Top Flite TOPA0290 - Manual (Page 21)

B
U
ILD
THE OUTER P
ANELS
W
e’ll star
t b
y
making the wing skins
.
It’
s a bit of an
under
taking to do them all at once
, b
ut then y
o
u
w
on’t ha
v
e
to mak
e
an
y more
.
Or y
ou could just
mak
e
the skins as needed…
❏
1.
Glue together tw
o 1/16"x 3"x 36"[1.6 x 75 x
910mm] balsa sheets to mak
e one 6"x 36"[150 x
910mm] balsa
outer wing skin
.
M
ak
e se
v
en more
6"x 36"[150 x 910mm] outer skins the same w
a
y.
❏
2.
After the glue has dr
ied, cut a 3/4" x 18"[19 x
460mm] str
ip from f
our of the skins
.These will be the
skins used f
or sheeting the front of the wings
.
Glue
the cut off str
ips to each of the remaining f
our other
skins
.
These will be the skins used f
or sheeting the
rear of the wings
.
❏
3.
After the glue has dr
ied, sand the skins flat.
Remember
, the insides of the skins don’t ha
ve
to be
perf
ect—do not o
ver thin the skins b
y
sanding too m
uch.
Star
t b
uilding the left panel so y
our pr
ogress
matc
hes the photos the fir
st time thr
ough.
❏❏
4.
Cut the left wing panel plan from the wing
plan and place it o
v
er y
our flat b
uilding board and
co
v
er with Plan Protector so glue will not adhere
.
❏❏
5.
The same as w
as done f
or the r
ibs on the
ends of the center panel, cut par
tw
a
y
through both
sides of r
ib
W2 betw
een the spar notches
.
❏❏
6.
Glue a die-cut 1/8"[3.2mm] plyw
ood wing r
ib
W5A
to
W5
and glue a
W4A
to
W4
.
Make sure y
o
u
glue the
“A”
ribs to the correct side f
or the wing
panel y
ou are w
orking on.
❏❏
7.
Glue together the tw
o par
ts of the die-cut
1/8"[3.2mm] plyw
ood
spar webs
.
❏❏
8.
Cut tw
o 1/4"x 3/8"x 36"[6.4 x 9.5 x 910mm]
bass
w
ood stic
ks to the length sho
wn on the plan f
o
r
the
top
and
bottom spar
s
.
❏❏
9.
Fit b
ut do not glue all the wing r
ibs (W2
through
W9) to the spar w
e
b
.
Fit b
ut do not glue the
top and bottom spars
, the die-cut 1/8"[2.4mm] balsa
ailer
on ba
y sub trailing edg
e
,
flap ba
y trailing
edg
e
and the die-cut 3/32"[2.4mm] balsa
outer sub
leading edg
e
.
❏❏
10.
Pin fiv
e or six of the wing r
ibs do
wn to the
b
uilding board through the lo
w points just aft of the
bottom spar and through the jig tabs
.
❏❏
11.
Use thin or medium CA to glue all
contacting par
ts together e
xcept f
or the top spar—do
not get an
y glue on the top spar
.
Use the dihedr
al
gauge to mak
e sure r
ib
W2 is set at the correct
angle
.
(The r
ib should lean slightly to
w
ard the wing
tip to accommodate the dihedr
al.)
- 21
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