Savage Light Industries
F-106 DELTA DART
You should read this construction guide completely and study the plans to become familiar with all of the assembly
steps before you begin construction of the model. There may be some differences between what can be seen in the
photos and what is seen on the plans and in the kit pieces. The plans and parts set contain the most recent
revisions.
You should not remove any of the laser cut parts from their sheets until you are prompted to do so in this guide.
Some of the pieces are small and easily lost while others are delicate and easily broken. When you are ready to
remove a part, do not simply break it free. Instead, use a narrow razor chisel to dice the sprues holding the part.
You may use whatever glue that you are comfortable with to build this model. Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue was used for
most of the construction on the prototypes. Carpenter’s wood glue and CA was used to glue the wing sheeting to the
wing ribs. Medium-set epoxy was used to join the fin to the fuselage and slow-set epoxy was used to join the wings
to the fuselage.
For parts of the construction and/or assembly of the prototype that required alignment over the plans, the plan was
taped to the underside of a large sheet of glass which is then placed on a flat building surface. The wing spars, ribs
and/or assembly jigs were glued directly to the glass. If you want to use another method, make sure that the parts
and/or jigs can be securely attached to the building surface.
While all laser cut parts are labeled with their part number, a large portion have also been etched with alignment
marks and building hints to help you correctly orient the part during construction. An arrow etched onto a part
indicates that the arrow should point to the centerline of the model. The word “front’ etched onto a part means the
“front” should be toward the nose.
There will be differences in density and grain making balsa sheet stiffer or softer. Carefully inspect the wood prior to
construction and separate them according to their intended usage. Use the stiffest wood for the flat portions of the
fuselage and save the softer and more flexible pieces for the round portions. Of the 3/32” fuselage sheeting, select
the lightest and softest piece for the hatch sheeting as these are lightly built and easily warped.
The exception to this is the 1/16” wing sheeting. For the wing, you’ll want to use the stiffer pieces on the section of
the wing ahead of the spars so that the wing sheeting doesn’t “cup” between the wing ribs giving the wing the the so-
called “starved horse” look.
This construction guide shows the fuselage sheeting being applied section by section. If you’d rather plank the
fuselage with strips of wood, feel free to do so. If you do use the sheet method instead of planking, be careful when
sanding so that the rounded lines of the design is preserved. The 3/32” sheeting is thick enough to do this as long as
you’re careful.
This model was designed to use the most 70mm tractor fan units as well as the WM400 pusher fan and brushless
motor and speed controller. You can use NiCad, Nimh, or Lipo batteries for the motor batteries. We recommend the
use of a separate receiver battery pack for maximum safety and reliability. We also recommend the use of metal-
geared servos for the same reason.
While the model was intended for use with Jet Hangar International Mini Retract units, you can substitute any brand
including the Electric Jet Factory mini units or any other mini units. If you substitute the JHI units you might have to
make up new landing gear mounting plates as these were designed specifically for the JHI units.
This kit does not include the landing gear struts or the wire from which they’re made. You’ll need to obtain 1/8” music
wire or whatever size will fit into your retracts and bend them to the proper shape shown on the plans. Do not use
soft foam tires as they will dramatically increase the rolling resistance even to the point of preventing the model from
taking off the ground. Instead, select moderately firm wheels which will minimize the rolling resistance and allow the
model to accelerate quickly.
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Savage Light Industries
F-106 Delta Dart