Top Flite Elder 60 biplane - Manual (Page 4)

6. Internally, the center section is done and all that
remains is the addition of the top
3
3/32" balsa
sheeting—note grain. From the sheeting stock
provided, cut, fit and glue the sheeting in place.
When dry, remove the center section from your work
surface. Useyoursanding block tosmooth it'souter
W-1A and W-1B sides for mating to the outer wing
panels. The top, bottom and leading edge can now
also be sanded to shape. Set this assembly aside for
now.
7. In this step we want to prepare each of the required
components—the top and bottom spars, the 3/8" x
1/2" front L.E. and the rear 1/4" x 3/8" T.E.—with the
proper dihedral angle at their inboard ends. The
cross-section of the wing that is shown on the plans
is ideal forthis purpose. Simply lay, for instance, the
bottom 1/4" x 1/2" balsa spar in place over this
drawing. Note that the outboard end is cut at 90
degs.; but that the inboard end must be cut at an
angle to achieve the required 3/4" per panel dihedral
angle. Make two of these bottom spars. Now repeat
this process with the top spars, the leading edges
and the trailing edges (note that the length of the
leading edges is developed from the top view of the
wing plan). The inboard edges of the 1/4" x 1-1/2"
lower leading edges should be first cut at 90 degs.
and then slightly chamfered to match the needed
dihedral angle.
8. Start construction by first pinning the 1/4" x 1-1/2"
lower leading edges in place, directly overthe plans.
Note that the inboard edges of these two parts
terminate at the out edges of the two outboard
W-1A's. Now pin the 3/32" x 1" bottom trailing edge
planking in place. Glue the 1/4" x 3/8" trailing edges
in place on the top, rear of the
3/32" trailing edge
bottom sheet. From your kit box locate two 28"
lengths of the tapered 1-1/2"wide trailing stock. Note
on the plans that the inboard ends of the tapered
trailing edges have been scalloped to blend into the
center sections, using the plans as a guide, do this
now. Glue the tapered trailing edges in place—pin
securely. From the
3/32" x 1/4" x 36" stock provided,
cut, fit and glue each of the bottom capstrips in
place—pin to secure. Using the 3/32" sheet balsa
provided, measure, cut and glue the inboard bottom
wing sheeting in place—note grain direction.
Locate the two required W-6 wingtips, clean their
edges and glue in place. The bottom 1/4" x 1/2" spars
(angled ends inboard) are now glued in place to the
bottom wing sheet and capstrips. Now glue all
required W-2A, W-2B, W-3 and W-4 ribs in place,
making sure they are vertical to the work
surface—DO NOT glue W-3P's in place yet.
9. From your kit box locate the die-cut sheet
containing the four "light ply" W-3P wing ribs. Both
the upper and lower wings use two of these special
ribs for attachment of the interplane struts. Note
that each of these ribs have indentions on them for
location and placement of the nylon mini horns,
used for attachment of the interplane struts. On the
upper wing, the location of these horns is shown on
the lower left side of plan sheet #5. Route or cut a
slot between the two lower sets of front and rear
indentions to allow the base of the mini horn to fit.
As long as you're doing this now, go ahead and cut
the slots required for these ribs for the bottom
wing—these are the top front and rear set of
indentions. Once the ribs have been properly
slotted, place the two required for the bottom wing
back in your kit box for later assembly. The two
appropriate W-3P ribs for the top wing are ready for
installation. First, cut, fit and glue in place the 3/32" x
1/4" lengths of capstrip stock shown on the plans as
fitting directly beneath each of the mini horn
locations. Glue W-3P's in place.
10. Locate and remove 14 W-5 rear angled ribs from their
die-cut sheets. Note on the plans that the forward
ends of these ribs are chamfered to fit against the
W-3 rib sheets and that their placement does not
interfere with the placement of the top spar slots.
Also note that the innermost W-5 rib must be
trimmed slightly so as not to interfere with the
placement of the main dihedral brace. GlueW-5's in
place. Glue all of the wingtip braces (W-7, W-8, W-9,
W-10, and W-15) in place on the W-6 wingtips. Note
that W-7, W-9 and W-10 need to have their inboard
ends chamfered with a sanding block to fit flush to
the outer face of W-3.
11. From your hardwood parts bag, locate the four 1/2" x
5/8"" x 1-1/2" cabane support blocks. These are now
epoxied in place as shown on the plans, against the
inboard faces of W-2A and W-2B and to the bottom
3/32" bottom center wing sheeting—we suggest the
use of a 1-3 hour-type epoxy for this step.
12. Now take the center section which was assembled
earlier and fit it to one of the wing panels. Tilt it until
the two arms of the W-11 ply dihedral braces fit flush
to the front and rear bottom sheeting and the center
brace assembly is correctly positioned against
the bottom spar. Check this fit to be sure all
components fit nicely. Trim as needed to get proper
fit. Prop and/or pin this center section in this
position as you will use it as a guide for the
remaining wing panel parts. Remember not to glue
anything to the center section yet; it's only in place
for spacing purposes.
13. Glue the front 3/8" x 1/2" leading edge in place on top
of the lower 1/4" x 1-1/2" leading edge and against the
front of each full and half rib (angled end inboard to
fit against tilted center section). Glue the top 1/4" x
1/2" spar in place (angled end inboard). Cut, fit and
glue the 3/32" x V leading and trailing edge planking
in place—pin or tape to hold. Remove the center
section from the wing panel and repeat the above
steps on the remaining panel.
14. Cut, fit and glue all top 3/32" x 1/4" capstrips in place
on all of the ribs and half ribs.
15 Remove the wing panels from the work surface.
Inspect them for any dried globs of glue, remove
4