Great Planes Piper J-3 Cub 60 Kit - GPMA0162 - Manual (Page 43)

SPECIAL NOTE: Do not confuse this procedure with
"checking the C.G." or "balancing the airplane fore
and aft." That very important step will be covered later
in the manual.
Now that you have the basic airframe nearly completed,
this is a good time to balance the airplane laterally
(side-to-side) Here is how to do it
1 Temporarily attach the wing and engine (with muffler) to
the fuselage
2 With the wing level, lift the model by the engine propeller
shaft and the bottom of the rudder (this may require an
assistant) Do this several times
3 If one wing consistently drops when you lift, it indicates
that side is heavy Balance the airplane by gluing weight to
the inside of the other wing tip NOTE: An airplane that
has been laterally balanced will track better in loops
and other maneuvers.
The idea is to make the Great Planes Cub 60 appear to
have an "open structure" like the full-size Piper Cub.
Therefore, the covering is not bonded to, or touching much
of the fuselage structure On the fuselage sides, the only
areas where the covering is bonded to the frame are along
the bottom edge, the side stringer and pushrod exits, from
the fuselage front to about 1/2" aft, stringers on turtledeck,
wing saddle, cabin window frame comers, tail fairing block,
a 1/4" wide strip along the bottom of the stabilizer, and
fuselage rear Bond the MonoKote film to these areas but
use a heat gun to shrink the covering over the rest of the
structure Use a piece of masking tape to lift the covering
anywhere it was accidentally stuck down
The covering on the fuselage should be bonded to the
entire fuselage bottom and upper front deck Be sure to
use a Hot Sock when ironing down the covering to
sheeted surfaces.
Our prototype Cub 60 was covered with Top Flite
MonoKote film Some painting is required for the cowl,
landing gear and various scale parts See the "Painting"
and "Scale Details" section in this manual (pages 44 & 41)
It is assumed that you have had some previous model
building experience so we won't go into detail regarding the
covering procedure Follow the instructions included
with your covering material.
NOTE: When it's time to cover the fin and stab, begin by
applying 1/4"-wide strips of covering in the corners
between the fin and tail fairing, the stab and tail fairing, and
(on the bottom of the stab) between the stab and the fuse
sides Next cover the stab and fin with precut pieces that
have a straight edge to overlap (1/8"+ overlap) the strips
you previously applied DO NOT, under any
circumstances, attempt to cut the covering material
after it has been applied to the fin and stab, except
around the leading and trailing edges and at the tip.
Modelers who do this have cut through the covering and
partway into the balsa stab This can weaken the stab to
the point where it may fail in flight'
Fuselage
D 1 Strips as described in above note
D 2 Rudder left side
D 3 Rudder right side
D 4 Bottom of elevators
D 5 Top of elevators
D 6 Tail fin block right side
D 7 Tail fin block left side
D 8 Stab bottom
D 9 Stab top
D 10 Fin right side
D 11 Fin leftside
D 12 Fuse bottom
D 13 Fuse sides
D 14 Fuse top over stringers
D 15 Forward fuse deck
Wing
Do not forget to install aileron servo extension cords
in the wing before you begin covering. Confirm that
the extension cords will be accessible for connecting
to the aileron servos in the wing and connecting to the
"Y" connector for the receiver.
D 1 Ends of ailerons
D 2 Bottom of ailerons
D 3 Top of ailerons
D 4 Wing bolt plate
D 5 Front wing joiner/cabin area
D 6 Aileron openings in wing
D 7 Bottom of left wing panel
D 8 Bottom of right wing panel
D 9 Top of left wing panel
D 10. Top of right wing panel
43