Top Flite TOPA0305 Part 1 - Manual (Page 14)

ST15. Sand the top of the leading edges, stab
and elevator spars, and the TE brace so they
match the contour of the ribs. Do not change the
shape of the airfoil by sanding too much.
ST16. THIS STEP IS VERY IMPORTANT!
Arrange the T-pins so every other rib is held down
with one pin near the front and one pin near the
rear and make sure all the pins go into the jig tabs
at the same angle. This will allow you to
finagle
the stab off your building board by lifting it up and
to one side after the top sheeting is glued in place
(the T-pins are concealed).
ST17. Use your favorite method to glue the stab
skin to the stab. We recommend using aliphatic
resin to glue the skin to the ribs and TE spar, and
CA for only the leading edge. Apply glue to the stab
structure. Working quickly, position the stab skin
and hold the leading edge down until the CA
hardens. When the CA is hardened, wet the front of
the skin with a
50/50 mix of alcohol and water and
press it to the rest of the frame, holding it down
with weights until the glue dries.
Note: If you choose to use CA for the entire job, be
aware that residual accelerator you may have used
earlier can make the CA you use for this step cure
quickly. You'll have to work rapidly.
STI 8. Glue the elevator skin to the elevator. You
can use CA for this step since the skin is small and
easy to position. Make sure the trailing edge
contacts the
stoppers on the top of the jig tabs on
ribs S7S and S2S.
ST19. After the glue has thoroughly dried,
remove all the T-pins you can reach. Carefully lift
the stab (with the elevators) from your building
board. Trim the jig tabs from the ribs and take out
the rest of the T-pins.
ST20. Use a razor plane or a #I 1 blade to trim
the bottom of the LE so it is the same size as the
front of the ribs and matches the airfoil shape.
ST21. Sand the bottoms of the ribs, leading
edges, stab spars, elevator spars and the TE brace
so they smoothly blend.
L
ST22. Glue the little tips you cut off the end of
the S1AS ribs to the sheeting and S1AS.
BEVEL THE TE TO MATCH THE RIBS
TOP SHEETING'ON ELEVATOR ,
THE BOTTOM SKIN
WILL FIT LIKE THIS
TOP SHEETING
'
ST23. Use a bar sander and 150-grit sandpaper
to bevel the trailing edge of the top elevator skin SO
it will accommodate the bottom skin. While you
sand, apply pressure only to the sheeting and use
the ribs to set your sander at the correct angle. Do
not bevel the trailing edge to a sharp edge but
leave about 1/32" squared off. Hint: Support the
TE with the edge of your workbench or a platform
while you sand.
ST24. Glue four die-cut 1/8" balsa elevator
torque rod blocks between both sets of ribs Sl AS
and S2AS.
ST25. Cut twelve 1-7/8" long hinge blocks from
the 1 / 4 x 3/8" x 3 6 balsa stick. Glue them evenly
spaced to the stab TE spar and the elevator LE
spar where shown on the plan. Glue the die-cut
1/8" balsa stab gusset to the hinge block and rib
S7S as shown on the plan. Position the gusset so it
is even with the bottom of the hinge block so you
do not break it when you cut the hinge slot. Align
the grain as shown on the plan.
- 1 3 -