Generic Building Instruction Sheet

On this page, in the instructions, you will find the procedures to build our planes:

Tail group

Wing and ailerons

Preparing the ailerons

Fuselage taping

Setting up for the Slickmount

Tail group installation

Radio installation

Servo installation

Trimming and flying

Starting 1/2A engines

Bigger engines??

Warning!

The construction is very much the same as all of our foamy kits however I will take you from start to finish - as if this is your first plane. First it would be helpful to have a few basic tools handy.

Nylon reinforced filament tape.

Packing tape, either clear or colored. Most kits come with 1 roll included

Possibly 5 min. epoxy

Possibly fiberglass cloth and Epoxy resin and carbon fiber (for super strength wings if using larger than .15 engine)

Razor blades and/or large snap blade knife.

Silicone sealer or builders construction adhesive.

Goop type glue (use only on taped up Styrofoam, it will melt plain styro)

Sanding board and loose sheets of sandpaper, 50 grit for rough sanding 100-150 grit for finish sanding.

Various tools for gouging out the cavities for the radio gear. Try sharpening an old flat blade screwdriver to a chisel tip. Wood carving tools or potato peelers work great too!

Flat table that you can cut against.

A can of 3-M 45 spray glue or something similar that will not melt the foam (if 45 is not available, you can assemble the "war bird" without it but the tape may not stick as well and is not recommended)

The object is to make the plane strong yet flexible in order to withstand mid-air collisions and inevitable "ground plant". I usually start with the tail group and wing.

On our war birds we have supplied a die-cut tail group to make building simple. You will have to use a razor blade to separate the pieces from the flashing. The elevators are formed by slicing along a rib according to the addendum for your particular plane. BE SURE TO ONLY CUT THE BOTTOM SKIN OF THE CORO-PLASTIC because the top skin will become the hinge. After slicing the bottom skin, fold the elevators back and trim both of the cut edges back to the next rib so the elevator will bend down with out binding on itself (see fig. 1). After cutting the elevator hinges, use an Ex-acto knife to slice through the hinge at about ¼ inch intervals along the hinge line to make the elevator bend easier. Think of it as cutting a dashed line into the hinge. You may leave the tail the way it is or just tape the leading edge to help aerodynamics. If you want to use rudder also, just make a hinge in it the same way you did for the elevator and run another servo.

Now slip the completed elevator into the slot on the fin and locate the tab into the slot on the elevator. Tip: hold the fin sort-of side ways to the elevator and flex the slot up then slide the elevator in, to where the tab will drop into the slot. Then bring the fin upright.

Run a small bead of "Household Goop", or something similar, along the tailpieces on the top and bottom, block them up so they are perpendicular and set aside to cure. If you are in a hurry, use thick CA and accelerator. This will stick well but is not as flexible and crash resistant as goop.

This is for the ½ A and slope soaring version. For 1/2A and slope, we recommend building LIGHT!!!! I can’t emphasize that enough. Stock .049 power is marginal, so a plane will fly best if the weight doesn’t exceed 1-1/2 lbs. Slope planes at that weight will fly in light lift but if you intend to ballast it 8oz or more, it is recommended that the wings be built with more strapping tape or hard balsa or spruce spars (see instructions below).

(If you intend to install a large engine, i.e. .10 to .25 c.i. see the section on modifications at the end of this instruction manual).

