zope_pope

Hey guys,
One quick question. is it a necessity to get the retracts for fitting before sheeting the wing? Or can i do a lot of the fitting later?

intermidiot

Hello there,

Got your message.. I will respond to it a bit later.. But I will say this.. When I read the directions I usually read them all.. and look at every picture in fine detail. This will save you loads of guess work later on. A few things I can point out are:

Fin: You cut the sheeting to short on one side.. when you put it in the fuse over the stab you will see what I mean. Also, the fin will not extend down to the bottom of the fuse, you have to sand off some area under the stab to get it to sit at a 90 degree angle so that your rudder is straight. As far as the wings go.. Consider every single little thing you are going to do first.. make sure you have the servos for the flaps ( 2 ) and 1 for the aileron. Make sure you go out and buy the steel threaded clevis's. Do not use the stupid nylon ones as they are a nightmare to screw on once the rods are in the plane.. and gosh forbid you have to take them out once you solder. Make sure you get your retracts working perfectly before you sheet, you will have to put the fasteners on the air lines so that the air does not leak, and you have to play around with the air retract horn gage to get the retract to work perfectly.

I will check on the gluing in the book, but I think it does tell you.. just make sure you visit the back of the book for more information and make sure you jump ahead just to see what might be missing where you are in the book.. seriously

Just know ahead of time that the wheels will go down quickly and at different speeds, but coming up they tend to be really smooth if you adjust them JUST RIGHT... Once you get all your wiring done and test the pressure overnight in your air-can, and then get your y connector for the flaps and pre install the flap servos ( screw them in ) then sheet AROUND the servo flap covers. Sheeting afterward would be a nightmare no matter what you do....

I could go on and on about the kit and the little things that really need to be addressed in the book, but then again it is for a intermediate plane builder which I now consider myself, but not before this project.. not at all.. This is a tough little craft, but if you take your time ( a few months for me, a little here and there ) it will be super when it is done..

I will start to post some photos of my build in the next few days. I have to get my camera back from a friend first.. This way we can share ideas and concerns during the build.

Kind regards,
Intermidiot

http://www.venicecore.com

BradSD

My Feedback: (9)

I didn't build with the retracts but it seems it would be hard to get the tubing thru the wing after sheeting. I guess you could lay some string or something similiar to help you pull the tubes. Or go ahead and put the tubing in (if you have some) then sheet the wing & get your retracts later. Better yet you could just put the wing aside and start the fuse construction. Send pictures and keep the thread going.
Brad

zope_pope

I did put the wing aside, check out the pics. it shows my fuse. :P Anyways, i decided to just drop down and by the retracts now. They should be in the mail tomorrow. Those little things are pretty expensive! Anyways, I plan on working a little bit on the wing tonight, so I will try to post pics if i do make any noticeable progress. See ya.

intermidiot

Hello Hello,

I was wondering how your progress is going? I am just finishing up epoxying my area of the fuse behind the firewall.. I do one side a day.. 5 sides to do, and 3 done.. I am working on the 4th now.. What I have been doing while epoxing is using clay to stop the epoxy from running out of the holes on the fuse.. I make a little 1/8 inch wall and then put a fillet of epoxy on at about 1/8 or less.. It is really awesome..

When you get some time, please post the parts you are going to be using for your engine area, mount, motor, muffler, header ( if any ) etc.. I would like to see if I want to change my mind.. are you inverting or side mount?

Have a great one.. Will post pictures I hope tomorrow..

zope_pope

Okay, I am on the wing and very confused. THe wingbolt assembly on the front of the wing is fit between the two w2 ribs. I can do that just fine, but no where does it say to actually glue it to the wing? ANyone know if they forgot to add that to the instructions?

intermidiot

Hello there,

I think you are on epage 20 and 21 of the book.. After you glue the wing bolt plate together you are suppose to draw your center lines on the the W2's and then glue the wing bolt plate a 1/16 of an inch lower then the center line to achieve the proper angle. DO NOT shape the CLE until you are ready to bolt the wings on...

If this is not the step you are on ( 23, 24, 25 ) please let me know where you are in the book and I will check it..

Kind regards,
Intermidiot

http://www.venicecore.com

zope_pope

You nailed the step, its just it says locate the part, not glue. hmmm, I would assume its suppose to be glued though.

BradSD

My Feedback: (9)

Be careful to get that cle in the right way, I put mine in angled wrong. It worked out but required a lot of sanding and shaping. Out side of that problem my wing built very well.
Brad

zope_pope

So you guys are telling me to glue the wingbolt assembly to the wing right? Sorry, I just dont want to get this wrong. I will double check the angle of cle which is my next step. Thanks for the tip.

intermidiot

Hello Zope,

I was wondering if you could do me a favour and post a picture or two of where you are at. A picture of the wings joined top view and also the part you are talking about. This way not only can I tell if everything else was done prior to gluing in the CLE, but what to if anything change or fix. If you are unable to do this, then I can only say go for it.. glue it up.

zope_pope

I will try to post a picture. I have followed the instructions to the t, but no where does it mention gluing in the w1 and wingbolt plate to the wing. I will post pics of my wing and the instructions. I have read the step like 20 times and cant seem to find the word glue. :P

intermidiot

Hey Zope,

Here is the manual...

http://www.top-flite.com/manuals/topa0110-manual.pdf

send me a PM with your IM at MSN ( I only have an account there ) and we can talk about it over IM. If you want. Otherwise we can try and go over the manual on here.

zope_pope

Step 24 on page 21. It doesnt say glue or epoxy anywhere. In step 25 it still doesnt mention gluing the assembly in place only the cle.

intermidiot

Hello Zope,

That is because it tells you to glue them in on step 25. That is why I mentioned awhile back to read ahead into the book and really look at all the pictures carefully. It's because they assume that you have done kits before and should know what to do..

