Top Flite TOPA0140 - Manual (Page 16)

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5. Cut the rudder ribs from two 3/32" x 3/8" x
24" [2.4 x 9.5 x 610mm] balsa sticks and one 3/32"
x 1/2" x 12" [2.4 x 12.7 x 305mm] balsa stick (for
the bottom two rudder ribs on each side) and glue
them to the rudder base.
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6. Sand the rudder ribs and the rudder blocks
so they match the cross section on the plan. Do
not sand the “V” on LE until instructed to do so.
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7. Hold the rudder to the fin and position the
shaped 1/2" [12.7mm] balsa rudder tip block on
top of the rudder. View the gap between the
bottom of the rudder tip block and the top of the
fin. Sand the top of the rudder if necessary so the
gap is even. Set the rudder tip block aside for now.
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8. Glue pieces of leftover 3/32" [2.4mm] balsa
to the rudder base over the locations of the hinge
slots. Draw a centerline on the TE of the fin. Cut
the hinge slots on the centerline of the fin TE and
the rudder LE where shown on the plan.
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9. Test fit the rudder to the fin with the hinges.
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10. Using the centerline on the front of the
rudder LE as a guide, shape the LE of the rudder
to a “V” as shown on the cross section.
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11. Glue the rudder tip block to the rudder and
shape it to match the plan and the fin.
Hint: After you glue the rudder tip block to the
rudder, temporarily join the rudder to the fin. Align
the rudder tip block with the tip of the fin and hold
it in place with a T-pin. Sand the tip block to match
the fin. Remove the T-pin and round the rudder tip
block to match the plan.
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12. Notch the right side of the rudder to
accommodate the die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] plywood
control horn mounting plate and glue it in place.
Sand the mounting plate to blend with the rudder LE.
When you’re done, your fin and rudder should look
something like this.
Alright, enough of this kid stuff. Lets get into the
meat of this project! Clean off your workbench,
vacuum the floor and start building the wing!
BUILD THE WING
PREPARATIONS
Perform steps 1, 2 and 3 only if you are
building flaps.
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1. Drill a 1/8" [3.10mm] hole through the punch
mark in both die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] plywood flap
bellcrank plates. Assemble the bellcranks as
shown in the sketch with the hardware supplied
with this kit. Secure the 4-40 nut with a drop of
epoxy or thread lock.
If you are installing retracts and have purchased
your landing gear (or as soon as you do), take
the air lines out of the package, unravel them
and hang them somewhere in your shop. This
will get all the kinks out so the lines will be
easier to install later.
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