Hey guys, I'm dusting this half built kit off after shelving it for more than year. Anyway, I'm on page 37 of the manual where you glue the stab to the fuse, but I'll be darned if I can figure out which way is 'up'? On page 38, they show the straighter side of the stab as down, is this right? Should the flat part be on the bottom, with tapered side on top, giving it a kind of reverse dihedral? It's been too long since I built the tail, and have no clue which is up and which is down. Thanks fellas!

I don't have my 182 here in Alaska with me but it seems to me the spar tapers equally on both sides. which side fits the best in the saddle area? When you attach the elevators the elevator control horn points down into the fuselage, so that will also give you a clue.

Don

Thanks for the reply, hattend. The wings are built upside down, but I have read and reread the dang manual to find out if the stab was. I can't find it. Wouldn't help me if I knew, as I was a dumbarse and didn't mark up and down. I'm thinking the 'dihedral' part is on the bottom, and the straight part is on top. I could do some other stuff on it until I find out for sure. Thanks again.

From our examination of the plans, it shows the jig tab on the bottom of the stabilizer. If it's properly done, the stabilizer will have symmetrical taper from the root to the tip. One side should not be flat with the other tapering to it.

If your stabilizer has one surface flat, then orient it so that it's on the top. It will be a bit more appealing, visually. Because the airfoil is symmetrical, it doesn't matter which side is up, but it will look better if the bottom tapers up to the top.

Thanks for the reply, Bax. If I get your meaning, then the tail is built more like the left picture? There is no up and down, because it is fully symetrical? My tail has no 'dihedral' on one side,ie lies flat; but if I flip it over, then the tips are 1/2 or so above the table on each side. Something tells me I screwed up.

It should be like the left-hand picture. However, as long as the stabilizer has no warps, you can use it as-is. Just put the flat side on top. It will look better. Tapering up is a bit more pleasing to the eye than tapering down. Likely, once it's on, nobody but you will notice.

Thanks Bax. I'm not quite sure how I messed that up, at least the stab is straight. I'll go with the flat side on top, and I appreciate your response.

The stabilizer is supposed to be a symmetrical affair both on the model and in full scale. If it was built correctly, there should be no difference which side is up or down. If your stabilizer turned out to have one flatter and one "more rounded" side. then I would follow the suggestions previously mentioned, but with this unintended configuration you can expect some interesting flight characterisitics. If the rounded side is on the bottom (as has been suggested for appearence), you can expect the effect of a mild "up elevator" command which will increase proportionally with the speed of the airlane. The reason for this is that the more rounded bottom surface will cause a negative lift condition pushing the tail down as the speed increases and therefore pointing the nose up.

This is a challenging kit so perseverence from you will be required, but it does build into a very impressive looking airplane. I'm currently building mine with lots of modifications and having fun adding gobs of details which will take lots of time, but this is a perfect kit for a super scale project.

Good luck with yours! I think you'll be very pleased with the Skylane, particularly if you appreciate scale.

Airsteve...

The question was not about the chord section of the stabilzer. His had a 'dihedral' effect. That would not cause the problems you mention. The stabilzer's airfoil was correct in Deadeye's build.

You're right Bax, if it's only a matter of dihedral then its only effect is on the aesthetics. I stand corrected