General information about
fully-composite aircraft structure and design
All the parts are produced in negative molds, manufactured using vacuum-bagged sandwich construction technol-
ogy. All parts are painted in the moulds, either single color or designer color schemes. A new production method,
called TAVS (Total Area Vacuum Sandwich), enables us to present this aircraft with incredible built-in strength,
while still being lightweight, and for a price that nobody could even consider some years ago. This production
process has huge advantages, but a few disadvantages as well. These facts need to be explained in advance for your
better understanding.
The Wings:
Both wing halves are made in negative moulds, and fully vacuum bagged, using only 3 layers of 80gm/2.5 oz.
cloth in combination with a very hard 2 mm balsasandwich form a hard and durable outer skin. Because of this
TAVS technology very few additional structural parts are needed. The ailerons are already elastic-hinged for
you. They are laminated in the wing mould and are attached to the main wing with a special nylon hinge-cloth,
sandwiched between the outer skin and the foam. This nylon hinge is 100% safe and durable. You will never have
to worry about breaking it, or wearing it out. There is no gap at all on the top wing surface, and there is only a very
narrow slot in the bottom surface, where the aileron slides under the main wing skin during down throw. This
hinge setup is the cleanest you can ever obtain, but you have to take some care during assembly for proper installa-
tion and servo set up.
First, the hinge line is on the top surface of the wing, not in the centre.
This is NOT a disadvantage, if you set in about 10% NEGATIVE
aileron differential in your transmitter program. This means that the
‘down’ throw needs to be about 10% more than the up throw to give
nice axial rolls. Why? Because the axis of the hinge is not at the centre
line of the aileron, so it moves slightly in and out when it travels, and
the aileron gets a little "bigger" in surface area when moving up, and
"smaller" when moving down. This is why you have to set the negative
differential in your transmitter to compensate for the size changing.
10% is a good starting point, and you will find out the exact setting during
the first flights, doing fast vertical rolls and watching the fuselage rolling in a perfect axial line. You can set it per-
fectly, this is guaranteed. The bottom hinge slot needs some explanation, too. The cut line is exactly in the correct
position so that the aileron slides under the wing skin smoothly. If the cut was a few mm forward or
back, it would-
n't work properly. So, make sure that the lip is not damaged, and that the aileron slides under this lip perfectly. It
will NOT lock at any time, as long as the lip is not damaged. If damage occurs to the lip, you can cut off 2-3 mm,
but you should NEVER need to cut off more than this. Make sure that the carbon control horns are glued into the
ailerons properly. The holes in the horns for the ball-links (or quick-links) need to be exactly perpendicular to the
hinge axis line, and in this manual we show you a simple way to ensure that the horns in both control surfaces will
be identical, making it easy to set up your R/C for accurate flying maneuvers.
The fuselage:
The fuselage is also made in negative moulds. All the load-bearing internal parts and bulkheads are now glued
in using jigs and templates during the mould and assembly stages in the factory, to ensure accurate location and
reduce the assembly time for you.
Take Care:
Composite sandwich parts are extremely strong, but fragile at the same time. Always keep in mind that these air-
planes are designed for minimum weight and maximum strength in flight. Please take care of it, especially when it
is being transported, to make sure that none of the critical parts and linkages are damaged. Always handle your
airplane with great care, especially on the ground and during transport, so you will have many hours of pleasure
with it.
Take extra care when picking up your F16. The wings do not have structure near the L/E. So if you
squeeze the wing to hard, it may crack and delaminate
.
P-4
