Pober Pixie
Pober Pixie building instructions
3
Sand the internal surfaces of the GRP fuselage moulding with abrasive paper (150-grit to 180-grit) to
provide a “key” for the adhesive before gluing any component to it.
Trial-fit and trim all parts carefully before reaching for the glue bottle.
Epoxy is heavy; when using this adhesive for glued joints take care to use the absolute minimum. It is
sometimes advisable to thicken the resin with micro-balloons. Read the instructions supplied by the
adhesive manufacturer.
Avoid sharp corners and edges when cutting out the openings in the fuselage. Reinforce cut edges by
gluing glass rovings or pieces of plywood on the inside.
Save weight wherever possible, especially at the tail end (tailplane and fin).
As an alternative to epoxy you can use PU (polyurethane) adhesive such as ISOLEMFI 3300 (made
by EMFI) or Sikaflex 252 to glue components to the GRP parts. PU glues are very simple to use
because they are thixotropic (do not run) and harden without problem. PU foaming adhesives can also
be used.
Before painting the fuselage it is essential to de-grease the surfaces and carefully rub down the joint
lines using 400-grit wet-and-dry paper, used wet.
Fuselage
Wing strut supports
•
Prepare the openings for the laminated wing strut supports as shown in the fuselage drawing.
A recess is moulded into the fuselage at the support location - drill through the fuselage at the
support position and cut the opening to final size using a milling cutter or a file. Check that the
openings are the same size and in the same position on both sides.
•
The laminated strut supports are supplied with accurate holes for clevis-type strut ends. All
you need to do is clean up the edges and round off the ends.
•
Centre the strut supports relative to the fuselage centreline, and tack them in place lightly
using cyano. They are eventually glued in place permanently using epoxy, but not until the
undercarriage mounting has been installed.
Tip
: apply the cyano glue in the centre of the fuselage to avoid the adhesive running onto the outside
surface of the fuselage and spoiling its appearance. If this should happen, wipe off the excess using
cyano cleaner.
Undercarriage
Main undercarriage
•
The main undercarriage unit is made of dural and features pre-drilled mounting holes. Section
A-A
shows the method of attaching the undercarriage - it is held in place by two M5 screws fitted from
the outside.
•
Trim the plywood undercarriage support #1 to fit snugly in the fuselage. Cut lightening holes in the
support, but take care to avoid the area of the holes for the retaining nuts. Glue the plywood
support in place.
•
Place the undercarriage unit on the fuselage, align it carefully relative to the fuselage centreline
and drill the 5 mm Ø holes through the fuselage. Remove the undercarriage again.
•
Glue the reinforcing plates #3 (3 mm plywood, 15 x 15 mm) to the undercarriage support over the
screw holes.
•
Allow the glue to harden, then drill 8 mm Ø holes in the plates and epoxy the plastic nuts in the
holes.
Tip:
screw the undercarriage to the fuselage while the epoxy is still soft, so that the screws hold
the plastic nuts in the correct position.
•
De-grease the undercarriage unit and sand the central area. Place the balsa block #10 on the
undercarriage, mark the position of the holes and drill them. Note: the balsa block is tapered so
that it fits accurately in the prepared channel; it will only fit one way round.
•
Enlarge the holes in the balsa in-fill piece so that the heads of the M5 retaining screws rest on the
metal itself.
•
Glue the balsa block #10 to the central part of the cleaned and sanded undercarriage unit.
•
Place this assembly on the fuselage. Apply masking tape to the fuselage to prevent it picking up
scratches, then sand the balsa block so that it follows the lines of the fuselage.
Tip
: apply sanding sealer and primer to the balsa parts before painting the model.
