Top Flite TOPA0305 Part 1 User Manual

Page 24

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6. Temporarily remove rib W 2 from the

assembly.

7. One at a time, accurately align the jig tabs

of all the ribs with the plan and pin them to your
building board. In addition to T-pins, place weights
on top of the ribs and the aft spars to insure that all
the jig tabs are contacting your building board.

Inspect all joints and make sure everything aligns

with the plan. The spar web must fully contact the
bottom spar. A die-cut 1/8" plywood 90 degree
gauge is supplied in the kit to help you keep the

ribs vertical as you glue them.

8. Use medium or thin CA to glue all the

joints. Use the CA sparingly at this stage of

construction and do not build up fillets. This will
allow you to realign parts

if necessary and keep

you from gluing the jig tabs to the ribs.

We will

remind you to reinforce all glue joints later.

Place rib W2 back onto the assembly. Align

W2 with the dashed line depicting where it contacts
the plan. Use the die-cut 1/8" plywood dihedral
gauge to set W2 at the correct angle. Glue it to the
bottom spar and the spar web. Glue W2 to the aft
inner spar using the dihedral gauge to set it at the
correct angle.

10. Test fit a 1/4"

x 3/8" x 36" balsa upper

spar in the notches of the ribs

so the end of the

spar aligns with rib W2. Glue the spar to the ribs
and the spar web with thick or medium CA.

Remember, don't use too much glue.

ALIGN THE LE W T H
THE TOP

EACH RIB

11. Cut a 1/4"

x 36" shaped balsa leading

edge to a length of 29-1/2". Glue the LE to ribs W4
through W14

so the top aligns with the tops of the

ribs (the same as on the stab).

12.

Bevel the end of the remaining piece of

6-1/2" leading edge

so it matches the LE on the

wing when you position it on ribs W4, 3 and 2. Glue

it in position. Glue rib W4A to the side of rib W4.
Hint: Glue the LE to rib W2

last

you can use

the dihedral gauge to make sure W2 is at the
correct angle.

NOTE: Use a long straightedge along the length of
W2 to insure that it is flat along it's length (from the
LE to the TE).

Beech Fact:

Among other famous Beechcraft models,

some include variations of the stagger-wing biplane;
several versions of the 18A which is a twin engine, low

wing mono-plane (distinguishable by its twin rudders);

a light, single engine model named the Musketeer; a
sort of

bare-bones

straight tail Bonanza called the

Debonaic

the T-34 (which is a

U S .

Navy trainer); and

of course, several versions of the ever-popular twin
engine

Baron.

SHEET THE TOP

OF THE WlNGPANELS

Use a large sanding block or a bar sander

with 150-grit sandpaper to sand the tops of the top

spar, aft spars, LE and ribs

so they all smoothly

blend together. Make sure the tops of the aft spars
match the tapering angle of the ribs but sand the
ribs lightly

so you maintain the designed

airfoil shape.

2. Remove the T-pins from the bottom spar

and replace them

so they are all sticking in from

the front. This way you will be able to remove them
when the aft top sheet is in position. Remove the
T-pins from the aft jig tabs and replace them in

every other jig tab

so they all go into the building

board at the same angle

(you know

the

drill).

Remove the weights from the top of the wing

(if

you

used them).

Note: If you observe that the wing panel remains

flat and all the jig tabs are contacting your building
board when you remove the T-pins, you may leave
the T-pins out of the jig tabs. In this case the
weights that will be used to hold the sheeting to the

ribs will be enough to hold the wing flat to your
building board.

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