.
Engine And Tank Installation
87.
With the tank compartment and fuel tank already prepared for installation (FUSELAGE CONSTRUCTION, Step 58a,b), the
tank is now installed. Use a single 20" length of medium fuel tubing, folded in half. Insert the two 10" loose ends through
the oblong hole in the front of the firewall and retrieve them through the tank compartment at F-2. Attach each fuel line to
the fuel tank tubes. Insert the tank through F-2 and into the tank compartment while taking up the slack in the fuel lines as
you progress. When the tank is in its final position, identify each fuel line (fuel, pressure) and cut the two lines apart. Leave
these lines long until they are finally attached to the engine and muffler.
88.
The 6-32 x3/4" round head bolts in your hardware package are used to attach the motor mount arms to the firewall. We
suggest using a thread lock product, such as "Loctite" Removable Threadlocker 242 (Red) to eliminate vibration problems.
89.
Use the appropriate 6-32 hardware (not supplied) to mount your engine - without the muffler - to the motor mount arms.
We suggest using four (4) 6-32 x1" cap head bolts with 6-32 lock nuts to mount your engine.
With the tank and engine now in place, the throttle connections can be made to the engine and throttle servo in the
following section of this manual. Once the throttle is connected to its servo and final adjustments made, the muffler, fuel
lines, prop, and spinner can all be attached.
Radio Installation
If you have followed these instructions to this point, installation of the radio system becomes a simple matter of dropping
the servos in place, securing them with the screws supplied with your system and then making the connections to each of
the controls. If you are using one of the new generation of highly simplified computer radios - such as the Airtronics
Radiant, Futaba 6XA, etc. - the radio installation becomes even easier with features such as total travel control, sub-trims,
etc.
The receiver is mounted on top of the ply radio tray, just forward of the antenna
tube exit hole. This places the receiver in the perfect position to accept the left
and right aileron servo leads. We wrap our receivers in 1/4" foam, held with
rubber bands. It is then secured to the radio tray with a single 10" nylon tie-wrap,
through the holes provided in the tray. This method is simple, lightweight and
effective. It also provides excellent access to the receiver servo receptacles, with
the canopy hatch removed. The receiver antenna is fed through the antenna
tube, exiting at the bottom rear of the fuselage. We would also suggest using the
radio manufacturer s antenna strain relief, included with your system.
As shown on the plans, the switch can be mounted to the side of the fuselage,
below the forward wing panel location. For a more professional look, you could
mount the switch internally, on the floor of the fuselage, just behind the landing
gear mounting block, activated with a length of music wire exiting the fuselage
side - this is how we did it with our models.
Locating your battery pack in this design is very easy. Looking at the fuselage plan you can see that if you are using a
typical 450 - 600 mAH battery pack in a flat configuration, it can be installed anywhere from directly beneath radio/servo
tray, forward to the firewall, beneath the fuel tank. That is a lot of distance! Given that much latitude in locating the heaviest
component of your radio system, achieving the correct Center of Balance should not represent a problem. Be sure to read
the CENTER OF BALANCE section of this manual for more information.
When mounting the aileron servos into their bays in the bottom of the wing panels, you will likely find that you will need to
add short (about 6 ) servo lead extensions to get the length needed to reach the receiver. If this is the case, be sure to
secure the plugs with either tape or some other mechanical method to ensure they will stay plugged together. We also
found that when installing our aileron servos, using hemostats to get the servo leads started into the wing tubes was
helpful. Always use the rubber servo grommets and eyelets that all radio manufacturers supply with their systems.
Pushrod Assembly
90.
Begin with the rudder and elevator pushrods - the instructions are the same for both. Locate the two 30" lengths of 1/8"
O.D. nylon tubing, four (4) 10", threaded one-end metal pushrods, two (2) nylon R/C links and two (2) solder links. Cut 6-
1/2" off the unthreaded ends of two 10" pushrods, leaving a length of 3-1/2" each. Smooth the cut ends and insert the
unthreaded end of one of these into the end of a 30" nylon tube, right up to the threads. Grip the threaded end with padded
pliers and thread it into the nylon pushrod about 3/16-1/4".