2.
Stick the ESC with double sided servo tape to the fuselage side between formers ‘F3’ and ‘F4’ passing the
motor leads through the hole in the motor mount and the battery lead up through the battery tray. Ensure that
the motor leads can be easily reached at the front to allow the motor to be connected.
3.
The motor can be installed now using the M3 screws or later after the fuselage has been covered.
4.
Insert the rudder and elevator pushrods from the rear via the slots in the fuselage feeding them through the
holes in ‘F9’ and ‘F7’ and into the pushrod connectors on the servos. Lightly tighten the pushrod connector
screws to hold the pushrods in place.
5. The receiver can be mounted now or after the fuselage is covered. The receiver can be mounted under the
battery tray, or on a fuselage side behind the servo tray using double-sided servo tape. Please note that the
receiver should be mounted in such a way that connecting the ‘Y’ aileron servo lead to the receiver is straight-
forward.
Complete the Fuselage Build
1.
Locate and remove the 2 pieces of sheeting for the underside of the nose from Sheet 6. Start at the nose
and line up the correct part against ‘F1’. Stick the edge of the sheet to ‘F1’ and allow the glue to set.
2.
Gently wrap the sheet around the curve of the nose a little at a time whilst applying CA to hold in place,
continue until the whole of the sheet is stuck into place. Take the second sheet and stick it to the first and
follow the same procedure to stick into place.
3.
The rear under side is covered using four sheet pieces located on Sheet 4. Stick them into place starting
with the sheet next to the rear of the wing saddle and working towards the rear.
4.
Using sand paper round off the edges of the underside sheeting where they meet the fuselage sides. Also
give the sides a gentle sanding to remove any rough edges or excess glue at the joints. The fuselage and
battery hatch are now ready for covering. Please note: do not cover the tail plane mounting base.
Tail Plane and Elevators
1.
From sheet 10, remove the two lozenge shaped parts, it is recommended that the tail plane part is not
removed from Sheet 10 at this stage. Remove the lozenge shaped areas from the tail plane and discard. Place
the tail plane in its carrier sheet onto a flat surface protected by plastic sheet or grease-proof paper (to prevent
the parts being stuck to the surface) and if possible weigh it down. Press the two lozenge parts into the tail
plane, ensure that they are pressed home and flush with the tail plane’s surface, before wicking CA into joins.
Allow the glue to fully dry before removing the tail plane part from the carrier sheet.
2.
Four slots for the Mylar hinges need to be cut into the trailing edge (TE) of the tail plane. To do this make a
mark on the left-hand side TE of the tail plane 25mm from the centre of the tail plane and then make another
mark 20mm from the first. Then make another mark 95mm from the centre with another mark 20mm from that..
Repeat the process for the right-hand side of the tail plane.
3.
Draw a line along the midpoint of the trailing edge between the 1
st
and 2
nd
marks and the 3
rd
and 4
th
marks
on each side. Using the lines as a guide and using a sharp knife
CAREFULLY
cut slots into the edges to a
depth of approximately 13mm, keeping the knife vertical to the edge to avoid the blade from cutting through to
the surface. Check that the Mylar hinge can be inserted to about half its length.
4.
Sand the LE of the tail plane to a rounded profile.
5.
Locate and remove the four elevator parts from Sheet 10 and the plywood elevator joiner from Sheet 3.
6.
Use sandpaper to round the leading edge of the plywood joiner.
7. On a protected flat surface assemble the elevator tips onto the elevator parts and stick into place with CA.
8.
Stick some thin clear tape along the TE of the tail plane. Assemble the two elevators and the plywood joiner
against the TE of the tailplane. This helps to ensure that the elevators and joiner are built straight. Hold the
Balsa Basics Spitfire Vintage Model Company
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