If you ordered the slope version and decide to make it powered, trim the wing at the tip. We make a generic tapered wing for all our war birds and how they are trimmed will help give each plane it’s semi-scale wing plan form. The slope wing is shipped in two halves to give about a 48" span on a slope glider. If you want a 1/2A powered plane that will fly easy and glide well you can build it at full length. The 1/12 scale powered wing is in two halves + center section also but will be closer to the scale wing span. We have included a center section that has the dihedral cut into it. So decide what span length you want and follow the trimming and sanding directions on the pattern specific to your kit. Sand the top and bottom surface of the wing and the center section smooth and dust off thoroughly. This helps the tape to stick. Decide if you want a spar in the wing or not. When using 1/2A power, no spar is needed besides the filament tape top and bottom, remember – build LIGHT! If you want a spar anyway, or intend to ballast a slope version heavily, use hard Balsa or Spruce and sand a groove to fit snugly along the wing panels at about 1/3 of the chord from the leading edge, (glue a thin strip of course sandpaper to the edge of a piece of wood the width of your spar and gently draw it along the wing against a straight edge until the correct depth is reached for your spar). Spars could be square stock of 3/16 or ¼ inch, or go high tech and use carbon fiber. Use carpenters glue or epoxy to install spars and let harden.

Prepare the wings for the ailerons. Most of our combat warbirds have tapered wings. Tapered wings tend to get thin at the trailing edge towards the tip. Our aileron stock will be either 4 mil (about 1/8 inch thick) or 2 mil (about 1/16 inch thick) coro-plast, depending on the kit. So before you glue the wing halves together, you will need to trim and sand the trailing edge. Make it a constant thickness, root to tip, that will approximately match the coro-plast supplied with your kit. Usually the root is at about the right thickness. If it is thicker than the aileron stock, sand it down a little first. Then use a straight edge and mark a line from the root to the tip so that when the wing is trimmed, the trailing edge is a constant thickness. In effect you will be making the wing a little more tapered by maybe ¼ to 3/8 inch at the tip of the trailing edge. This is OK, we have sized the wing to take the trimming into account. For the ailerons to work efficiently and smoothly, the trailing edge has to match the thickness of the ailerons.

Now take the wing halves and use #45 spray glue or 5-min epoxy, and stick the two halves to the center section. Spray a light coat of #45 over the whole wing, top and bottom. Let it dry off thoroughly. Starting with the wing top, apply one to three (one is fine for the 1/20^th scale planes, to three or more for a sloper-see the addendum for your plane) strips of strapping tape at the spar area (see fig. 2) using a very slight stretch to the tape. On dihedral and tapered wings it is easiest to start the tape from the center of the wing and pull out to the tips, let the tape run long about 1" past the opposite joint, this will help strengthen the center of the wing. Also, trim the tape at the wing tip so about ½ inch will wrap around the tip. Turn the wing upside down and apply strapping tape in the same manner using a slight stretch to help straighten the wing back out. This will pre-stress the wing and will greatly increase the strength.

Apply one strip of packing tape along the center seams (leading to trailing edge) top and bottom, stretching them a little will help them mold to the curves of the airfoil. The goal is to get 100% adhesion all the way into the "V" of the dihedral joint. You should begin to see a fairly strong joint shaping up. Then cover the center section with several more strips, front to back, top and bottom.

When covering wings or elevators, the basic taping convention for foam-and-tape planes is to always start at the back and work forward so that an overlapped tape edge is never into the wind. See fig. 2.

Prepare the Ailerons

After applying the strapping tape to the wings, it is time to prepare the ailerons. The kit includes corrugated plastic stock for the ailerons. Refer to the addendum for the recommended width of aileron for your kit. Trim the outboard ends of the ailerons to blend with the wing tip curvature and the inboard should clear the fuse easily.

These will be encapsulated in tape before they are attached to the wing (see fig. 4). Thin ailerons can be covered easily with one strip of tape but wide ailerons, such as slope gliders have, might need two strips . Tip: when covering the ends of thin parts, trim one side off at the edge and wrap the other over it---just like when using iron-on covering. After covering the ailerons, lay the aileron upside down on the wing (see fig. 4). Run a strip of tape along the back of the wing and the aileron, smoothing the tape down on both surfaces, then open it up, lay the aileron flat and apply a strip of tape along the top of the hinge line. Turn the wing upside down and use a blunt object (window screen tool works perfectly) to press the top and bottom tapes together to complete the hinge. Do this to both ailerons and after they are attached, stretch the regular 2" packing tape across the wing from the middle to tip. Again, let the center over lap the far seam about 1". Let the tape run long, leave the ends stuck to the table until the surface is covered, then with a razor blade trim to about an inch long and fold around the wing tips before covering the opposite side (this gets a little difficult when taping the bottom of a dihedral wing so I lay the wing upside down on the edge of a table with half the wing hanging off the table, then work on the half that is supported by the table). Again, always apply the tape from trailing edge to the leading edge with the typical ¼" overlap. The leading edge should have a couple layers of tape wrapped around it by the time the top and bottom covering is done. We recommend adding another layer or two of tape to the leading edge for extra protection. Stretching the tape modestly while sticking it down will help it go on smoothly but be sure to balance the stretching or you could have a wing that bends up or down.

