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Build Companion: Freewing Mig-21 80mm
Copyright 2016 by Brad Miser
Page 73
Install the Wings
In this section, you install the wings. I deviated from the manual because it states you should
remove the louver over the cheater hole in order to route the wires from the wings to the front of
the fuselage. However, the louver on my model was firmly glued on and I didn’t want to risk
damage to the fuselage by removing it. So, I accessed the same area through the EDF access
cover instead.
However, with this method, it proved impossible to glue the clear plastic covers over the
channels in the side of the fuselage in which all the wires from the wings run because I couldn’t
get my hands or tools in place such that I could glue the covers on without making a complete
mess. So, on one side, I used tape to hold the cover on. On the other, I just use tape without the
plastic cover. I believe the tape will serve the purpose of the plastic cover just as well (time will
tell), which is to keep the wires from getting sucked into the airflow and to smooth the airflow
over the channels in the fuselage. If you use the tape method like I did (with or without the
plastic cover), make sure the tape is securely mounted so it (or the cover) doesn’t come loose and
get sucked into the fan (of course, you need to practice the same caution if you glue the clear
plastic covers on).
At this point, you should decide if you are going to use the method I did or go with manual’s
recommendation to remove the louver. If you use the manual’s method, you need to carefully cut
out and remove the louver. With the louver removed, you don’t need to remove the EDF access
cover and EDF as the following steps show and some of the other details will be slightly
different for you. You will also be able to glue the clear plastic covers over the channels in the
fuselage instead of taping them as I did. When the wings are installed and you’ve tested all the
controls, you will need to replace the louver by gluing it in place or, better, use the process
defined in a post by Air-Jon on the RCGroups thread for this plane to make it easily removable
in the future:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2642308-Freewing-80mm-Mig-21-
Fishbed/page267
If you are going to remove the louver, I recommend using this technique to make it easier to
remove in the future in the event you need to do maintenance in this area. If I were to build
another of these models or if I ever need to do maintenance in this area, I’ll remove the louver
and use Air-Jon’s technique of mounting it.