RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

all owned by hobbico. OS, GP, TF, and I think Futaba too.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

if I run into that dowel problem Ill simply fix it...10 minutes of work beats 1 week of wait.
It's not like we have to reset a firewall here ;)

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

I checked mine and it is drilled way off as well. It is an EASY fix, but it is surprising however.

I agree about the 50cc. I had a G62 in my GP Christen Eagle and it was not any bigger or heavier than this.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

I could not go to sleep after seeing that so I had to at least put the wing on and see. Turns out it is purposely drilled below the printed circle so it would line up. Mine is drilled way off about like your pic, however, it lines up perfectly. If it was drilled right on the printed circle, it would be way off. You can measure the from the top of the circle to the top of the wing and clearly see that the wing would be way high if it had been drilled on the circle. Turns out, they caught the mistake (printed circle), and corrected it by drilling it out lower. At least, this is how mine is.

EDIT: By the way, even if it is off, it is a simple fix. Redrill the hole, glue the pin, use 5 min epoxy and micro balloons to fill around the gap that was made.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

I'm going to make templates using the outline of the wing and the joiner. I'll chose the wing that looks best and set the other holes the same. It may be a good idea to close the holes with short pieces of dowel and start them over. Pick one wing that looks good and make the other match.
Make sure the incidence is the same left and right. If not it could cause the upper wing to twist with those stiff "I" struts.

I've had to rebuild my workshop due to a new project we're getting ready to start. The shop is back together now and I'll be able to get back to the Staggerwing.
Thanks for the heads up on the locater pin problem!

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

If all goes well, a photo shoot and a maiden flight tommorow. Moki 2.10 power to the rescue.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Don't forget Towers !

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Bingo Alan

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

I considered redrilling and patching, as some have suggested. However, I am concerned about drilling the holes perfectly parallel. You can't put the tip of the wing on your drill press. If you screw it up, you can't expect Tower/Top Flite to honor a warranty problem.

The circles indicated on the wing rib line up with the holes in the fuse on my plane. It is interesting if they need to be offset to match on other planes. Maybe I got wings that were meant for fuses with different hole locations. Either way, it seems tragic that they went to the trouble of having the hole locations lasered onto the wing rib, and then either they can't drill them correctly, or they screw up the fuse holes, so that they don't want to use the laser marked spots.

Any more comments about locating the engine mount 1/2" below the indicated marks?

Jim K.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Here is proof for you not to panic. It could not not line up more beautifully, and is obviously not drilled on the printed circle. So far, there has been no mistakes by Top Flite on mine. It is superb!

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Jim K: there is a fraction of play in the wing until it is tightened, are you sure yours is that far off when mounted correctly? That pic of mine is just slid on and when tightened, it mates perfectly.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Lear31A,

My first thought was that the holes were drilled correctly. I put the dowels in and tried to slide the wing into place. The dowels and the holes in the front were off by about 1/3 of the diameter of the circle. This error matched the error of the drilled holes versus the marked spot on the front dowel. The rear doiwel was not as far off, but again, the marked spot matched the actual hole in the fuse.

That is why I speculate that they had two jigs set up differently. One jig matched the marked holes and the other did not. If this is true, some planes need holes drilled as marked, and others need the offset drillings. Just a wild theory!

Jim K.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

I had to mount my RCS 180 SE 1/2" above the marks! I guess it depends on the engine being used? But that doesn't sound right because centerline is centerline. Just make sure your cowl isn't low in the front. Drooping down.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Jim,

Mine too are off. The right wing when attached are above the fuse 1/16" on the rear peg and 3/32" on the front. The wing is up a little but the worst is that the leading edge of the wing is 3/32" ahead of the leading edge of the fuse.
It is pretty tough to re-drill and already drilled hole and you can't very well put the wing in a vise or jig of some type. At any rate it is a lot of hassle that I did not pay for. My tail cone was also crushed which they are replacing of course. Lear's looks great so they must have used the correct jig on his.
I am willing to wait for them to correct it.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

After gluing the pins and aluminum in, the right wing turned out really tight. I will request another wing as well. It does line up after pulling up a little on the wing,but it is really a tight fit after the glue dried.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

After assembling the lower wings, my right wing is extrmely tight too. My plan to to ask for a new right wing on Monday.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

A dumb question --
What do you guys mean by the wing fit being "extremely tight"?
Al

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Extremely tight being that I am not sure if the wing is twisted a little after installing it. You have to pull up a little on the LE of the wing to get the dowel into the hole on the fuse.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Perhaps the film covering dare I say warped the wing a bit if so easy fix with a heat gun set at low perhaps..

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Thanks. I'm going to check mine in the am. If I have the same issue(s), or am not sure, I'll use an incidence meter on all 4 wings to see what's what.
Al

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

The show must go on, wing issue or not. I got the tail gear doors finished tonight. This is a fun project.

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Finished and painted...........

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

OK Guys

I've done my lower wings. I to have found the right wing to be tight. I have to pull the LE up just a bit but I don't think it's enough, on mine, to cause a warp. No, it isn't the covering as mine is a bit loose. The left lower wing fits fine. I believe the problem, again on mine, is the aluminum wing joiner. I relieved the outer edge of the top of the slot in the root. The fiberglass wing side of the joint and found it relieved some of the strain. Just to be clear... I epoxied my "anti-rotation" pins first. Then the aluminum joiner was epoxied into the wing. Before the the epoxy cured I slide the wing in place and snugged the lock screw. I also had the wing struts in place as I found the left wing sagged a bit. The alum. joiner naturally has some play in the glue slot.
I don't think these planes are entirely jig built because there seems to be differences between individual aircraft.
All in all I still think the Staggerwing is well worth the money. I've found problems on most arfs I've assembled. I have also found that replacement parts are almost always "problem children". Auto manufactures will experience a problem on the line making lets say a fender. Instead of shutting down the line they'll send the problems to the parts stock until it's "more economical" to shut down and fix the problem. With manufactures of RC arfs I believe when a problem arises, if not too bad, they'll do the same thing. The best parts go to production. Maybe it's better to do a minor adjustment to your part than take a chance on a different problem. That's up to the individual builder

RE: Top Flite Staggerwing
 

Another thing to watch is the drilling of the pilot holes for the retracts or fixed gear blocks.

One place (fixed gear) they say 5/32" which is way too big. The other (retracts) is drilled 7/64" which is correct.

I only drilled one too big.


I don't plan to add the tail wheel doors since I fly off grass, but the retractable tailwheel is installed. I plan to use a Robart air cylinder to control it rather than a servo because it would be hard to slave 2 servos (air valve and retract servo) and have them work correctly.

So far, weight with OS FT-160 and wing servos plus gear (no fuselage servos or cowl) is right at 15.5 pounds

Here's mine after about 10 hours on the bench. (I know, it's an ARF and they all look the same!)

I mounted the fixed gear just to show how it looks for the review.