Build the fin & rudder – Dynaflite GPMA0570 Bird of Time User Manual
Page 11
11
1/16"
HOLES
3/16" HARDWOOD JIG
STAB
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13. Use a leftover piece of 3/16" sq.
hardwood to make a drill jig for the stab wire holes.
Drill two 1/16" holes in the jig using the spacing
shown on the plan. The jig will insure the holes are
drilled in exactly the same location in each stab half.
Using the jig, drill two holes in the stabilizer root
ribs. Be careful to drill the holes centered in the rib
and parallel to the stab surface.
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14. Build the second stabilizer before adding the
joiner tubes and wires.
NOTE:
In the following steps you will glue in the
joiner tubes and wires. We recommend you glue only
the wires in one stab and the aluminum bearing tubes
in the other. You could, of course, put tubes in both
halves and then use the wires to join the two halves. If
you do this and forget to bring the wires the day of
an important contest, remember that we cautioned
you not to do it. If you are going to put tubes in both
stab halves anyway, cut a 1/4" long piece off one of
the smaller tubes first and set it aside for use later.
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15. In one stab half enlarge the aft hole with a
3/32" drill. Roughen the ends of both stab wires
with sandpaper and clean them with alcohol. Epoxy
the 1/16" wire in the front hole and the 3/32" wire
in the rear hole. Be sure the rear wire is exactly
along the centerline of the spar.
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16. In the other stab half, enlarge the front hole
to 3/32" and the rear hole to 1/8". Roughen and
clean the mating aluminum bearing tubes. Epoxy the
smaller tube in the front hole and the larger tube in
the rear hole. Again, be sure the tube is exactly
along the centerline of the spar.
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17. Taper the inboard root pieces as shown on
the plan with sandpaper. Cut the center stab sheeting
from leftover 1/16" wing sheeting and glue it in
place. It will rest on the forward triangular brace
and stick up about 1/32", but this will be sanded to
fair with the leading edge.
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18. A careful sanding to the airfoil shown on the
plan completes the stabilizer construction.
BUILD THE FIN & RUDDER
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1. Cover the fin and rudder plan with wax paper.
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2. Cut the fin trailing edge to length from
1/4" x 5/8" hard balsa and pin it to the
building board. Laminate the two 1/8" R4 pieces
together with thick CA.
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3. Fit the fin core R4 to the trailing edge and glue
it with CA.
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4. Cut and fit the fin leading edge and ribs from
1/4" x 3/8" balsa. Glue them to R4 and the trailing
edge with CA. The location of the ribs is not
important but the fit is, so move them up or down a
little to improve the fit if needed.
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5. Use epoxy to glue the 1/4" thick hardwood
insert into the cutout in R4. Wipe off any
excess epoxy.
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6. Prepare a 1/16" fin skin by gluing a die-cut
fin side skin and a die-cut dorsal fin skin together
with CA. Make sure the bottom edges are properly
aligned. Sand the skin smooth using 150-grit
sandpaper on an Easy-Touch bar sander with the
skin flat on the building board. Prepare a second
skin the same way except sand the other side of the
skin. The sanded sides will become the outside
surfaces of the fin.