TIP: when trying to tape a curved surface (such as wing tips) with packing tape it will tend to bunch and pucker. Before pulling the ends over the wing tip, slice the edge that is hanging over about every ½", then starting at the back, working forward, smooth each little flap of tape over the curved edge. The little flaps will overlap each preceding flap and the curve will be much smoother.

Note: the firewall has a built in down-thrust

For the Slickmount you will need a piece of 3/16 or ¼ inch plywood. After sanding the desired shape in to the fuselage, hold the nose of the fuse to the wood and trace around it for the shape of the firewall. Mark the center of the hole for the Slickmount and drill a 1-1/4 inch hole with a spade bit or Forstner bit. Then cut the firewall out. Check the addendum sheet for the recommended distance from the top edge to the center of the mount for your particular plane. Glue the firewall on the nose with 45 spray and carefully drill out the foam with your 1-1/4 inch bit. Try to drill right through the center of the fuse, perpendicular to the plane of the firewall and just deep enough for the Slickmount tank. Tip: lay the fuse down on its side and cover the other side with a block of wood so you won’t break through and drill your hand! I have used #4 sheet metal screws to mount the Slickmount to the firewall and it works OK. The best way, though, is to drill the holes at the four corners and install 4-40 T-nuts. If you have the T-nuts with the big flange you may have to cut a flat in them to clear the tank. If your screws tend to strip out you can run a bead of silicone in the hole before you re-install the Slickmount. This will hold it together and is not too difficult to remove.

Make sure all surfaces are sanded with about 150 grit, then spray with 45 glue, let dry. In a nutshell, the object is to use nylon strapping tape to strengthen all four sides of the fuselage and seal the nose against fuel and oil infiltration. After the strapping tape, the fuse doublers are glued on and the whole thing is sealed up with the colored packing tape. Note: when applying tape to a fuselage, DO NOT STRETCH IT, unless you intend to correct a warped fuselage.

Start the strapping tape on one side at the tail and tape all the way around the nose and back to the tail with one strip of ¾" to 1" or a couple strips of ½" side by side. Do the same on the top and bottom. Go ahead and tape over the slot for the tail then run a razor blade gently along the slot to open it up and push any tape flaps into the slot. If your plane has a pad to set the tail group on, make sure that it is taped flat and wrinkle free. Whatever covers the firewall hole can be sliced and turned into the hole. Use strips of strapping tape, side by side, from about the front of the wing around the face of the firewall so that there is none of the pink foam or firewall showing. This will strengthen the nose and seal it from fuel.

Again, slice the tape and turn it into the hole for the Slickmount. If your 1-1/4 inch bit makes the same size hole as mine, you should still be able to slide the tank of the Slickmount into the hole with a snug fit. Remember we still have the colored tape to stuff into the hole yet too. If it is too tight, trim some of the strapping tape from the hole and use the final colored taping to seal up the firewall hole. If it is still too tight, sand the hole out a little. You want a snug fit because it will seal the interior of the plane from the fuel and oil.

