators, away from
the plane of rotation of thepropeller as you start and run the engine.
Ke
ep
item
s such
as th
ese
away fro
m th
eprop: loose clothing, shirt sleeves, ties, scarfs,long hair or loose objects (pencils, screw
drivers)that m
ay fall out of shirt or jacket pockets into the prop.
En
gin
e safety precau
tion
s
Ran
ge ch
eck you
r radio
Gro
un
d ch
eck the m
od
el
Fin
d a safe p
lace to fly
Ch
arge th
e batteries
PR
E-F
LIG
HT
53
Use
a “ch
icken
stick” de
vice o
r ele
ctricsta
rter; fo
llow
instru
ction
s sup
plie
d w
ith th
estarter or stick. M
ake certain the glow plug clip
or connector is secure so that it will not pop off
or fall into the running propeller.M
ake all engine adjustments from
beh
ind
the rotating propeller.T
he engine gets hot! Do not touch it during
or directly after operation. Make sure fuel lines
are in good condition so fuel will not leak onto a
hot engine, causing a fire.To stop the engine, cut off the fuel supply by
closin
g o
ff the
fue
l line
or fo
llow
the
en
gin
em
anu
factu
rer’s re
com
me
nd
atio
ns. D
o n
ot u
sehands, fingers, or any body part to try to stop theengine. D
o not throw anything into the prop of a
running engine.
Re
ad
an
d a
bid
e by th
e fo
llowin
g A
cad
em
y of
Model A
eronautics Official S
afety Code:
1.I w
ill not fly my m
odel aircraft in sanctionedevents, air show
s, or model flying dem
onstrationsuntil it has been proven to be airw
orthy by havingbeen previously successfully flight tested.
2.I w
ill not fly my m
odel aircraft higher thana
pp
roxima
tely 4
00
fee
t with
in 3
mile
s of a
nairport w
ithout notifying the airport operator. Iw
ill give right of way to, and avoid flying in the
proximity of full-scale aircraft. W
here necessary,an observer shall be used to supervise flying toa
void
ha
ving
mo
de
ls fly in th
e p
roxim
ity of
full- scale aircraft.
3.W
here established, I will abide by the safety
rules for the flying site I use and I will not w
illfully
an
d d
elib
era
tely fly m
y mo
de
ls in a
care
less,
reckless and/or dangerous manner.
7.I w
ill not fly my m
odel unless it is identifiedw
ith my nam
e and address or AM
A num
ber, onor in the m
odel.
9.I w
ill not operate models w
ith pyrotechnics(any device that explodes, burns, or propels aprojectile of any kind).
1.I w
ill ha
ve co
mp
lete
d a
succe
ssful ra
dio
equipment ground check before the first flight of
a new or repaired m
odel.
2.I w
ill no
t fly m
y m
od
el a
ircra
ft in th
epresence of spectators until I becom
e a qualifiedflier, unless assisted by an experienced helper.
3.I w
ill pe
rform
my in
itial tu
rn a
fter ta
keo
ffaw
ay from the pit or spectator areas, and I w
illn
ot th
ere
afte
r fly over p
it or sp
ecta
tor a
rea
s,unless beyond m
y control.
4.I w
ill op
era
te m
y mo
de
l usin
g o
nly ra
dio
con
trol fre
qu
en
cies cu
rren
tly allo
we
d b
y the
Federal C
omm
unications Com
mission...
The Top F
lite Cessna 182 S
kylane is a great-flying,sp
ort-sca
le a
irpla
ne
tha
t flies sm
oo
thly a
nd
predictably, yet is highly maneuverable. C
ompared
to other scale models, its flight characteristics are
quite docile and forgiving. It does not, however,
have the self-recovery characteristics of a primary
R/C
train
er; th
ere
fore
, you
mu
st eith
er h
ave
mastered the basics of R
/C flying or obtained the
assistance of a competent R
/C pilot to help you
until you are able to safely and competently pilot
the model yourself.
Balance your propellers carefully before flying.
An
u
nb
ala
nc
ed
p
rop
is
th
e
sin
gle
m
os
tsignificant cause of dam
aging vibration. Not only
will engine m
ounting screws and bolts vibrate
out, possibly with disastrous effect, but vibration
will also dam
age your radio receiver and battery.V
ibration will cause your fuel to foam
, which w
ill,in turn, cause your engine to run rough or quit.
We
use
a To
p F
lite P
recisio
n M
ag
ne
tic Pro
pB
alancer (TOP
Q5700) in the w
orkshop and keepa G
reat Planes F
ingertip Balancer (G
PM
Q5000)
in our flight box.
A fully cow
led engine will tend to run at a higher
cylinder temperature than an un-cow
led engine.F
or this reason the fuel mixture should be set to
run
the
en
gin
e a
t ab
ou
t 20
0 rp
m b
elow
pe
ak
(ma
xim
um
) sp
ee
d. B
y ru
nn
ing
the
en
gin
eslig
htly rich
you
will h
elp
preve
nt d
ea
d stick
landings caused by overheating.
Fu
el mixtu
re adju
stmen
t
Balan
ce the p
rop
eller
FLY
ING
Rad
io co
ntro
l
Gen
eral
AM
A S
AF
ET
Y C
OD
E
54
If you have dual rates on your transmitter, set the
switch
es to
"hig
h ra
te" fo
r take
off, e
spe
cially
wh
en
takin
g o
ff in a
crossw
ind
. Alth
ou
gh
this
model has good low
-speed characteristics, youshould alw
ays build up as much speed as your
runway w
ill permit before lifting off, as this w
illgive you a safety m
argin in case of a "flame-out."
