Top Flite Antares - Manual (Page 8)

You don't want the fit between the forward stab drive
wire and the fitting loose but it still should be made to
pass through the fitting without binding Insert one
end of the cable into the "tube" end of the fitting and
solder securely (we recommend the use of Hams'
STAY-BRITE silver solder and particularly their STAY-
CLEAN flux for this and all other solder joints on this
airplane) Clean the joint completely and insert the
other end of the cable through the stab tube at the fin
and push it through to the servo compartment Cut-
off the excess, leaving yourself a little extra to trim
later when installing thecoupler Once satisfied, usea
1/8" dia drill bit through the rear 1/4" ply stab pivot
block hole and right fin skin Glue the left fin skin in
place, align carefully and allow to dry
29. Cut, fit and glue the 1/8" x 1/4" fuselage cross braces in
place, top and bottom, at the aft mid point of the
fuselage Cut, fit and glue the 1/4" balsa turtle-deck in
place on the top rear of the fuselage — note the bevel
needed for the fin's leading edge angle Turn the fuse-
lage over and using the 3/32" x 3 ' x 18" balsa provided,
sheet the bottom from the rear edge of the ply floor
all the way back to the tailpost, keeping glue out of the
tailskid slot Note that this sheeting is applied cross-
grain Use a sharp razor blade to cut the tailskid slot
into the bottom sheet at the tail Glue the tailskid in
place Locate the shaped 1/2" fuselage/fin fairing If
needed, use your sanding block to achieve a precise
fit and glue this fairing in place Use a sanding block
and 120 grit sandpaper to sand the fuselage sides, top
and bottom smooth Pay particular attention to the
side-view contour at the top of the fuselage where the
1/8" sheet meets the 1/4" turtledeck Sand the side and
top view shapes into the fuselage all the way through
the noseblock but don't start rounding any edges yet.
Work around the protruding wing tubes for now Note
the fin/fuselage joints are completely flush and
smooth Use the 1/8" dia drill to clear-out the remain-
ing hole needed in the left fin skin Trim the 1/8"O D x
7/8" brass tube used for the rear stab pivot bushing to a
little more than 1/2" long Rough-up its surface and
glue it in place into the hole provided atthe rear of the
fin, sand the edges flush with the fin.
CUT I/I6"SLOT IN FUSELAGE BOTTOM TO ACCEPT
TAILSKID. CHECK FIT, T H E N GLUE IN PLACE.
30. Temporarily install thetwo F 10's onto theirtubes and
against the fuselage sides Use a soft pencil to trace
their outline's onto the fuselage sides and remove the
ribs Using the plans for reference start sanding the
fuselage to final shape Note that at the top of the
fuselage, at the F 10 location, it is only rounded to the
outline you just drew, don't undercut it — see cross
sections Use the heavier grits of sandpaper for the
initial shapes, progressing to lighter grades to finish-
up This fuselage and fin can be sanded to an almost
ovoid shape in many of the cross sections — take
y o u r t i m e a n d d o a complete and tho rough job, it can
look really sexy when you do it right Note the sug-
gestion of adding a couple of pieces of scrap 1/8" balsa
to each side of the tailskid and then sanding the
whole thing into tho cross section of the fuselage.
When finished, carefully break loose the canopy.
RUDDER
1. Construct the rudder over the plans, starting with the
outside 1/4"x 1/2" balsa frame, the three corner gussets
and then the 3/32" x 1/4" geodetic "ribs" and their two
gussets Use a sanding block lightly on each side of
this structure
2 Locate and remove the two R-1 (ply) rudder horn
mounts Sandtheir edges flat a n d g l u e i n place atthe
bottom leading edge of the rudder—one on each
side
3 Use the 1/16" x 1/2" x 36 balsa strip provided to "build-
up" each side of the rudder, as shown on the
exploded view on the plans.
4 Use a sanding block to bevel the leading edge of the
rudder, on its centerline, to provide unobstructed
movement—see cross section on plans.
5 Sand rudder to its final cross section shape with a
sanding block Cut slots for hinges in the leading
edge of the rudder and the trailing edge of the fin—
check fit Mount rudder in place on the fin and hold
with masking tape at the hinge line Sand the final fin/
rudder shapes rounding a l l edges carefully to match
— see plans Remove rudder and lunges from fin.
STABILATOR
1. Locate and remove the two required E-1's and E-2
stab parts from their die-cut sheet Start construction
by using the remaining piece o f t h e 1 / 1 6 " x 3 " x 36" balsa
sheet that was used for making the canopy base, to
make four (4) 1/16" duplicates, without slots, of both
E 1 and E-2 A sharp razor and straight edge will do
the job quickly—note the desired grain direction.
(Note that if you wish to build a thicker stabilator, as
discussed in the F3B Modification section, substitute
the 1/16" stock with 1/8" sheet balsa Realize that this
means a change in the size of the leading edge, spar
and qeodetic material—the tips and trailing edge
material could be shimmed with scrap to center
them )
2 Using the 3/32" x 3/8" ply stock provided, cut two 3-1/16"
lengths to serve as the stabilator "roots" (save the
balance of the ply stock, it will be used for servo
mounting rails) As the drawing shows, accurately
mark and drill the 1/8" dia holes for the brass tubes
We think this is best done with a drill press of some
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