Top Flite TOPA0140 - Manual (Page 32)

❏ ❏
11. Glue a die-cut 1/4" [6.4mm] balsa horn
block to the bottom of the left aileron where shown
on the plan. Sand the horn block to match the
shape of the aileron.
❏ ❏
12. Notch the aileron and glue the die-cut
1/8" [3.2mm] plywood control horn mounting
plate in place. Sand the mounting plate to match
the shape of the aileron LE.
❏ ❏
13. Reinstall the aileron on the wing. Make
the aileron pushrod from a .074" x 4" [1.9 x
102mm] pushrod, a solder clevis and a nylon
clevis. Connect one end of the pushrod to the
aileron servo arm and the other end to a large
nylon control horn. Adjust the length of the
pushrod as shown on the plan. Drill 1/16"
[1.60mm] holes in the mounting plate for the
control horn. Add a few drops of thin CA to the
holes. After the CA dries, temporarily mount the
horns to the aileron with two #2 x 3/8" [9.5mm]
screws.
❏
14. Build the framework for both radiators from
the die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] plywood parts. Glue two
die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] balsa
inlets to the front of
both radiators.
❏
15. Sheet the bottom of the radiators using the
1/8" x 3" x 24" [3.2 x 76 x 610mm] balsa sheet.
Round the edges as shown on the plan and in
the photo.
❏
16. You could glue the radiators to the wing
after you final sand the wing but we recommend
gluing them in place
after you cover (or paint) the
model.
Now does it look like a Spitfire wing? A beautiful
elliptical shape, isn’t it? Clean off your workbench,
vacuum the floor and get out the fuse plan.
BUILD THE FUSELAGE
FRAME THE FUSELAGE TOP
Note: We have tried to
prevent the Spitfire from
becoming tail-heavy by
including balsa fuselage
formers. These are quite
fragile, however; so if you
are a heavy-handed
“power builder,” you may
wish to pre-install some
1/16" cross-braces as shown here.
❏
1. Unroll the fuselage plan, then roll it the other
way so it will lie flat. Arrange the fuse plan so the
top view is over your building board or cut the top
view from the rest of the plan and place it over your
building board. Cover the plan with wax paper.
❏
2. Drill 3/16" [4.70mm] holes through the die-cut
1/8" [3.2mm] balsa formers 10, 8B and 7B at the
punch marks (or use a 3/16" [4.8mm] brass tube
sharpened at the end to cut the holes). Press
down on each former over a piece of leftover wood
as you drill the holes so the wood does not split as
the drill bit goes through.
❏
3. Cut the grooved balsa main stringers to a
length approximately 1/8" [3mm] longer than
shown on the plan. Pin the main stringers over
their locations on the plan, aligning the front of the
main stringers with the plan (and allowing the rear
to extend past the aft end of the plan). Make sure
you position the T-pins as shown in the sketch so
they do not interfere with the groove in the stringer.
1/16" Balsa
cross-brace
- 32 -