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Glossary of modeling terms – Carl Goldberg GBGA0040 User Manual

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ARF: Almost Ready to Fly

AILERON: the control surface on the wing that rolls the

plane

AIRFOIL: the shape of the wing as seen from the end

ANGLE OF ATTACK: the angle at which the wing meets

the air flow

BEVEL: to sand to an angle shape

BURR: the rough edges on a piece of wood or metal after

it is cut

CAP STRIP: a thin strip glued to the edges of the ribs to

shape the wing

CONTROL HORN: a device attached to each control sur-

face to provide an attachment point for the pushrod

COWL (COWLING): the nose section of the fuselage

that encloses the engine

DECALAGE: the difference between the incidence of the

wing and stabilizer

DIHEDRAL: the upward angle of the wings, as seen from

the front

ELEVATOR: the moveable part of the horizontal tail,

which controls pitch

EMPENNAGE: the tail of the plan

FIN: the fixed vertical part of the tail

FIREWALL: the hard wooden former at the front of the

fuselage, to which the engine is mounted

FORMER: a piece which shapes the fuselage; and to

which the sides of the fuselage are attached.

GUSSET: a small triangular piece glued into a corner to

strengthen it

INCIDENCE: the angle of the wing or the tail in relation

to the thrustline

LAMINATE: to glue two thin sheets of material together

to form a thick sheet

LEADING EDGE (L.E.): the edge of the wing that first

meets the airflow

LONGERON: a stringer that runs the length of the fuse-

lage

OUTPUT ARM: the piece that attaches to the servo and

connects it to the pushrod

PITCH: an up and down movement of the nose of the

plane, which is controlled by the elevator

POLYHEDRAL: a wing with more than one upward angle

PROTOTYPE: the full scale airplane from which the

model design was taken

PUSHROD: the long, stiff dowel or plastic piece that con-

nects the servo with the control horn

RTF: Ready to Fly
RIB: the airfoil-shaped piece that connects the leading

edge, spars and trailing edge of the wing together
and holds them in shape

GLOSSARY OF MODELING TERMS

RETRACTS: devices for extending and retracting the

wheels on command

ROLL: tilting of the plane as viewed from the front, con-

trolled by the ailerons

RUDDER: the moveable vertical tail of the plane, which

controls yaw

RX: radio receiver, the portion of the radio located

inside the fuselage

SERVO: the part of the airborne radio system that

moves the control surfaces

SHEAR WEB: wood sheeting that connects the top and

bottom spars to stiffen the wing

SHIM: a thin piece of wood inserted between two other

pieces to improve their fit

SPAR: a wooden stick running lengthwise through the

wing that serves as its backbone

SPINNER: the rounded cone that fits over the propeller

hub

STABILIZER (STAB): the fixed horizontal part of the tail
STALL: a situation in which the plane is flying too slow-

ly to move sufficient air across the wing to produce
lift

STRINGER: a long piece of wood attached to the form-

ers to shape the fuselage

THRUSTLINE: a line drawn from the center of the pro-

peller hub straight through the airplane

TORQUE: a rolling tendency caused by the spinning

propeller

TRAILING EDGE (T.E.): the edge of the wing that faces

the rear of the plane

TRAVEL: the movement of the control surfaces (rudder,

elevator, aileron) from side to side or up and down

TRIM: small adjustments made to the control surfaces

to cause the plane to fly straight and level by itself

TX: radio transmitter, the part of the radio system that is

held by the pilot and which sends signals to the
model

WASHIN: a twist in the wing tip that makes the trailing

edge lower than normal

WASHOUT: a twist in the wingtip that makes the trail-

ing edge higher than normal

WING SADDLE: the shaped part of the fuselage in

which the wing rests

WHEEL COLLAR: a metal ring that holds the wheel on

the axle

YAW: a right-to-left movement of the nose, controlled by

the rudder

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