Page 16
www.oldschoolmodels.com
Construction Manual
Step 102 - Fuselage Assembly (top 1/8" basswood)
Locate the last two lengths of
1/8" square x 36" basswood
stick. These will be glued to the
inner top edge of the fuselage
sides, starting at F3. You'll use
the entire length of these, so no
trimming needed.
Glue them in place making sure
they are not only glued to the
fuselage side along their entire length, but also pressed down onto
the plywood fuselage box and formers.
Step 103 - Fuselage Assembly (top fuse sheeting)
Now it's time to sheet the top
of the fuselage, using the same
techniques you used when
sheeting the bottom. Cut pieces
of 1/8" balsa sheeting cross-
grained and work your way back
towards F8. As on the bottom
sheeting, stop before you get to
F8.
Step 104 - Fuselage Assembly (horizontal stab)
Place the fuselage aside for now. Find the
horizontal stab. You'll need to cut a notch
in the center of the trailing edge to allow
the vertical fin's post to slide through.
Use the cutouts in the top sheeting as
a guide, then test fit by dry fitting the
vertical fin onto the stab. It should slide
into this notch as well as into the pre-cut hole in the center of the
stab. Lightly sand as necessary until the two assemblies fit together
properly, and at a perfect 90° angle to each other. (Yup, back to
using the triangle...)
When satisfied with that fit, remove the fin and glue it to the stab,
holding it at that 90° angle while the glue cures.
Step 105 - Fuselage Assembly (horizontal stab)
Sand the leading edge of the horizontal stab to round it off, as it's
easier to do now, than when installed.
Also lightly sand it's top and bottom to make sure the sheeting is
smooth and flat, especially at the sheeting joints. When finished
sanding it's time to test fit it into the back of the fuselage.
To do this, you'll
need to cut open
the back of the
elevator cutouts
in the fuselage
side sheets.
Then slide the stab into place, centered on the fuselage. Place the
fuselage down on a flat, level surface and make sure that the stab
is level. If not, sand the fuselage opening(s) as necessary to level it.
Do not glue it just yet.
Double check that it's centered, by looking down the fuselage and
seeing that the vertical fin is straight as well. When satisfied that
the alignment is spot-on, then tack the stab to the fuselage sides -
just enough to hold it place.
Remove
Here
Remove
Step 106 - Fuselage Assembly (stab supports)
Using scrap 1/4" square balsa, cut 4
supports for the stab. These will be glued
where the stab contacts the inner surface
of the fuselage sides.
You'll glue two on the top of the stab,
then flip the fuse over and do the same
on the bottom.
See, that's why we stopped sheeting at
F8 - see, it's all part of the plan.
Now permanently attach the stab to the fuselage sides, and also
glue the sides to the vertical fin's post.
Step 107 - Fuselage Assembly (fuse sheeting)
Now you can finish up the bottom and top
sheeting. The bottom is easy - cross-grained.
The top sheeting should be tackled in two
ways. Continue the top cross-grained sheeting
until it touches the leading edge of the vertical
fin. Then cut long-grained pieces to fit on
either side of the vertical fin.
Glue all this in place.
Step 108 - Fuselage Assembly (wing mounting)
Now it's time to offer up the
wing to the fuselage.
First, you'll need to do a quick
sand of the wing's leading edge,
from the center of the wing
out about 3 inches on either
side. You'll need to round off the
leading edge to the airfoil shape so
it will fit correctly into the wing saddle.
When finished, insert the wing into the
fuselage, making sure the front dowels
slide smoothly into the holes in F3. If they don't fit as nicely as
you'd like, don't mess with the dowels. Instead, file a bit on the
holes until you get the dowels to slide in as they should.
To align the wing properly on the fuselage, place the wing in
position, then allow the wing to rest in the wing saddle. The wing
is perfectly aligned when the distance from the port wing tip to
the port stab tip is the same the distance when measured from the
starboard wing tip to the starboard stab tip.
Step 109 - Fuselage Assembly (drill wing bolt holes)
With the wing aligned, drill two 3/16” holes for the wing bolts,
using the pre-cut holes in WH6 and WH7 as a guide. Before
powering up, position the drill down through these holes and only
then turn on the power to drill down through WH8 assembly in the
fuselage.
Use caution to make sure the wing does not move until both holes
are drilled.
When drilling, take your time and make sure the drill is held so the
bit is in the center of the wing holes. This will guarantee that the
holes drilled in WH8 will be perpendicular with the wing’s sheeting.
This will make it so the wing bolt goes in at an angle, but the screw’s
head will be flat on the wing surface. Remove the drill, remove the
wing and clean up around the new holes you drilled.
Run a 1/4x20 tap through the WH8 pieces so that the wing
A
A
