Top Flite TOPA0700 - Manual (Page 19)

ASSEMBLE THE
FUSELA
GE
Hing
e the ele
v
ator
s and rud
der
❏
1.
Cut tw
elv
e 1" x 1" [25 x 25mm] CA hinges from
the supplied 2" x 9" [50 x 230mm] CA hinge str
ip
.
Cut
off the cor
ners so the hinges go in easier
.
❏
2.
T
est fit one of the ele
v
ators to the stab with f
our
hinges
.
If the hinge slots are too tight, the
y can be
“loosened”
b
y
inser
ting a hob
b
y
knif
e and mo
ving it
from side-to-side
.
N
ote that it’
s the bac
k side of the
b
lade that does the w
o
rk
.
❏
3.
Mak
e
a small slit in the ele
v
ator
and
stab on
both sides of all f
our hinges
.
These small slits will
indicate the ends of the hinge slots
.
❏
4.
Remo
v
e
the ele
v
ator
.
Cut a small str
ip of
co
v
e
ring from each hinge slot in the stab and
ele
v
a
tor betw
een the slits
.
D
rill 3/32" [2.4mm] holes
,
1/2" [15mm] deep in the middle of all the hinge slots
.
A Moto-T
ool with a cutting bit w
o
rks w
e
ll f
or this
.
These
“tunnels”
will allo
w the CA to fully penetr
ate
the hinge slots when it’
s time f
or per
manently joining
the ele
v
ators to the stab later on.
❏
5.
Prepare the rest of the hinges and the hinge
slots in the stab and the other ele
v
ator and the
rudder and fin the same w
a
y.
Do not
glue in the
hinges until instr
ucted to do so
.
Glue in the stabiliz
er
Bef
ore proceeding, a b
uilding stand is required f
o
r
w
o
rking on the fuselage
.
In the R&D shop w
e
pref
er
the Robar
t
®
Super Stand II (R
OBP1402).
❏
1.
The same as y
ou did the wing, use a co
v
e
ring
iron to remo
v
e
an
y wr
inkles in the fuselage
, stab and
ele
v
ators
.
Remember to press do
wn o
v
er sheeted
areas (e
xcept where the w
ood bo
ws inw
ard).
Hint:
Use a pin to pok
e f
our or fiv
e holes beside each
rib in the top and bottom of both ele
v
ators to allo
w air
to escape while shr
inking the co
v
e
ring.
Note:
The f
ollo
wing three steps descr
ibe ho
w to
prepare the hinge slots f
or gluing in the CA hinges
.
This procedure ma
y appear to be
“more in
volv
ed”
than one w
ould pref
er f
or an ARF
, b
ut y
o
u will be
re
w
arded with close
, clean hinge gaps and free-
mo
ving,
securel
y
hinged surf
aces
.
1"
1"
NO
TES ABOUT CA HINGES
This kit is supplied with CA hinge mater
ial
consisting of a 3-la
yer lamination of Mylar and
poly
ester specially made f
or hinging model
air
planes
.When proper
ly installed, this type of CA
hinge pro
vides the best combination of strength,
dur
ability and easy installation.
Y
our giant P-51 and
other giant w
a
rbirds lik
e it ha
ve
been thoroughly
tested with these hinges
, b
ut it is
essential
to install
them
correctly
.
F
ollo
w the hinging instr
uctions in
this man
ual f
or the best result.
The techniques
sho
wn ha
ve
been de
ve
loped to ensure thorough
and secure gluing.
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