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CAP 231EX ARF ASSEMBLY MANUAL

INTRODUCTION:

Congratulations on the purchase of your SIG CAP231EX ARF kit!
Properly assembled, powered and flown, this SIG ARF kit will 
surely become one of your favorite models. Since the general con-
struction, sanding and covering have already been done at the fac-
tory, the only remaining tasks are those of assembly and radio and
engine installations.

Note that due to the large number of 

useable engines for this model, we simply cannot cover every 
possible installation.

However, the volume provided inside the

large cowl should be helpful when mounting any engine within the
suggested size range.

The SIG CAP231EX ARF contains some of the lightest, best-
engineered construction of any ARF on the market. This is one of
the reasons it flies as well as it does, using the recommended
engine sizes. You will find that the CAP has superb take-off and
landing characteristics combined with remarkable aerobatic 
capabilities.

The airframe has been specifically designed to 

provide you with a "zeroed out" model. This is to say that the wings
and horizontal stabilizer sit at 0° in relationship to the 
thrustline.

In turn, this provides you with a model that is 

completely "honest" in any attitude. We will cover more set-up
information in the course of the following assembly instructions.
For those of you who are interested in 3-D work, we have 
provided the CAP with double beveled rudder and elevator hinge
lines. This means that the flying surfaces can be driven to throws
in excess of 45° for 3-D maneuvers!    

We urge you to follow these assembly instructions closely to 
produce the model as it is intended to be. Modifications are the
very nature of modelers and we're sure that many of you will be
tempted. Simply be aware that certain assembly procedures for
this airplane must be followed. We will make a point of telling you
what these are as we proceed.

REQUIRED EQUIPMENT, TOOLS AND SUPPLIES 
FOR ASSEMBLY:

RADIO EQUIPMENT

We highly recommend the use of one of the modern 
programmable computer radios, such as the excellent Airtronics™
RD-6000 system, used during our development of this design.
Such radio systems allow you to easily set and adjust every 

function and additionally pre-program various flight functions to
suit your individual style of flying. Four channels are required to fly
your CAP231EX; rudder, elevator, ailerons, and throttle.
However, you will require a total of six servos; ailerons-2, 
elevators-2, rudder-1, and throttle-1.

Since your CAP 231EX is a large, highly aerobatic airplane and
because the control surfaces are also large, we urge you to use
appropriate servos on all flight surfaces (ailerons, elevator, and
rudder). This model should not be flown with “standard” 40 - 50
inch/ounce output servos!  The CAP is big enough to impart very
large air loads and standard servos will quickly fail, resulting in loss
of control. You should use heavy-duty ball-bearing servos with at
least 65 inch/ounces of torque or more to drive the ailerons, 
elevator, and rudder. If available, use a servo with metal gears
instead of plastic. Specifically in our prototype models, we used
Airtronics™ #94731 servos for the ailerons, elevators, and rudder.
This is a dual ball-bearing servo, rated at 80 inch/ounces of torque.
Another good choice is the Hitec™ #605MG servo (77
inch/ounces) or Hitec™ #615MG servo (107 inch/ounces). These
servos or equivalent from other manufacturers, can be relied upon
to work well thoughout the CAP’s flight envelope.

A “standard” servo is adequate for the throttle.

We also suggest that you consider using after-market reinforced
plastic servo output arms, such as the Du-Bro "Super Strength"
products. These output arms are available to fit any servo. They
are very strong and work well with this model.

We highly 

recommend their use with the pull-pull rudder system used in this
CAP. Using typical plastic servo output arms with the braided steel
cables for rudder control, may cause problems due to the 
potential of wearing of the plastic by the cables over extended use.
The Du-Bro output arms are molded from considerably tougher
material and these have held up extremely well in our CAP 
prototypes.

In addition to the servos, switch harness, receiver, etc., used in
normal airborne radio installations, you will also need two (2) 12"
aileron servo extensions, one (1) aileron Y-harness cable for the
two aileron servos, and a Y-harness splitter cable for the two 
elevator servos. Note that the elevator Y-harness cable is used to
electronically connect both elevator servos to a single connector
going into the receiver. Normally, this requires reversing one of the
elevator servos, making it the "mirror image" of the opposite one,
mounted on the opposite fuselage side. However, we found a
great product that not only acts as an elevator Y-harness
cable/extension, it electronically reverses one of the elevator 
servos and has a centering adjustment pot. This feature lets you
dial in the elevators exactly to a neutral relationship with each
other. This product is called the "Miracle Y™", sold by MAXX
PRODUCTS, Lake Zurich, Illinois. It can be ordered with any radio 
manufacturer's connectors you specify.

We have thoroughly 

tested this product and found it to be reliable, easy to use and very
reasonably priced. In addition, it is a total of 24" in length - 12" of
elevator extension cables and a 12" cable lead to the receiver.
Perfect for the CAP!  Please refer to the Manufacturer's Index for
further contact information.

