Great Planes Reactor 1.60 ARF - GPMA1580 - Manual (Page 13)

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3. Holding the stab in position, use a fi ne-point, felt-tip
marker to trace lines onto the stab. Don’t forget to trace lines
on the bottom side of the stab, too.
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4. Trim the covering along a line that is 3/32" [2.4mm]
inside of the lines you drew on the stab. Refer to the “Expert
Tip” below on how to cut away covering. When you’re done
trimming, wipe away the lines using alcohol.
HOW TO CUT COVERING FROM BALSA
Use a thin metal straightedge and a regular (15W)
soldering iron instead of a hobby knife to trim away your
covering. While a hobby knife may work, it damages the
underlying wood fi bers and can cause the stabilizer to
fail. Allow the iron to heat up to operating temperature.
Gently run the tip of the iron across the covering using
the straightedge as a guide. Move the iron at a rate that
melts the covering but does not burn the wood fi bers. A
few gentle passes are preferable to slower passes that
can damage the wood.
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5. Trim the covering for the wing tube and wing dowels on
the fuselage.
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6. Temporarily install the wings onto the fuselage using
the wing tube and the plastic 1/4-20 x 1" [25mm] wing bolts.
Fit the stab once again and check the alignment of the stab
with the wings by leveling the wings with your work surface
and then measuring the distance between that and the tips
of the stab. The distances from each stab tip should be equal
and the stab should be parallel with the wings. If there is a
slight misalignment, you may apply weight to the high side or
lightly sand the fuselage sides until the stab aligns.
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7. Apply 30-minute epoxy to the top and bottom of the stab
center section and slide it into the fuselage. Pull the stab through
the fuselage past center and re-coat the center section on the
opposite fuselage side. Slide the stab back into the fuselage,
and then center it and level it like you did earlier.
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8. Use paper towels and denatured alcohol to wipe away
any excess epoxy from the stab to fuselage joint. Check to see
that the stab stays in position and allow the epoxy to cure.