Top Flite TOPA0310 - Manual (Page 49)

❏ 10. The same as you did for the cowl, fill seams
between the wheel pant halves with filler such as
automotive Bondo
® or similar.
You may remount the wheels and pants to the
model at this time, or wait until after they are
painted. When you mount the wheels on the axles
during final assembly, lubricate the wheels on the
axles to be certain they roll freely.
Mount the Stab Struts
Refer to this photo while you mount the stab struts.
❏ ❏
1. Cut a pocket in the bottom longeron to
accommodate a 3/4" x 1-1/4" fuselage strut mount
made from leftover 1/8" plywood. Glue the strut
mount into position.
❏ ❏ 2. Cut the 21" basswood stab strut in half. Cut
one of the stab struts to the correct length and bevel
the ends to fit the stab and the fuse.
❏ ❏
3. Drill a 1/8" hole through the top of the strut
in alignment with the hole in the strut mount on the
stab. Secure the strut to the stab with a 4-40 x 1/2"
socket head cap screw.
❏ ❏ 4. Drill a 3/32" hole through the other end of the
strut and the fuselage strut mount. Enlarge the hole
in the strut only with a 1/8" drill.
❏ ❏ 5. Add a few drops of thin CA to the hole in the
fuse strut mount, allow to harden, then secure the
strut to the fuse with a #4 x 5/8" screw.
❏ 6. Mount the strut to the other side of the stab
the same way. When it’s time for finishing, you may
cover the stab struts with iron-on covering, or cover
them with lightweight glass cloth and resin, then
prime and paint.
Mount the Landing Gear Fairings and
Wing Struts
Note: The wing struts are for scale appearance only
and do not add structural support to the wing. Due to
the design of the wing and its own internal bracing, the
additional support of functional struts is not required
when the Stinson is
flown in a scale-like manner .
Make the left side first so yours will match the photos.
❏ ❏
1. Cut the left molded ABS landing gear fairing
along the cutlines, then trim the opening for the landing
gear. Test fit the fairing and trim the opening until it fits
the fuse and the landing gear.
NOTE : The smaller of the
two fairings is the left one.
❏ ❏ 2. Temporarily attach the landing gear fairing to
the fuse with masking tape.
❏ ❏ 3. Separate two shaped 18" basswood wing
strut halves as shown in the sketch. Glue the two
halves together, then sand smooth and even.
❏ ❏
4. Drill a 5/32" hole through the 3/4" x 1" x 3-
1/2" wing strut mounting block where shown on
the plan. Trim the block to fit in the wing, then glue it
in place to rib doubler 5D flush with the bottom wing
sheeting and cap strips as shown. Do not install the
6-32 blind nut until instructed to do so.
❏ ❏ 5. Mount the wing to the fuse. Cut the wing strut
to the correct length, then bevel one end to match
the angle at which it meets the wing. The bottom of
the strut simply rests against the landing gear fairing.
Note: You’ll find that the wing strut interferes with the
door and does not allow it to open all the way (in fact,
the door can only open about halfway). This is “scale”
and is the same on the full-size Stinson.
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