After the strapping tape is done, it’s time to stick the fuse doublers to the sides of the plane. Trim them from the die cut piece. They will be glued on with 45 spray glue. Match up the sides with the angle of the nose and the wing saddle. Be sure they are the same on each side before you stick them. After the doublers are on, it is a good idea to wrap a couple strips of strapping tape around the nose at the firewall area. That just kind of cinches everything down tight and if you sand the fuse round, the doublers will bend to conform to the shape of the nose. For strength, I have started to use a staple gun to staple through the doublers into the edge of the firewall. This creates an incredibly strong nose that will take a very hard hit before loosening up. Just be careful not to staple into something you didn't intend to. 

After the strapping tape is done and the doublers are on, you can proceed to cover with the colored packing tape. I like to start with the bottom then the sides and finally the top. That way the sides will wrap around and seal to the bottom and the top will wrap over the sides and seal. You can do it however you want, just make sure to completely cover the foam, including the wing saddle, and overlap the successive tape strips by about ½ inch. Again, tape over the slots for the tail group and slice them open after covering

Be sure to cover the firewall. I run the end of the bottom tape up and over the top of the firewall and the top tape down and over the bottom of the firewall. When taping the doublers, the side tapes can be left long enough to wrap around the profile of the doublers and folded around to the inside of the engine compartment all the way to the firewall. That way the top or bottom tape can seal the side tapes to the firewall. Make some slices at the hole for the Slickmount and push the flaps into the hole. If you are running a Norvel, you will need to cut the doublers to clear the muffler and allow access to the needle valve. A needle valve extension might be handy.

TIP: when trying to tape a curved fuselage surface with packing tape it will tend to bunch and pucker. Stick the tape along the flattest surface and slice the edge that is hanging over about every ½", then starting at the back, working forward, smooth each little flap of tape over the curved edge. The little flaps will overlap each preceding flap and the curve will be much smoother. After the fuselage is taped up, use a razor blade to open the wing slots and wrap the excess tape flaps into the slots.

At this point you should have a fuselage that is completely taped up. The tail group should be dry and ready to install now. I use a coat of 45-spray glue on the part of the tail that slips into the fuselage. Now, you have to be fast so have the slot(s) in the fuse open and ready to receive the tail group. Then, quickly spray a wet coat of 45 glue on the parts of the tail that fit into the fuse. Before the glue starts to set, slide the tail into the slots of the fuse. Make sure the fin is straight and true with the centerline of the fuse and squish the sides of the fuse onto the fin. If you are not careful, it is easy to give your plane a permanent right or left turn by bending the back of the fuse one way or the other. The goal here is to assemble the tail group and fuse while the glue is still wet to allow a little slippage so they can be aligned properly---good luck, work fast! Apply a strip of packing tape under the fuse to close up the tail slot, then run a small bead of Goop on either side of the fin to stick and seal the tail to fuse joint. Check your addendum sheet for any specific instructions on gluing the tails in. Block the fuse and tail so they will cure in good alignment.

You should now have a completed airframe ready for radio gear and wing installation!

Servo Install

Thread the wires through the holes and hook up the plugs. Now is a good time to center each of the servos. Before sliding the servos in for the final time, coat the pocket sides with silicone sealer. This will hold the servo in place and the silicone is not too impossible to remove. Try not to get silicone on the plane because tape will not stick to it! If you do, wipe it off with mineral spirits (paint thinner). Tip: wrap the servo with tape so the silicone can be easily peeled off if you take the servo out. Tape over the servos leaving the shank sticking out. I must stress again to make the servos fit snugly. If you want them to fit flush with the surface you are imbedding them in, you will have to create a pocket that is sort-of two stepped to clear the mounting flanges on the servos. This will allow the servo to sink further in and will keep the control arm as close to the fuselage as possible. Another great idea is this: If you intend to do a lot foamie plane flying, just cut off the servo mounting flanges and sand the bumps smooth. This will allow the servo to slide down into a nice, neat, straight-sided pocket. Of-course you won’t ever be able to screw the servo down again, but if you get into foamies you won’t ever need to!!!