Talk to you soon..

zope_pope

I read ahead many times, but I dont see where it says to glue them in. the manual simply states to glue the cle but not the wingbolt or w1 ribs. I have also built many kits. Kit makers are human too, so they do forget things.

intermidiot

I completely agree, and believe me in this manual you are going to be guessing all the way to completion.. the manual even in my opinion misses a lot of steps.. What I am saying is that I think they assume you should either know or give you the option to do things differently as you want. Therefore the manual has a lot of missing steps.. I happen to think that this kit should be revised and steps added. If you take a look at the side view you will notice that where the wing fairing goes it looks like there is a piece of ply.. However, it is not in the manual. It's like, well should I put something there or not.. However, in the photos in the book I do not see any ply in that area, so right now I have no idea... Lots of missing things.. it could have been written better.. that is for sure..

By the way I do understand what you are saying now.. you are saying that no where does it say to glue in the assembly.... basically since you move onto gluing the CLE's in place I think you take it at face value and glue the assembly in 1/16 of an inch under the center line..

zope_pope

Yay! Right on the money. Alright, i will glue that piece and that will be the end of that discussion. Sorry for the long page and a half of one question guys.

BradSD

My Feedback: (9)

I actually thought the manual was very good. Try building the P-39, now that plane leaves you guessing about the whole thing. Maybe that is why they no longer produce the kit.
Brad

Dai Phan

My Feedback: (2)

Hello,

Please put on TWO masks and sand outside with a fan behind you blowing the dust AWAY from you. The balsa dust is very bad for someone with allergies. I had my fair share of inhaling balsa dust so I know what is it like. I always sand when it is still bright outside. DP

m2

Hi Guys this is also my first WB kit this is my progress so far.......





I'll try and keep u up to date, but things are slow going atm

I'm mainly fitting the electrical gear, can any one else confirm that its TOTALLY not a good idea to use the 1 servo for the ailerons

some thing else that concerns me is should i use the engine mount that came with this kit or go for an aluminum one?


Hey like you said in your other post intermidiot... i also want to keep everthing in cowl so cause i already had the .6fx i decided to get this kit and see how it goes with the in cowl muf... might be a bad idea depending on how heavy this bird is.


Greetings from your mates downunder

BradSD

My Feedback: (9)

My SuperTiger .90 has marginal power for this plane & mine was built without retracts. I also used one servo on the ailrons, so far no problems. A good servo that is fast and strong would be good and lighter than two in the wing. Weight is a factor in this plane, be very careful or your masterpiece will stall on take off or landing. Keep it as light as possible. Use flaps on landing but avoid them on take off. In the air this plane flys extremely well and is so pretty on a high speed pass. Yourbuild looks fantastic so far, I look forward to reading your post.
Brad

intermidiot

Whoa,

Well you have certainly taken another route in building this plane . And where did you get that cowl checkerboard? Not fair. Was not in my kit. Ok, well in any case.. as per your questions below and what I am seeing in those pictures, I hope you are going to be ok. What I mean by that is this. You have opted for those notches on the STAB and FIN, but I do not see the change to the RUDDER to accommodate the FIN. OK, so maybe you will get there, but the bottom of the fin is not cut properly, and will not accommodate the elevator bar, unless of course you plan on changing the location of the rod, so that if something happens you can work on it outside the plane rather then where they have it all inside the plane on the plans. ( hope you understand that ). I also have to say, good luck to you on matching up the other side of the fuse. Make sure you do it on the plans and not by eye sight or you might throw off the downward thrust for your motor mount. Now I have to go check my plane again, and the plans.. that fin looks way different then mine, but might be that way for a reason.

BTW, I used to live in Glenelg, for a couple years. I was at Holdfast Shores. Long story. Oh, and the motor mount that they give you.. I would replace as I am doing.. Here are the parts that I have purchased or am purchasing for this plane.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...h+List+Look-Up

I have to check into that fin now, will converse later.. talk to you soon..

zope_pope

Sweet plane man. I will try to post some pictures of what I have so far as well. I like how you put everything together in one pic. Unfortunately I have a small ding in my horizontal stab because my 60 lbs dog decided it would be a good place to step. Oh well. Nice to see more people building this kit. I am throwing two servos in the wing becuse I thought that with a light servo the weight would be about the same, but with less slop. Just my opinion though. I also agree that the instructions were rather good up to the point they forgot a step, but looking ahead it looks really good. Just not looking forward to more sanding. I cant wait to get my radiator final shaped though, it looks really bad right now! see ya guys later

intermidiot

Ok Now,

Well, just got off the phone with Top-Flite and had then double and triple check my wish list. Everything on there is correct. I added some other things that I need rather then working on the sponge bench I made, needed some extra glue and epoxy as well.. Figured I might as well get a hinge maker for my CA hinges too. I have already cut off my flaps and getting them completed. I have to check some other items first before i move ahead. I mean I understand that these planes can't be perfect, but I am willing to take the time and get as close to perfect as I can. I really wish they had a canopy installation image in the manual, nope.. I also wish they provided some brass fittings for the elevator bar, so I could glue it in place and not hinder the movement of the bar. I think I will customize that area a bit and add some of my own soft brass 1/2 covers to the bar, glue them in place, snap in the bar and then finish the stab, elevators and rudder. There are a few more items I wish there was better directions for, but so be it. 10 steps at a time is my motto.

Pictures coming.

Zope, when you added those images... How do you make them small and then larger on click or will the attachment feature take care of that?