Tools
This is a very quick and easy plane to build, not requiring difficult techniques or special equip-
ment, but even the building of Composite-ARF aircraft requires some suitable tools! You will
probably have all these tools in your workshop anyway, but if not, they should be available in all
good hobby shops, or hardware stores like "Home Depot" or similar.
1.
Sharp knife (X-Acto or similar)
2.
Allen key set
(metric)
2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm & 5mm.
3. Sharp
scissors
4.
Pliers (various types)
5. Wrenches
(metric)
6.
Slotted and Phillips screwdrivers (various sizes)
7.
M3 tapping tool
(metric)
8.
Drills of various sizes
9.
Small spirit level, or incidence meter.
10. Dremel tool (or Proxxon, or similar) with cutting discs, sanding tools and mills.
11.
Sandpaper (various grits), or Permagrit sanding tools (high quality).
12. Carpet, bubble wrap or soft cloth to cover your work bench (most important !)
13. Car wax polish (clear)
14. Paper masking tape
15. Denaturised alcohol, or similar (for cleaning joints before gluing)
Adhesives and Solvents
Not all types of glues are suited to working with composite parts. Here is a selection of what we
normally use, and what we can truly recommend. Please don’t use inferior quality glues - you will
end up with an inferior quality plane, that is not so strong or safe.
High performance models require good gluing techniques. We highly recommend that you use
either a slow (minimum 30 minute cure) epoxy resin and milled fibre mixture, or a slow filled
thixotropic epoxy for gluing highly stressed joints (eg: Hysol 9462). The self-mixing nozzles make
it easy to apply exactly the required amount, in exactly the right place, and it will not run or flow
onto places where you don’t want it! It takes about 1 - 2 hours to start to harden so it also gives
plenty of time for accurate assembly. Finally it gives a superb bond on all fibreglass and wood
surfaces. Of course there are many similar glues available, and you can use your favourite type.
1.
CA glue ‘Thin’ and ‘Thick’ types. We recommend ZAP, as this is very high quality.
2.
ZAP-O or Plasti-ZAP, odourless, or ZAP canopy glue 560 (for clear canopy)
3.
30 minute epoxy (stressed joints must be glued with at least 30 min & NOT 5 min epoxy).
4.
Loctite Hysol 9462 or equivalent (optional, but highly recommended)
5.
Epoxy laminating resin (12 - 24 hr cure) with hardener.
6.
Milled glass fibre, for adding to slow epoxy for stronger joints.
7.
Micro-balloons, for adding to slow epoxy for lightweight filling.
8.
Thread-locking compound (Loctite 243, ZAP Z-42, or equivalent)
Composite-ARF Extra 300SX
(2.6m span)
8
