16
screws that have been provided. Place a mark on each side of the
fuselage with a felt tip pen that measures 3-1/4" forward from the
headrest on the fuselage. Place the windshield on the fuselage
and line up the rear edge of the windshield at the previously make
marks. Use small pieces of masking tape to hold the windshield in
place. Carefully view the windshield from the front, top, and rear
to make sure properly aligned.
When satisfied, mark the five
mounting screw locations with a felt tip pen. Drill pilot holes at the
five locations with a 3/64" dia. drill bit and secure the canopy in
place with the provided screws. Note: As noted in previous steps,
remove the windshield and harden the holes with thin CA and
reinstall the windshield.
RADIO INSTALLATION:
With all the servos now installed, all that remains is to install the
receiver, battery pack, and switch.
Battery Pack: The single heaviest unit of the radio system is the
battery pack. This means that you can, if needed, locate the
batteries wherever they are required in the airplane to help achieve
the correct balance point.
Note:
Our Sun Dancer prototype
required that the battery pack (2400 mAh) be placed inside the
fuselage just behind the fuselage former at the trailing edge of the
bottom wing. We made a 1/8" plywood mount and glued it in place
inside the fuselage. Wrapped the battery pack in foam rubber and
secured in place with rubber bands and "J" hooks so it would not
be able to move or shift around in flight.
Aileron Y-Harnesses:
Three standard Y-harness chords are
needed for the ailerons when using a 4-channel radio system.
One to couple the two left aileron servos together, one to couple
the two right aileron servos together, and then one to couple the
left & right Y-harnesses together so you end up with a single plug
that is inserted into the aileron channel of the receiver. All three
aileron Y-harnesses will be located inside the fuselage.
Final hookup is as follows ... Plug one Y-harness into the receiver
aileron slot. Connect another Y-harness onto each branch of the
first Y-harness. Designate one of those Y-harnesses for the right
aileron servos and the other for the left servos. Now connect one
branch of the right aileron Y-harness to the bottom end of the 6”
extension chord that you taped to the right cabane strut in step 41.
Likewise, connect one branch of the left aileron Y-harness to the
bottom end of the 6” chord taped to the left cabane strut. That
completes the aileron hookups that remain inside the fuselage.
Later, when bolting the bottom wing in place, connect the unused
end of the right aileron Y-harness to the end of the 24” extension
chord that you installed in the bottom right wing in step 8. Likewise
connect the unused end of the left aileron Y-harness to the 24”
chord in the bottom left wing. Finally, when bolting on the top wing,
connect the servos chords in those wings to the top ends of the 6”
chords that are taped to the right and left cabane struts.
Receiver: Wrap the receiver in foam and use rubber bands or
tie-wraps to secure it inside the fuselage.
Note that the Sun
Dancer has an internal receiver antenna exit tube already installed
inside the fuselage. It is a clear plastic tube running along the left
side of the fuselage, exiting just ahead of the tailwheel assembly
on the bottom. Slide your antenna into the tube when installing
your receiver.
Switch: The switch can be mounted onto the fuselage side or
internally. We prefer an internally mounted switch for cosmetic
reasons only. We mounted ours onto a bracket made from scrap
1/8" plywood and using a length of music wire to activate the
switch from the outside. This is really simple to do. Just drill a
small diameter hole in the switch lever to fit a piece of .045 music
wire. Drill an exit hole in the side of the fuselage, lined up with the
switch/wire location. Make a 90
O
bend in one end of the wire and
insert the short end into the hole in the switch. Insert the wire
through the hole in the fuselage and make another 90
O
bend in the
wire outside of the fuselage, giving you a small "handle" to pull and
push when activating the on/off switch. Besides looking neat, this
method protects the switch from dirt, debris, and exhaust residue.
FINAL ASSEMBLY:
Strut Fittings: Eight aluminum strut fittings have been provided
for the interplane struts and two aluminum fittings for the cabane
struts. Note: The cabane strut fittings are slightly larger that the
interplane fittings.
❑
44) Begin by installing the two cabane strut fittings in bottom of
the top wing. Screw each fitting in until the bottom of the fitting
touches the hardwood mount. Then as a starting point, screw the
fittings out one full turn until mounting holes on each fitting is
facing for and aft.
❑
45) Install the interplane strut fittings in the same manner in the
bottom of the top wing, and in the top of the bottom wing. Align the
holes in the strut fittings so they run 90
O
to the wing span.