Finally, since you will be using a total of six servos to fly this 
airplane, we strongly suggest you use a large capacity battery
pack for use in this model. We have used both 1000 Mah and 1200
Mah packs with very good results. Using the light 1000 Mah pack,
we have been able to safely fly five or six flights during any given
flying session, a reasonable amount of flying time for most 
modelers. Naturally, a larger pack provides more flight time but 

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Содержание CAP 231EX

Страница 1: ... loss of control You should use heavy duty ball bearing servos with at least 65 inch ounces of torque or more to drive the ailerons elevator and rudder If available use a servo with metal gears instead of plastic Specifically in our prototype models we used Airtronics 94731 servos for the ailerons elevators and rudder This is a dual ball bearing servo rated at 80 inch ounces of torque Another good...

Страница 2: ...litter cables we found that clear silicon adhesive works great These assembly instructions will be specific regarding adhesives While we all have our own preferences we would urge you to give careful consideration to these suggestions KIT CONTENTS The following is a complete list of every part included with your CAP 231EX ARF kit This kit was packed and inspected at the SIG factory Each part has b...

Страница 3: ...ves require three 3 hinges each and the rudder uses three 3 hinges for a total of 17 hinges and hinge pins These are provided in a separate bag in your kit Begin by using a hobby knife to completely open up and clear each pre slotted hinge openings These slots need to be 1 wide to accept the width of the hinges and about 5 8 deep on each side Next use a short length of thin saw blade material such...

Страница 4: ...ng part as possible while still having full left and right or up and down movement ability Again use alcohol and a cloth to carefully remove all excess glue Flex the flying surface to be sure it moves freely Tape the part in place and move to the next surface to be hinged WING ASSEMBLY The wing panels have been carefully built sanded and covered at the factory The dihedral angle has been already b...

Страница 5: ...out touching the slot s edge about 1 32 clearance is adequate With the servo now in this position use a sharp pencil to mark the hatch with the locations of the servo mounting blocks Remove the servo from the hatch and apply thick CA or 5 minute epoxy the to bottoms of the servo blocks and glue them in place to the hatch again checking for output arm clearance Place a weight onto this assembly and...

Страница 6: ...e 30 minute epoxy to install the two front locating dowels into the front wing plate leave 1 2 of dowel exposed to engage the corresponding fuselage mounting holes Use plenty of glue and a stick to get it into the two holes before inserting the dowels Visually be sure these dowels are straight in the wings and not at angles With the dowels in place stand the wing up on its leading edge and allow t...

Страница 7: ...wo 4 x 3 8 sheet metal screws Repeat this process on the opposite aileron 16 Make the aileron pushrods by first soldering a 4 40 solder clevis to the unthreaded ends of the two 4 40 x 2 3 4 steel pushrods Thread a 4 40 hex nut onto the threaded end of the pushrod followed by a threaded clevis Connect the solder clevis end of the pushrod to the aileron servo output arm Holding the pushrod in place ...

Страница 8: ... from the front face of the prop drive flange back to the firewall This is the distance your engine needs to be from the firewall for cowl mounting and prop clearance purposes Mark your engine s mounting lug bolt hole locations onto the motor mount arms and remove the engine 7 Note that we have supplied you with most of the hardware needed to assemble this kit with the exception of engine mounting...

Страница 9: ...and left sides of the cowl From your parts bag locate two 2 1 8 x 3 4 sq plywood plates four 4 4 40 x 1 2 nylon bolts and four 4 4 40 blind mounting nuts The two 1 8 x 3 4 sq ply plates will be glued to the inside of the fuselage at the upper right and left hole locations directly over the holes just drilled Hold one of the ply plates in place flat against one of the upper inside cowl mounting hol...

Страница 10: ... onto the fuselage over your engine In this step you will determine the location for the hole required for your engine s needle valve to exit the cowl This is easiest done using the penlight mentioned earlier in step 1 and fine line marker pen First find the approximate location of where the needle valve will exit by looking carefully at your engine s carburetor Mark that location onto the cowl No...

Страница 11: ...your particular engine If required shaft spacers are included If your engine shaft is larger than the hole size in the spinner it can be drilled to fit This should be done using a drill press Slip the base plate onto the shaft Slip the propeller onto the shaft and secure it with your engine s nut and washer Snap the spinner nose cone in place into the base plate channels and use the four mounting ...

Страница 12: ...the axle end of the wire If the wheel is a tight fit use a 7 64 dia drill bit to open the axle hole a little The remaining 2 washer will be soldered in place to retain the tailwheel To protect the plastic wheel hub use a scrap piece of 1 32 plywood over the axle and against the wheel Slide the washer in place against the plywood and solder it in place remove the plywood spacer The completed tailwh...

