Top Flite TOPA0140 - Manual (Page 41)

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9. Unscrew the #2 x 3/8" [9.5mm] screws that
hold the tail gear bracket to the tail gear plate and
remove the bracket and tail gear wire. Trim the
sheeting along the bottom stringers between
formers 10 and 11.
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10. Temporarily tack glue the 3/8" x 3/4" x 6"
[9.5 x 19.1 x 152mm] bottom tail blocks to the
bottom of the fuse. Shape the blocks to match the
curvature of the bottom of the fuse as shown on
the cross sections on the plan and the photo at
step 12. While you’re at it, temporarily install the
rudder with the hinges and blend the bottom of the
rudder and the fuse to each other.
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11. Break the bottom tail blocks off the fuse.
Permanently mount the tail gear bracket to the tail
gear plate and secure the screws with a few drops
of thin CA. Position the tail gear plate and securely
glue it to the main stringers.
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12. Drill a 5/32" [4.00mm] hole through the
bottom tail blocks to accommodate the nylon
bearing tube on the tail gear wire. Glue the
bottom tail blocks in position.
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13. Cut the hinge slot in the fuselage and the
bottom of the rudder. Drill the 3/32" [2.40mm] hole
in the center of the hinge slots and test fit a hinge
as described earlier in the manual when you were
fitting the elevators.
FINAL CONSTRUCTION
MOUNT THE WING TO THE FUSELAGE
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1. Glue the die-cut 1/8" [3.2mm] plywood
former F4-B to former 4 and the lower crutches.
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2. Trim the fuse sheeting even with the lower
crutches. Test fit the wing on the fuselage. This is
the moment of truth! Slightly enlarge the holes in the
bottom of former F1 to accommodate the wing
dowels if necessary. Trim the balsa fuse sheeting
near the leading edge of the wing until the wing fits.
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3. Locate the holes in the wing bolt plate under
the bottom wing sheeting (the holes should be
2-1/4" [57mm] ahead of the TE and 1" [25.4mm]
on both sides of the wing centerline). Use a hobby
knife to cut 1/4" [6mm] holes in the sheeting for the
wing bolts.
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4. Place the wing on the fuselage and use the
pin-and-string technique to align the wing, only this
time stick the T-pin in the center of the fuselage at
the rear.
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5. See the Hot Tip that follows and use a #10
[4.90mm] (or 3/16") drill to drill through the holes in
the wing bolt plate into the wing bolt blocks in the
fuselage. The wing must not shift during this
procedure or you will lose your alignment. Also,
you must hold your drill perpendicular to the
bottom of the wing while drilling. Secure the wing
to the fuselage with masking tape or weights if you
feel it is necessary. Take a deep breath, steady
your hands and drill the holes. If you seem to have
had difficulty with this procedure in the past, you
could just
dimple the wing bolt blocks by letting the
spinning drill bit barely contact them and backing
off before you actually drill a hole. Remove the
wing and make sure you will be drilling the holes
near the center of the blocks. Reinstall the wing,
check alignment and finish drilling the holes.
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