Top Flite Antares - Manual (Page 7)

the rear there is a length (1/8" x 1/4" x 1-5/8") balsa glued
to the back of C-5 that fits into the cut out in F-6 This
system is easy to install at this stage and has worked
beautifully in actual practice Cut, fit and glue the ply
"lip in place, being careful not to glue it to the fuse-
lage Cut or drill the 3/8"dia hole inthecanopy base—
in the center — just behind C 4 Bend and install the
two wire hooks shown, one on C-4 and the other
toward the bottom of F-4 Cut, fit and glue the 1/8" 1/4"
x 1-5/8"" balsa piece to the back of C-5 (trim this piece
carefully for a qood, snug fit as it is meant to keep the
canopy from shifting left or right Once satisfied, use
the piece of 1/8" x 3" x 12" balsa provided to sheet
(cross-grain) the top of the canopy (see side view).
When dry, sand the edges flush with the sides.
22. From your packaged wood p a r t s and hardware,
locate the 11/32" 0 D x 2-5/16" main wing wire tube, the
1/8" O.D. x 2-3/16" rear incidence pin tube and the maple
U-block tube nest Use rough sandpaper to rough-up
the outside surfaces of the brass tubes Insert the
tubes into their respective holes and center them —
note that each tube protrudes past the fuselage sides
to pick-up the installation of F-10 later Now trial-fit
the U-block onto the main wing tube inside of the
fuselage, sand edges as needed for good fit and
remove for gluing Cut a 1-5/8" length of 1/8" x 1/4" balsa
to fit beneath the rear incidence tube and against F 8.
Using 1-hour epoxy, apply glue to each end of the U-
block and fill the channel a bout one third Slide the U-block
over the tube as shown on the plans—carefully
wipe-off the glue that oozes onto the fuselage sides
Using more epoxy, "bury' the tube in glue, rotate the
tube itself to make sure there are no air bubbles.
Again using epoxy, glue the 1/8" x 1/4" balsa shelf
directly under the rear incidence tube and to F-8
"Bury" this tube in adhesive as well Take a break and
let the whole thing set-up — watch for runs
23. Use the remaining piece of roughed-up outer plastic
tube to make the internal antenna housing Install this
tube from just inside of the receiver compartment (in
front of F-4), aft along the bottom right fuselage side
and out through the angled hole made earlier. Note
that the tube fits into the slots you made in F-4, F-5
and F-9 Glue securely in place.
24. Decision time, are you going to use a radio-actuated
captive towhook system, such as the Fourmost Prod-
ucts shown on the plans or the fixed towhook pro-
vided in the kit While both systems work well, if you
are planning contest work with your ANTARES, we
highly recommend a captive system such as that
shown You will note on the plans that we are releas-
ing the towhook by radio, using a 3/4" "up" elevator
signal. While at first this might sound suicidal, in
actual practice this system, in conjunction with use of
flaps on launch, makes for wonderfully tall "ping"
launches You might take a look at the Flying section
of this manual and read how we have been doing this
before you decide which towhook system to use
Installation of the Fourmost hook is quite simple and
accurately depicted on the plans In fact, when we
used this s y s t e m , WP p r o - s l o t t e d the ply floor,
installed the mounting rails and secured the Four-
most hook in place on them and then installed the ply
floor to the fuselage
If you are installing the stock, fixed towhook, start by
locating the
3/32" x 2" x 17" ply forward fuselage floor.
Mark a centerline down its length in pencil. Hold it in
position against the bottom of fuselage with its rear
edge covering half of the 1/8" x 1/4" cross-brace be-
tween F-5 and F-9 With a pencil, mark the outside
fuselage side outlines, trim off the excess off with a
saw Glue the ply floor in place on the bottom of the
fuselage with the previously drawn centerline on the
outside Use a 5-7/16
7 " length of the 3/32" x 3/8" ply stock
provided and glue it in place to the inside centerofthe
ply floor, between F-5 and the rear cross-brace as
shown on the plans From the plans, determine the
towhook location and from the outside, drill a 1/8" dia.
hole through the fuselage floor and the ply doubler
just installed. Epoxy the 4-40 blind nut provided into
this hole from the inside — use glue liberally around
the nut's base without getting any into the threads.
25. Using the remaining 1/8" balsa sheet, finish sheeting
the top of the fuselage as shown on the plans Note
that one piece extends aft from the rear face of F-6 to
the rear edge of F-7 This sheeting is then resumed
(always cross-grain) from the forward edge of F-8
back to the rear edge of F-9 "Cap" the top of the two
fuselage sides between the two edges of the sheeting
with 1/8" x 1/4" balsa, aligning the outer edges with the
fuselage sides The resulting rectangular opening in
the fuselage top is for the access hatch.
26 As shown on the plans, the access hatch is a simple
frame made from 1/8" x 1/4" balsa, on edge, with 1/8" x
1/4" gussets in each of the four corners We used
scraps of bond paper front, back and on each side for
spacing while making this frame. As shown, install
two pieces of 1/8" x 1/4" balsa as shelves on the back
face of F-7 and the front face of F-8 to seat this hatch.
Sheet the hatch with the last of the 1/8" balsa provided,
cross-grain Lightly sand the edges flush with the
frame and lightly tack glue the hatch in place for final
sanding
27. Trim off and sand flush any protruding rudder and
antenna tubes on the right and left fuselage sides.
Trial-fit the two rear fuselage sides together to be sure
they will fit without any obstructions Once satisfied,
we will now glue the two fuselage sides together at
the rear This step is important and should be done
carefully to avoid unequal bending of the fuselage
sides (boloid) We would suggest that you place the
fuselage directly over the top view on the plans as
this supplies you with a centerline reference. Firmly
secure the fuselage with heavy objects that have right
angles (bricks, one on each side, are great). Use a
slow drying glue such as 1-hour epoxy and apply
adhesive to the inside of the fuselage sides, just
ahead of the fin (see plans), aft to the tail —keep glue
out of the tailskid slot Clamp the structure together.
Check very carefully for squareness and alignment.
Make sure that the fin structure is at 90° to the work
surface and that it is aligned down the center of the
fuselage when viewed from the front Let this assem-
bly cure completely.
28. From your hardware, locate one length of 36" braided
metal cable and the stab drive fitting The stab drive
hole in this small fitting is slightly undersize and
needs to have a #42 or 3/32"dia. drill bit run through it.
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