Страница 13: ...rt small part with one rounded end with a hole for the tube the pushrod connector assembly 3 16 hex brass body nylon retainer and 4 40 x 1 8 socket head cap screw and the 2 56 solder clevis Drill a 1 8 dia hole through the firewall aligned with your engine s carburetor throttle arm From the front insert the 1 8 nylon tube through the firewall and into the fuselage leaving 3 exposed in front of the...

Страница 14: ...overing material just inside of these two lines including where it contacts the fuselage at its leading and trailing edges 14 In this step you will prepare the horizontal stabilizer for mounting by first checking it s alignment with the wing and fuselage Start by using the three M4 x 25mm bolts provided to mount the landing gear to the fuselage Bolt the wing in place Attach a Robart Incidence Mete...

Страница 15: ...d of the cable Press the heat shrink tubing in place over the aluminum tube and use heat to shrink it in place Thread a 4 40 hex nut completely onto the rigging coupler followed by a 4 40 R C link Center the link approximately onto the rigging coupler threads Repeat this process on the remaining length of cable These two prepared ends will be located at the rudder Feed the bare end of the cables i...

Страница 16: ... and use a standard Y harness with 12 extensions or use the Miracle Y elevator splitter to obtain mirror image elevator action Install the splitter cables through the back of the canopy hatch opening back to the two elevator servo cutouts To avoid a clutter of cables and to keep them away from the pull pull cables route the extensions through the upper rear fuselage Connect the servos to the exten...

Страница 17: ...these areas Fit the fairing pressing it firmly in place to make sure it contacts all gluing areas Clean up any excess glue with alcohol and use tape to secure the faring in place Allow the glue to cure 23 Apply petroleum jelly to the elevator hinge knuckles and apply epoxy to the exposed hinge halves Attach the left and right elevator halves to the stabilizer wiping off any excess glue from the hi...

Страница 18: ...l collar With the set screw pointing straight down tighten the set screw enough to temporarily retain the wheel 2 With the wheel pant slots facing inward fit the pant in place over the wheel if necessary loosen the wheel collars to reposition the wheel to fit into the pant The pant slot should accept the axle hex nut If not rotate the hex nut with a wrench until the pant slides in place This is ho...

Страница 19: ...surface of the canopy base Use a sharp single edge razor blade to cut 1 4 off of the length of each bolt If desired the canopy base can now be detailed On our prototypes we used light gray art paper to line the bottom and back of the canopy base giving it depth and color We measured and cut the paper to fit and applied it to the base with a heavy coat of spray cement We used a commercially availab...

Страница 20: ...witch and battery connections to the receiver are now made The aileron Y harness stays plugged into the receiver aileron channel receptacle with the two connecting ends hanging loose for wing attachment Turn the radio system on and check the functions of the throttle elevator and rudder servos These should all now be centered and working perfectly without any binding Correct any such problems now ...

Страница 21: ...he actual model These will help you understand where the decals are to be placed When placing the striping tape guide on the fuselage have the cowl in place and the rudder taped to neutral Once the striping tape is placed along the entire length of the fuselage rudder and cowl carefully cut the tape at the rear edge of the cowl and remove the cowl The checkers will be applied to the cowl off the f...

Страница 22: ...e engine propeller shaft and the other end over the tailwheel bracket Hang the model from the ceil ing or a rafter leveling it in side view With the model secured in this way observe the wings Ideally they should be level without one wing lower than the other If one panel is lower it means that it is somewhat heavier than the other When flying the model this uncorrected imbalance may cause the mod...

Страница 23: ... Assuming you re comfortable and getting used to the airplane take it to a safe altitude and throttle back to get a feel for the slow flight and stall characteristics Properly balanced and trimmed your CAP should demonstrate fairly sedate no fuss stall characteristics Once flying speed and up elevator input is bled off the CAP should just drop its nose and resume flying as speed picks up All of th...

Страница 24: ...ampaign IL 61822 HANGER 9 HAN8275 and INSTRUMENT PANEL HANGER 9 HAN177 MIRACLE Y ELEVATOR SPLITTER MAXX PRODUCTS and 815 Oakwood Road Unit D LARGE CAPACITY BATTERY PACKS Lake Zurich IL 60047 and Tel 847 438 2233 AFTER MARKET Y HARNESSES Fax 847 438 2898 INCIDENCE METER ROBART MFG INC P O Box 1247 St Charles IL 60174 CAP 231EX DOCUMENTATION SCALE MODEL RESEARCH FOTO PAAK 5444 3114 Yukon Avenue Cost...

Страница 25: ...of any form either model size or full size are not toys Because of the speeds that airplanes must achieve in order to fly they are capable of causing serious bodily harm and property damage if they crash IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY AND YOURS ALONE to assemble this model airplane correctly according to the plans and instructions to ground test the finished model before each flight to make sure it is ...

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