With everything now pre-fitted, disassemble the wing panels from
the fuselage and remove the main wing tube. Set the tube aside
for now. The best way to keep the wing mounting bolts in a place
where they can always be found is to thread them into the two bolt
holes in each wing panel.
Mounting The Horizontal Stabilizer Halves:
The two horizontal stabilizer/elevator halves on the Edge 540T
ARF kit are made to be removable. This feature can be useful in
transportation and/or storage situations.
Both stabilizer halves
mount onto anodized aluminum tubes that fit through the rear of
the fuselage. From the kit contents, locate the front 12.5mm dia. x
198mm stab tube, the rear 12.5mm dia. x 478mm stab tube and
four T2.6 x 16mm PWA screws. (Note that the stabilizer mounting
tubes have hardwood inserts in place at each end.) For fitting
purposes, it's convenient to first remove the rudder from the fin and
the elevators from their stabilizer halves.
1) Use high-pressure air to blow out each female tube receptacle
holes in both stab halves. Slide the shorter forward tube into the
forward receptacle in one of the stab halves.
Note that there
are plywood tubing "stops" built-in to the inner ends of these
receptacle tubes. Be sure the inserted tube bottoms out against
this stop. The fit may be stiff, so while the tube is in place, firmly
grasp it and rotate it a few times until it's a bit freer. Remove the
tube and slide the opposite end into the other stab half. If the fit
feels tight, rotate the tube a few times until it too feels a bit freer.
Repeat this with the longer rear stab tube in the rear stab
receptacle holes.
2) The stab halves are now trial-fitted to the fuselage. Insert the
front and rear tubes into one of the stab halves until both tubes
bottom out at their stops. Insert the exposed ends of the tubes all
the way through the front and rear stab mounting holes at the rear
of the fuselage, until the root rib of the stab contacts the fuselage.
Slide the opposite stab half in place onto the exposed tube ends
and press it firmly all the way in place until it too contacts the side
of the fuselage. This is the fit you're trying to achieve.
In the unlikely event that one of these two tubes may be a little too
long, preventing the stab halves to fit against the fuselage sides, it
will have to be slightly trimmed in length. If this is the case, you
have to determine which tube needs to be shortened. Remove
both stab halves and either the front or rear tube from one of the
halves. Reinsert the one tube into its correct receptacle and slide
it in place through the appropriate fuselage stab hole. Slide the
other stab half in place onto the tube end and press it up against
the fuselage. If the two stab halves now fit against the fuselage
sides, you now know it is the remaining tube that needs to be
trimmed. Likewise, if the tube currently in place does not allow the
stab halves to fit against the fuselage sides, then it is this tube
causing the problem. Visually determine how much of the end of
the tube needs to be trimmed. Use a bench grinder or vertical
sander, to lightly trim the offending tube.
Lightly chamfer the
trimmed end of the tube at a 30
O
angle or so. Finally, remount the
two stab halves in place to the fuselage and check the fit. It should
now be fine. Remove the stab halves and tubes from the fuselage.
3) The mounting tubes must now be secured in place in the stab
halves, using four T2.6 x 16mm PWA screws.
On the bottom
surface of each stab half you will see two small pre-drilled holes.
These are hole locations for the stab tube retaining screws. In
order to use these screws, the stab mounting tubes need to be
accurately marked and then drilled with guide holes. To easily
mark the ends of the tubes, we used a short length of 3/32" dia.
music wire with a sharpened point at one end.
The graphic is now adhered permanently in place. To do this, we
suggest using a plastic squeegee.
The SIG 4" plastic Epoxy
Spreader squeegee - P/N SH678 - is perfect for this purpose.
Smoothly and firmly use the squeegee to completely remove all of
the liquid and air bubbles from beneath the graphic. Use paper
towels to clean up the excess liquid. Once you're satisfied that all
of the liquid has been removed, allow the graphic to dry overnight.
When the graphic has dried, pick up one of the edges of the clear
plastic carrier film and remove it by pulling the film back against
itself. The graphic that is left in place on the model is now all but
permanently in place.
Assembly:
Mounting The Wing Panels:
The two main wing panels are attached to the fuselage using the
40mm dia. x 973mm black anodized wing tube. It is important that
you pre-fit the wings and wing tube, making sure that everything
fits.
The first thing to do is to make sure that the fiberglass
receptacle tubes in both the fuselage and the wing panels are
clear of obstructions, allowing the tube to fit fully in place. We used
high-pressure air to first blow out any dust or debris from these
tubes.
Insert the wing tube fully into one of the wing panels, until it
bottoms out against the plywood stop inside the female receptacle
tube. The fit should be firm, not sloppy. Remove the tube and
repeat this process on the other wing panel. Remove the tube.
Slide the main wing tube in place through the fuselage, roughly
centering it. Hold the tube and slide one of the wing panels in
place onto the tube, sliding it inwards towards the fuselage side.
As the wing root gets close to the fuselage side, the permanently
mounted aluminum tube stub at the rear of the wing root must now
engage into the hole in the fuselage side. With the rear tube now
engaged into the hole, the wing panel can be firmly pressed
against the fuselage side. Repeat this mounting procedure with
the remaining wing panel.
There are four M4 Hex Head Bolts provided in the kit. Two of these
are 20mm long and are the rear attachment bolts. The other two
are 25mm long and are the forward wing attachment bolts. Using
these four M4 bolts and four 4mm flat washers, the two wing
panels are now secured to the fuselage. Slide a washer onto one
of the 25mm bolts and from the inside of the fuselage insert the
bolt into the forward bolthole through the aluminum L-bracket. With
the wing against the fuselage, use a 4mm ball-driver to tighten the
bolt into the blind mounting nut already in place in the wing root.
Move back to the rear bolthole and insert a 20mm bolt and
washer in place and use the ball-driver to secure the bolt. Repeat
this process with the opposite wing panel.
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