Top Flite TOPA0120 - Manual (Page 24)

their alignment. View the struts from the front of
the wing. The two struts should be parallel and
therefore perpendicular to the ground. Make slight
adjustments to the rails or structure until the
landing gear fits well.
❑ 6. Glue in the retract rails with a generous
amount of 30-minute epoxy. Be careful not to glue
in the retracts (or fixed gear).
❑ 7. After the glue has cured, remove the
landing gear and apply a fillet of 30-minute epoxy
to all of the plywood joints in the landing gear box
area.
❑ 8. Round the front edges of the Landing Gear
Rails as shown in the photo. This will provide
clearance for the Landing Gear Pods.
SHEET THE BOTTOM OF WING
❑ 1. Sort through the remaining 1/16” x 3” x 30”
wing sheeting. Pick out the best 8 sheets and set
them aside for the top of the wing.
NOTE: The wing sheeting process
described here has you sheet the wing
from the spar forward with one skin (2
skins for the bottom because of the
landing gear bay). You will then sheet
the wing from the spar back with
another skin. This technique is a good
compromise between sheeting the wing
with individual sheets, and making one
complete skin for the entire wing panel.
It allows you to presand all of the
seams that are over open structure and
it is easier to align and glue than a
complete one-piece skin.
NOTE: All balsa sheeting will usually
bend when it is cut from the log since
stresses are relieved. For best results,
trim the edges of the wing sheeting with
a long metal straight edge and a sharp
knife before joining them.
❑ 2. Lay waxed paper over a flat smooth work
surface. You will join the wing skins on this
surface.
NOTE: Do the following steps for both
the right and left wing halves.
❑ 3. Edge glue two 1/16” x 3” x 30” balsa wing
sheets together with CA for both the top and
bottom wing surfaces. Hint: A quick wipe of a
paper towel while gluing the sheets will soak up
most of the excess CA and make sanding the
seams easier.
NOTE: The steps below show the
sheeting of a wing with functioning
flaps. The wing without functioning
flaps is done the same way, but it will
look slightly different. When sheeting a
wing without functioning flaps, make
the skin aft of the spar so it covers the
structure all the way back to the Flap
TE.
❑ 4. LIGHTLY sand both sides of the skin over
the work surface with a sanding block and sharp
220 sandpaper.
❑ 5. Mark the skin as shown in the sketch
above. Cut the sheet in half diagonally and use
the pieces for the bottom forward portions of the
wing.
❑ 6. Cut off a piece of the sheet you made in the
above step large enough to sheet the area inboard
of W-3. Glue the sheet in place. The aft edge of
the sheeting should extend back to the
approximate centerline of the spar.
NOTE: The bottom of the wing must
be sheeted with the wing on the jig
tabs and the Wing Jig Block to avoid
twists.
- 24 -