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jaaron01 -> RE: 07 TopFlite Stinson build (11/26/2007 11:22:59 PM)
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FUSELAGE ASSEMBLY
Article is as follows:
Building the fuselage begins by laminating and framing bulkheads 3 through 9. Take your time; this assembly will ensure that your fuselage will be built square later. We used slow Zap here. Place the main stringers over the plan, then the bottom bulkheads 3 through 9. As you proceed, use a square to be certain the formers are vertical. Each former is braced by 1/4inch-square balsa to ensure alignment. Care must be taken here, as some of the bracing is permanent and some is removed later. Before you position the bottom stringers, place a straightedge from former 5 to 9 along both sides; this should be straight; if it isn't, remove any high spots. We had to remove 1/4 inch from former 6 and 1/8 inch from 7. Now go ahead and place all the bottom longerons and Zap them into place.
When the bottom of the fuselage is complete, add the top formers, along with the stringers, keeping all the formers straight. The next step is to build the forward fuselage sides; there is a left and a right side, which will build in the right thrust and downthrust that is called for. When this is complete, go ahead and put on the stabilizer and the vertical fin, making sure that everything is square and level. Now it's time to add the wing to the fuselage by building another joiner box and placing it on top and in front of former 4. I found that the rear mount should be in front of-not behind-former 5; if you place it as shown on the wing plan, it will be too far back. I also added an 1/8-inch-thick aircraft-grade wood spacer to the fuselage rib to strengthen the lite-ply rib where the bolt goes through. (Top Flite has added this modification to subsequent kits.) Now place the assembled wing and fuselage rib with the joiner tube in the fuselage joiner box. Check the measurements from the wing to the tail from both wingtips. If the measurements are OK, go ahead and glue in the joiner box with some Zap 30-minute epoxy. Sheeting the front half of the fuselage is somewhat difficult because the supplied wood is fairly hard, but it's manageable if it is soaked first in ammonia and water. We opted to make both of the model's doors operational solely for the ease of bolting on the wing; these were not difficult to construct.
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