Sequoia Aircraft Corporation F.8L Falco, Construction Manual

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F.8L Falco Construction Manual 16–1 Revision 4, March 1, 2002
Chapter 16
Tail Group Assembly Preparations
Kits on Hand
To assemble the tail group you should have the following kits:
Kit No. 801-1 Tail Group Equipment
Kit No. 806 Trim Tab Control Equipment
Kit No. 402 Tail Group
Kit No. 405 Tail Group Ribs
Kit No. 861 Antenna Components
You will need the following sheets of plywood (Kit 402 includes this plywood)
1.5mm birch plywood: 8 sheets (50”x50”)
2mm birch plywood: 1 sheet (50”x50”) or one small piece—see Figure 8.
The tail group assembly is covered by Chapters 16 through 20. This work should be done in
sequence, that is, you should complete the work in each of these chapters before proceeding to the
next chapter.
Basic Principals
First off, we should admit that there is no one correct way to assemble the Falco. There are an
infinite number of ways that the airplane can be built and still conform to the plans. There is,
however, a single quickest, easiest method for each builder. The method chosen by a particular
builder may depend on the tools, space and finances available. For example, a builder who is able
to purchase the canopy kit early in the construction will have an easier time of building the Falco
than one who must wait until later. This is just one example, but it is to emphasize the diversity
of correct procedures.
The assembly method presented in this and subsequent chapters is a method that is in constant
revision. Every builder is urged to comment and offer suggestions for faster, simpler ways of
building the Falco. As anyone who has built a Falco can tell you,
the order in which you do things is
the single most important determinant of the airplane’s completion time .
We will assume that all kits are purchased or that you have already made all of the parts required.
Additionally, we will be stating what we see as the fastest method of building the airplane. In
many cases this will require the purchase of some kits earlier than might have been otherwise
planned. In those cases, you may defer the purchases and install the parts later, postponing the
purchase and extending the building time.
The assembly order presented here may not be complete, and it will be refined and added to in the
future. You should always be on guard against “painting yourself into a corner”.
Before we get into the actual assembly, we would like to point out that there are certain basic
principals that should be understood. These principals are the basis of the assembly order given,
and their understanding is
more important, in many ways, than a literal following of the assembly
order given.
First, always install parts at the earliest possible stage of construction . It is very easy to install fittings
on the fuselage frames when you can place the parts on a drill press and drill the holes. If you wait