When you first advance the throttle the plane w
illu
sua
lly turn
left slig
htly. C
orre
ct by ap
plyin
gsufficient right rudder to hold it straight dow
n theru
nw
ay. Wh
en
the
pla
ne
ha
s sufficie
nt flyin
gspeed, lift off by sm
oothly applying up elevator(don't "jerk" it off into a steep clim
b!), and climb
ou
t grad
ua
lly. Do
no
t use
flap
s for yo
ur in
itial
takeoff. After you have the feel of the C
essna,takeoffs m
ay be made w
ith the flaps set at 50%.
We recom
mend that you take it easy w
ith yourC
essn
a fo
r the
first severa
l fligh
ts, gra
du
ally
"getting acquainted" with this realistic m
odel asyo
ur e
ng
ine
ge
ts fully b
roke
n-in
. Ad
d a
nd
practice one maneuver at a tim
e, learning howshe behaves in each. F
or ultra-smooth flying and
no
rma
l ma
ne
uve
rs, we
reco
mm
en
d u
sing
the
"low rate" settings as listed on page 52. "H
ighrate" elevator m
ay be required for spins. Though
the
full s
ca
le C
es
sn
a 1
82
is n
ot ra
ted
for
aerobatics, the Top Flite 182 is capable of som
egraceful aerobatic m
aneuvers. A beautiful barrel
roll m
ay be
acco
mp
lishe
d b
y ad
van
cing
the
throttle to full, then pulling the nose about 25d
eg
ree
s ab
ove
the
ho
rizon
. Ap
ply a
bo
ut 3
/4aileron in one direction, and let the 182 roll 360d
eg
ree
s with
ou
t tou
chin
g a
ny o
f the
oth
er
controls. If the proper roll rate is established, thew
ings should come back to level w
ith the planein a 20 to 25 degree dive. R
educe power and
gently raise the nose to level flight. Loops aree
asily a
ccom
plish
ed
, bu
t you
sho
uld
red
uce
power as the plane goes over the top to reduce
stresses and enhance realism.
When it's tim
e to land, fly a normal landing pattern
and approach. The C
essna 182 may bleed off
airspeed more rapidly than the sport planes you are
used to. For this reason, be prepared to carry a littlepow
er during approach. For your first landings, planto approach slightly faster than stall speed and flarea few
inches off the runway onto the m
ain wheels.
FL
AP
SF
ull flaps make the S
kylane very steady in thelanding pattern, but just carry a little extra pow
er tom
ake up for the extra drag. The extra drag of the
flaps also allows you to m
ake shorter, steeperapproaches. Like the full scale 182, the Top F
lite182 needs to touch dow
n with a nose high attitude
to avoid whacking the nose gear and skipping back
into the air. For this reason, landings w
ith flapsrequire a deliberate flare w
ith high rate elevator toraise the nose. Touch and go's and go-arounds canbe accom
plished with full flaps, just use the elevator
to establish a shallow clim
b. It is preferred to havethe flaps up or at "half" setting for takeoffs andclim
b-outs because the plane will accelerate and
climb m
uch better.
Have a ball! B
ut always stay in control and fly in
a safe manner.
GO
OD
LU
CK
AN
D G
RE
AT
FLY
ING
!If you enjoyed building the Top F
lite Cessna 182
Skylane, try one of these outstanding .60 size
Gold E
dition kits as your next project.To
p F
lite AT-6 Texan
(TOPA
0130) 69” W
ingspan, 7.5 - 10 Lbs.To
p F
lite P-40E
Warh
awk (TO
PA0120)
64” Wingspan, 8 - 10.5 Lbs.
Top
Flite P
-51D M
ustan
g (TO
PA0110)
65” Wingspan, 8 - 10 Lbs.
Top
Flite F
4U C
orsair (TO
PA0100)
62” Wingspan, 7 - 9.5 Lbs.
Lan
din
g
CA
UT
ION
(T
HIS
A
PP
LIE
S
TO
A
LL
R
/CA
IRP
LA
NE
S): If, w
hile
flying
, you
no
tice a
nyunusual sounds, (such as a low
-pitched "buzz")th
is may b
e a
n in
dica
tion
of co
ntro
l surfa
ce"flutter." A
ny time you detect flutter you m
ustim
mediately cut the throttle and land the airplane
be
cau
se
flutte
r ca
n
qu
ickly d
estro
y its
com
po
ne
nts. C
he
ck all se
rvo g
rom
me
ts for
de
terio
ratio
n (th
is will in
dica
te w
hich
surfa
cefluttered), and m
ake sure all pushrod linkages areslop-free. If it fluttered once, it probably w
ill flutteragain under sim
ilar circumstances unless you can
eliminate the slop or flexing in the linkages. H
erea
re so
me
thin
gs w
hich
can
resu
lt in flu
tter:
Excessive hinge gap; N
ot mounting control horns
solidly; Sloppy fit of clevis pin in horn; E
lasticitypresent in flexible plastic pushrods; S
ide-play ofpushrod in guide tube caused by tight bends;S
loppy fit of Z-bend in servo arm
; Insufficient glueused w
hen gluing in the elevator joiner wire or
aileron torque rod; Excessive flexing of aileron,
cau
sed
by u
sing
a to
o-so
ft ba
lsa a
ilero
n;
Excessive "play" or "backlash" in servo gears; and
Insecure servo mounting.
Flyin
g
1.20 4-ST
RO
KE
NO
TE
:If you have installed a
1.20 4-stroke engine, throttle managem
ent onta
keo
ff an
d th
rou
gh
ou
t the
fligh
t is hig
hly
recomm
ended! Your first few flights should be
made using slightly m
ore than half throttle fortakeoff. A
pply power gradually until you becom
efam
iliar with the C
essna’s flight characteristics.
Takeoff
55