3) The strip is now cut to the correct length for the aileron hinge
line. This should be 35-3/4". The completed strip will now be
placed into the aileron/wing panel hinge line and ironed in place.
4) Remove the clear backing from the AeroKote
®
strip and place it
into the hinge line bevels, with the crease directly over the
aileron/wing panel gap. With the wing panel on a flat surface,
place a straight edge into the hinge gap with its edge directly over
the crease. This serves to hold the AeroKote
®
strip firmly in place
against either the wing or aileron bevel.
5) Use a smaller trim seal tool, set to "High", to now iron one side
of the strip to its bevel. Work from one end to the other, moving
slowly to make sure the strip is completely ironed in place.
Remove the straight edge when you're finished.
6) Flex the aileron to its maximum full down position and use a
piece of masking tape to hold it in place. The opposite side of the
AeroKote
®
strip is now ironed in place to its beveled side. Again,
we prefer using our trim seal tool for this step, making sure the
material is completely ironed in place. Remove the tape holding
the aileron.
The hinge gaps in both the stabilizer/elevator assemblies can
now be sealed in the same manner described above. For these
assemblies, you need to cut two 7/8" x 13" AeroKote
®
strips,
creased at the lengthwise center.
Aileron Servo Installation:
For the aileron servo installation, you will need four aileron servos
and the appropriate servo extensions for both wing panels. You will
also need the servo mounting screws and eyelets that came
with your radio system.
From the kit contents, locate the bag
containing the heavy-duty control horns and the small bag
containing the T2.6 x 16mm Phillips head screws. You will need
four control horns - 2 left and 2 right horns. You will need a total of
16 control horn mounting screws.
Again, check the hinge gap for the closest possible fit, while
maintaining full movement ability. Allow the glue to cure for at least
6 hours. Before the glue fully cures, we suggest checking the fit
and movement of the surface, adjusting it as needed.
5) When the glue has fully cured, carefully check the movement of
the control surface, moving it back and forth completely through its
full range of movement.
Hinge Gap Sealing:
It is mandatory to seal the aileron and elevator hinge gaps,
making them airtight to prevent flutter. Sealing these gaps also
serves to make these flight controls much more precise as well as
making them much more efficient and easier to trim. Failure to
seal the aileron and elevator hinge gaps may well lead to control
surface flutter, potentially causing the model to crash. Hinge gap
sealing is really not all that difficult and could save your model. In
the interest of maintaining the color scheme, we used AeroKote
®
Bright Yellow #SIGSTL330 (not included) for sealing our aileron
and elevator hinge gaps.
Sealing the hinge gaps need only be done on one side or the other
of the surface. Our suggestion is this; if you are proficient in
working with iron-on films, seal the hinge gaps from the top. If
you're not very good at working with such films, then seal the
bottoms of the hinge gaps, where they are less conspicuous. This
instruction sequence assumes you are sealing the hinge gaps on
the tops.
1) For the ailerons, cut a piece of AeroKote
®
about 4" x 36". On a
flat surface, fold and crease this strip lengthwise, color to color, at
the 2" center. Make the crease sharp at this fold.
2) At each end of the strip, use a ruler and a marker pen to
measure and mark a point that is 1/2" from the crease fold. Lay
the strip on a flat cutting surface and use a straight edge and a
hobby knife with a sharp #11 blade to cut the strip lengthwise at
the two marks just made.
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