Top Flite TOPA0500 - Manual (Page 9)

• Photos and sketches are placed ahead of the step
they refer to. Frequently you can study photos in
following steps to get another view of the same parts.
COMMON ABBREVIATIONS
Deg = degrees Elev = elevator
Fuse = fuselage " = inches
LE = leading edge Ply = plywood
Stab = stabilizer TE = trailing edge
LG = landing gear mm = millimeters
TYPES OF WOOD
BALSA BASSWOOD PLYWOOD
GET READY TO BUILD
1. Unroll the plan sheets. Roll them inside out so they lie
flat. Cut the left fuselage plan where indicated along the
dashed line and tape it to the right fuse plan
where indicated.
2. Remove all the parts from the box. Use a ballpoint pen
(not a felt tip pen) to lightly write the name or size on each
piece so you can identify it later. Use the
die-cut patterns
on pages 6 & 7 to identify and mark the die-cut parts
before you remove them from their die sheets. Many of
the parts already have numbers stamped on them, but in
some cases the number is located alongside the parts or
only on the die drawings on pages 6 and 7. You may
remove all the die-cut parts from their die sheets now or
wait until you need them. If a part is difficult to remove,
don’t force it out but cut around it with a #11 blade. After
you remove the parts from their die sheets, lightly sand
the edges to remove slivers or die-cutting irregularities.
Save some of the larger scraps of wood.
3. Separate the parts into groups such as stab, fin,
wing, and fuse. Store smaller parts in zipper-top food
storage bags.
BUILD THE TAIL SURFACES
MAKE THE STAB & FIN SKINS
❏ 1. Use the Hot Tip that follows or your own method
to glue two 1/16" x 3" x 30" balsa sheets together to
make a 1/16" x 6" x 30" sheet for one of the stab skins.
❏ C. Place a sheet of Plan Protector or wax paper on
your workbench. Turn the taped together sheets over
and apply aliphatic resin (wood workers glue such as
Great Planes Pro) to the seams.
❏ B. Tightly tape the trued edges of the sheets together
with masking tape.
❏ A. Use a straightedge and a sharp #11 blade to
true one edge of both sheets. Do not cut all the way
through the first time but make several passes with
your knife to prevent the wood from splitting.
HOW TO MAKE THE STAB SKINS
Top Flite selects balsa that is intended for sheeting,
though occasionally a few of these sheets may have
a small nick or split near the ends. If your kit contains
a few of these sheets, arrange them and glue them
together so the defects will not interfere with the final
shape of the skin.
1/64" = .4mm
1/32" = .8mm
1/16" = 1.6mm
3/32" = 2.4mm
1/8" = 3.2mm
5/32" = 4mm
3/16" = 4.8mm
1/4" = 6.4mm
3/8" = 9.5mm
1/2" = 12.7mm
5/8" = 15.9mm
3/4" = 19mm
1" = 25.4mm
2" = 50.8mm
3" = 76.2mm
6" = 152.4mm
12" = 304.8mm
15" = 381mm
18" = 457.2mm
21" = 533.4mm
24" = 609.6mm
30" = 762mm
36" = 914.4mm
METRIC CONVERSION
1" = 25.4mm (conversion factor)
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