Top Flite TOPA0705 - Manual (Page 17)

17
Did You Know?… Did You Know?…
In the middle of 1941, General Claire Chennault began
recruiting for his Volunteer Group – better known as the
Flying Tigers – to fi ght the Japanese from China, for
which 100 P-40s were ordered for purchase through
a loan from the U.S. Government.
ASSEMBLE THE FUSELAGE
INSTALL THE STABILIZER
❏
1. Test fi t the two aluminum stabilizer tubes in the
fuselage and slide the stabilizers onto the tubes. The
shorter tube goes in the front hole. If the aluminum
tubes are too tight to slide through the holes, take
a sharp hobby knife and gently scrape the inside of
the holes. During the manufacturing process a small
amount of resin or fi ller may be left behind in the hole.
❏
2. Once you are satisfi ed with the fi t of the stabilizer
halves, remove the stabilizer halves and joiner tubes.
Use medium grit sandpaper to roughen up the
aluminum tubes. Clean the tubes with denatured
alcohol and insert both tubes back into the fuselage
until the end exits on the opposite side by approximately
1" [25.4mm].
❏
3. Gather everything required for gluing the stabilizer
halves to the fuselage, including 30-minute epoxy,
mixing sticks, epoxy brush, 12" [305mm] long dowel
or wire, masking tape, denatured alcohol and small
paper towel squares. Mix up 3/4 oz. [22cc] of 30-minute
epoxy. Apply a generous amount of epoxy to the long
side of the aluminum joiner tubes. Pull the tubes
through the fuselage so that they are close to centered.
Pour a small amount of epoxy into both holes of one
of the stabilizer halves. Using a dowel or wire, coat
the inside of the holes. Apply epoxy to the root rib of
the stabilizer and the fuselage. Insert the end of the
aluminum tubes with epoxy on them into the stabilizer
and press the stabilizer against the fuselage. Wipe off
any excess epoxy that may have squeezed out before
it runs down the fuselage. Quickly repeat the process
on the other side. Wipe off any excess epoxy with a
dampened paper towel and denatured alcohol. Use
pieces of masking tape to hold the stabilizer halves
tight against the fuselage until the epoxy cures.
❏
4. Without using any glue, install three hinges into
the holes in the trailing edge of the fi n. Note that the
pivot point of each hinge must align with the center of
the trailing edge. To achieve this alignment, the hinges
will be fairly deep in the fi n. Also note that the hinges
must be perpendicular to the leading edge.
❏
5. Again without glue, test fi t the rudder to the fi n.
Remove the rudder and all the hinges. Add a small drop