Another great idea is to split the fuse in half and hog the inside out with a wire brush mounted in a drill (do this before taping). Then you can install all of the radio stuff inside the fuse. More work but looks neat!

Now that the radio gear is in, mount control horns on the elevator, and ailerons. Check to see that the elevator bends up and down easily. If they seem a little stiff, you could lengthen the slices in the hinge line. Install the servo arms and use the supplied piano wire with Z bends in each end to hook them up. If you want the airplane to handle easy, the control surfaces should be set up for the least control throw. Set the throw according to the addendum for you plane. After a certain comfort level is gained the deflection can be increased for very tight loops and rolls.

Small engines can be so frustrating that you wouldn’t be the first to feel like stomping the plane into the ground and walking off. Here are some tips to help get things going.

First I would recommend using our Slickmount, if you don’t already have one! This is not merely an unabashed attempt to sell more products but simply a way to help keep you a sane and happy flier for years to come. The Slickmount allows the little engine access to the fuel in the shortest amount of time. With a remote tank, the fuel lines are too long for the tiny suction of a stock 049. Plus the size of the 35mm film container will give about a 15-20 minute run.

Cox 049 reed valve engines can be especially frustrating but when you know a few tricks, they aren’t so bad. First if it hasn’t been run for a while and you can’t get it to run except for a short burst after priming, it is probably a sure bet that the fuel inlet and reed valve are plugged with oily gunk. You should take it apart and clean the jets and reed, and wash the inside of the engine out with solvent. Check the reed to see that it isn’t cracked or bent. If it is, replace it. Make sure the glow head is working too. If everything checks out OK, then try starting it again. Incidentally, use an electric starter, hand or spring flipping is nuts! Prime the little guy with a little bit of fuel at the exhaust port and open the valve about 3.5 turns. If it zooms and dies open the needle valve a half turn more and try again. If you keep turning the needle out and it still zooms and dies, try this next little trick. If you have a squeeze bulb to fill the tank, hold your finger over the bottom vent (Slickmount) and gently squeeze a little air pressure into the fuel filler vent for a couple seconds. This will force fuel into the venturi of the reed valve and kind of jump-start the engine. This trick has never failed to start a cold engine for me and once you have it running you can set the needle valve for the best run. If the engine is screaming and then sputters out, turn the needle counter-clockwise until it sounds rough then turn back to peak. Needle settings are different for each engine. I find that it works best to set these engines at just under peak RPM because they tend to lean out as they run. If you use our Slickmount, put a cap on the top fill vent, it will make the engine run much steadier and keeps the fuel in the tank, (the low pressure area behind the cylinder head can actually siphon the fuel from the tank).

Most beam-mounted engines, such as the Cox TD and Norvel Big Migs, have a carburetor on the front. These are much easier to start but again, use an electric starter. Just open the needle valve about 3-4 turns and briefly choke the carb with your finger. Be careful of the prop and don't flood the engine! If the engine revs up then dies, open the needle valve a half turn at a time until you get a steady, rich run. Then slowly turn the needle in to get the best rpm but do not lean it out too much. If you flood the engine, screw the needle valve all the way it and spin the engine, it should fire then die. That should clean the excess fuel out of the system. Experience has shown that these small engines tend to lean out as they run, so experiment with the setting until you get the feel of how your particular engine runs best during actual flight. If your engine or muffler has a tank pressure tap, use it! They really do help the engine run more consistently. If you have our Slickmount, run a tube from the pressure tap to the bottom vent on the mount. Then make some sort of plug for the top vent tube. An automotive vacuum cap works well or a short piece of fuel line with a plug in it works well too. This will pressurize the system and will increase your flying pleasure.

Always be careful when starting any engine because they can do lots of damage to hands and fingers.

Most new engines will benefit from proper break-in procedures. It would do the new engine a lot of good to bench run several tanks of fuel through it at a rich setting. During the run, lean the mixture periodically, than set it back to rich. Let the engine cool before the next run. After 3 or 4 runs the engine should be ready to go.