❏
2. Mark the center of the trailing edge of the stabilizer.
Insert the stabilizer into the slot, centering the mark you made
on the TE of the stabilizer with the aft end of the fuselage.
❏
3. Stick a T-pin into the center of the top of the firewall.
Tie a small loop in one end of a 36" [910mm] piece of non-
elastic string such as K&S #801 Kevlar thread. Slip the loop
in the string over the T-pin.
❏
4. Fold a piece of masking tape over the other end of the
string and draw an arrow on it. With the stab centered on the
fuselage, slide the tape along the string and align the arrow
with one tip of the stab. Swing the string over to the same
position at the other end of the stab. If the arrow doesn’t
align with the tip, adjust the stab and the arrow slightly and
check both tips again. Adjust the stab until the stabilizer tips
and the trailing edge are centered.
❏
5. View the stab from approximately 10' [3m] behind the
plane. Check that the stab is parallel with the wing. If it is not,
lightly sand the stab saddle until the stab is parallel with
the wing.
❏
6. Use a fine-point felt-tip pen to mark the outline of the
fuselage onto the bottom and top of the stab.
❏
7. Remove the stab from the fuselage. Use a sharp #11
hobby knife or the Expert Tip that follows to cut the covering
from the stab just inside the lines you marked. Use care to
cut only the covering and not the wood. Cutting the wood
will weaken the stab and it may break in flight.
9
