Top Flite TOPA0140 - Manual (Page 17)

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2. Mark rib 4 at the center of the leading edge.
Lay a straightedge on the rib across the mark you
made and the trailing edge of the rib where it
comes to a point. Draw a short line along the
straightedge from the trailing edge of the rib to the
notch for the inner trailing edge. This is where you
will cut the bottom of the ribs (when instructed to
do so) to accommodate the flap.
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3. Do the same with the other rib 4 and ribs 5
through 8 for both wing panels.
Perform step 4 only if you are building
retractable landing gear.
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4. Glue the die-cut 1/16" [1.6mm] plywood rib
doublers 3-4R and 5R to both sets of die-cut
3/32" [2.4mm] balsa wing ribs 3, 4 and 5. Make
sure you build a set of right and a set of left wing
ribs by gluing the doublers to the correct side of
the ribs as shown on the plan and in the photo.
Note: Ribs 3 and 4 have doublers on one side
only, but rib 5 has doublers on both sides.
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6. Remove balsa within the notches of the
plywood doublers to accommodate the landing
gear rails.
BUILD THE OUTER WING PANELS
Build the left wing panel first so yours will look the
same as the photos.
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1. Cut the left wing panel from the plan or
position the plan so the left wing panel is over your
building board. Cover the left wing panel plan with
wax paper.
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2. Position a 1/4" x 3/8" x 24" [6.4 x 9.5 x
610mm] basswood bottom main spar over its
location on the plan, aligning the tip of the spar
with the plan. Place a piece of leftover 1/16"
[1.6mm] balsa under the spar about 1/2" [12.7mm]
from the root end (refer to the following photo). Pin
the spar to the plan between ribs 4 and 5 and
between ribs 12 and 13. Don’t stick your pins
through the spar but stick them into your building
board over the spar in a
crisscross fashion.
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3. Position ribs 6 through 12 on the bottom
spar over their location on the plan. Pin each rib to
the plan in two places—one at the lowest point
where they contact the plan and one at each jig
tab. As you pin the ribs down, make sure you align
the spar over the plan. Add the die-cut 1/8"
[3.2mm] plywood tip brace, rib 13, the die-cut 1/8"
[3.2mm] balsa outer trailing edge and the tip
spar to the assembly.
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5. Glue the die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] plywood rib
doublers 4F, 5F and 6F to both sets of die-cut
3/32" [2.4mm] balsa wing ribs 4, 5 and 6. Make
sure you build a set of right and a set of left wing
ribs by gluing the doublers to the correct side of
the ribs as shown on the plan and in the photo.
Perform step 5 only if you are building
fixed landing gear (a scale warbird without
retracts? Won’t you reconsider?).
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