Top Flite KittiWake - Manual (Page 13)

2. The method we suggest for locating the fuselage
to the main float istomakeapairoffrontand rear
scrap balsa stand-offs. These stand-offs are then
tack glued to the top of the main float and provide
a place for the fuselage, with the float legs attach-
ed, to accurately rest. The dimensions we used
are those directly behind the front float leg loca-
tion, beneath F-5 (2-1/16") and directly ahead of the
rear float leg, beneath F-6 (2-1/4"). These two
dimensions take into consideration that the top
of the float has not yet been sheeted.
3. With the fuselage, float legs attached, now sitting
accurately over the main float, you can view the
assembly from the side and use a pencil to mark
the float leg ends for the second bend needed to
fit the vertical main float sides. These bends can
easily be done with a pair of pliers. Take a little
time to "tweek" these bends to achieve a good fit.
4. The bolt hole marks on each float leg end should
now be made. Remove the fuselage from the main
float and the stand-off fixtures (leave the stand-
offs in place) and remove the legs from the
fuselage. Drill the bolt holes accurately through
each leg end with a 7/64"dia. drill bit. Re-assemble
the legs to the fuselage and place the fuselage
back on the main float. Use the same drill bit to
now drill holes through the main float sides and
the plywood hard points. Install the four #4-40
blind nuts into the ply hard points with epoxy and
allow to cure.
5. Remove the fuselage from the main float and
remove the stand-off jigs from the main float top.
The top of the float can now be sheeted with the
1/16" balsa provided and shaped and sanded to
final form (see plans and cross sections). PLEASE
note that the bottom edges of the float are NOT
rounded, they are sanded to sharp, precise cor-
ners.
III. WATER RUDDER
IV. GENERAL
1. Locate the two solder clips, the 1/16" dia. x 5-1/4"
wire arm and the 3/4 "x 1-1/4" piece of tin from your
kit parts. These are used to make the water rudder
system shown on the plans. We suggest using
Harris "Stay-Clean" solder flux for the required
soldering operations. Once the water rudder
assembly is made, carefully clean it off and round
the tin rudder as shown. On our prototypes, we
sprayed this part flat black with K&B epoxy. This
is not necessary but it looks very "finished".
1. Bolt the wing to the fuselage. How does the wing
saddle fit look? It should be an excellent fit
because if it isn't water will find its way inside.
Now is the time to correct any gaps and achieve a
good fit. We suggest mixing up a thick mixture of
30-minute epoxy and white micro-balloons and
spreading this mixture directly onto the fuselage
wing saddle area. Cover the center section of the
wing with clear MonoKote backing to protect it
and then mount and bolt the wing in place. Allow
the micro-balloon filler to cure, remove the wing
and sand the fuselage sides smooth. The result
will be a perfect wing/fuselage fit that will not re-
quire any additional sealing.
2. On our prototype KittiWakes we used no fiberglass
for strengthening parts. However, you may wish
to do so. We suggest using only 3/4 oz. fiberglass
and only using this material in certain, small
areas such as the bottom, leading edge of the rud-
der, a square inch or so over each of the four bolt
holes in the main float, etc. Fiberglassing the en-
tire float is not needed and doing so could cause a
major weight gain.
COVERING
1. Locate the 18" length of 3/32"dia. wire from your
kit. This wire is purposely untempered to allow
easy bending with common pliers. A carbide cut-
off wheel in your Dremel Tool should be used to
cut this wire as needed. Accurate bending pat-
terns for these braces (2 per float, front and rear)
are shown on the right side cross section view of
the wing. Use the patterns to now bend and cut
the braces.
2. Now trial-fit the tip float and the supporting wire
braces in place to the wing. Use your pliers to ad-
just as needed for an accurate fit. Section C-C on
the plans demonstrates the correct relationship
of the tip floats to the wing. Once satisfied, set
these parts aside for later assembly after cover-
ing.
As mentioned right from the beginning, our prototypes
have all been covered and flown with MonoKote® cover-
ing. The airplane depicted on the label of your kit is total-
ly covered with MonoKote, including the aluminum pin-
striping and the tip floats (which were initially hand-
carved, shaped and hollowed from light balsa)! This
airplane has been flown a great deal as well as dis-
played at the various trade-shows and still, to this day,
looks fabulous. This demonstrates the viability of
MonoKote® as a covering for seaplanes and we highly
recommend it's use.
The tip floats, being plastic, lend themselves best to
paint. We have used and highly recommend sprayed
2-part epoxies, such as K&B or HobbyPoxy. These paints
were also used on our prototypes for areas such as the
water rudder assembly, inside the engine compartment
(flat black), the control horns (dark blue), the top of the
canopy (red) and the aluminum float legs (aluminum).
We suggest that all of the various components that are
going to be covered with MonoKote should first be
wiped with a tack rag or blown off with high pressure air
to remove any dust particles. Each component should
II. TIP FLOAT WIRE BRACES
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