Top Flite Elder 20 - Manual (Page 10)

with red, white and blue Roundels and tail treatment) to
a German WWI fighter (all red Monokote with black Iron
Cross's on a white background) to civilian-type versions
(dove gray fuselages, transparent blue wings and tail-
group and chrome Monokote "cowls!") Interestingly, no
matter what color scheme we used, there was always a
group of people at the flying site who would stand there
looking at the Elder, arguing about what real, full-scale
aircraft it represented. Just remember that the Elder is
not a scale model, you're free to cover it in any configura-
tion that strikes your fancy—it will look great!
Before covering, it is suggested that the final finish be
applied to the open spruce fuselage structure. This can
be done several ways. There is a very good product on
the market called Varathane that is sold through most
well-stocked hardware and lumber supply outlets. This
material is essentially clear and will leave the spruce
about its same color, maybe a little darker, and
somewhat shiney. It is resistant to spent fuel and quite
durable in actual use. Epoxy paint, mixed to achieve a
woodish brown color and brushed or sprayed also works
well. Take your time here, use light sandpaper to go over
the framework, smoothing it for the finish of your
choice. When applying the finish, be sure that all of the
exposed wood, except the top, rear stab glueing area,
receives paint. We then used flat black paint (again,
epoxy is great) to paint each of the ply "joint-caps", this
really makes the structure come to life!
Now for the covering itself. Use the directions that are
supplied with each roll of Monokote and cover each of
the various components separately; fuselage, wing,
stab, elevators, fin and rudder. Some of you might have a
problem with the wingtips of the Elder, if this is your first
venture into the use of Monokote or your first R/C
airplane. We tried a method on one of our prototypes that
worked quite well for these tips. First, cover the wing
panels totally, starting with the bottoms first, including
'the wingtips. Then cover the tops of the wing panels out
to and including the last outboard W-2 wing rib, but not
the wingtips themselves. Next, cut an elongated
triangular piece of Monokote to fit over the space bet-
ween the forward W-2 rib and the forward W-9 wingtip
former—keep the edges straight, allow about 1/8"
overlap and iron this piece in place. Move now to the
next exposed triangular area between W-9 and W-10 and
repeat the process. This method will provide a much
easier covering situation for the newcomer and, if done
carefully, gives you a nice looking, wrinkle-free wingtip.
When covering the fuselage be sure that the bottom
covering—the piece that you should apply
first—overlaps into and on the firewall by about 1/4 " at
least. Additional information on how to use Monokote is
now available on video tape. See your dealer or write to
Top Flite.
Assuming that the airplane is now covered, turn your at-
tention to fuel-proofing the engine compartment. We
like to use and highly recommend a liberal coat of
polyester resin. This material should be applied to all ex-
posed wood in the inside of the cowl area and over all of
the Monokote seams that terminate in the cowl itself.
This seals the wood as well as the Monokote seams and
avoids "fuel creep" later on. Be sure to keep the resin out
of the bolt holes in the firewall.
Use your X-acto knife to now clear-out all of the hinge
slots in the tail group. Do the same thing for the wing
hold-down bolt holes, the cockpit, the landing gear
screw holes, etc.
Mount the wing to the fuselage with the nylon bolts.
Place the stab in position on the top rear of the fuselage
and sight down the front of the model to observe if the
stab is sitting flat in relationship to the wing, without any
tilt. Once satisfied, hold the stab firmly in place in the
position that it is meant to be; square with the fuselage
and aligned correctly with the wing when viewed from
the top—make sure that it is exactly where you want it.
Use a sharp pencil and, while holding the stab in place,
trace the outline of the framework that is in contact with
the bottom of the stab onto the stab itself. Remove the
stab from the fuselage. Use your X-acto knife to now
lightly cut-out the frame outline from the bottom of the
stab's Monokote to expose the wood—this will be your
glueing surface. The stab can now be mounted to the
fuselage; we used a "thick" CA adhesive for this.
Next, prepare the fin for mounting to the stab by making
sure that all covering is removed from the bottom of it,
leaving exposed wood. Hold the fin in place on the stab
in the position that it is supposed to be; dead-centerwith
the fuselage centerline. Use the same pencil and mark
the fin's location on the top of the stab. Remove the fin
and use your X-acto knife to remove the covering from
the previously marked location, exposing the wood.
Before glueing the fin to the stab, use a pin to make lots
of small holes in the exposed wood of both the stab and
fin bottom, these need not be deep. Use a slower drying
adhesive (Titebond, 1-hour epoxy, etc.) to now glue the
fin in place on the stab. Use a length of light tape over the
top of the fin and on each tip of the stab to hold the fin in
place, at right angles, and allow to dry. Check periodical-
ly while this structure is drying to be sure that the fin has
not shifted and is in place at right angles to the stab and
on the centerline of the fuselage; we want everything
"square." When this structure is dry, remove the tape.
Thread a length of 20# fishing line (used for rigging thru-
out, if desired) through the hole at the top of the fin and
glue each end of the line into the holes at each tip of the
stab—carefully applied "thick" CA adhesive will work
well. The fin should now be quite immobile on the stab.
Use 1-hour epoxy to now glue the four hinges required in-
to the trailing edge of the stab and the two hinges re-
quired into the fin. Next, mount the elevators to their
hinges followed by the rudder, again using 1-hour epoxy.
A little acetone or CA debonder on a clean paper towel
can be used to clean-off any glue that has oozed out of
the hinge slots.
Mount the landing gear assembly to the fuselage with
the screws and clips provided. Mount the clips securely
but do not over-tighten.
Install the motor mount to the firewall and your engine to
the motor mount. We would suggest that you mount your
engine using 4-40 Alien-head bolts into pre-tapped holes
in the motor mount. Cut a couple of 10"-12" lengths of
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