User Manual
❏ 2. Cut the covering from the openings in both
sides of the fuselage for the stabilizer. Also cut the
covering from the elevator pushrod tubes on both
sides of the fuselage and from the rudder tube on the
left side of the fuselage.
❏ 3. Slide the stabilizer into the fuselage. Center the
trailing edge of the stab in the fuselage by taking
accurate measurements along the trailing edge.
❏ 4. Insert a pin through the top of the fuselage over
the middle stringer at the firewall. Tie a loop in one
end of a 60" [1.5m] piece of non-elastic line such as
monofilament or Kevlar line (K+SR4575). Slip the
loop in the string over the T-pin.
❏ 5. Fold a piece of masking tape over the string
near the other end and draw an arrow on it. Slide the
tape along the string and align the arrow with one
end of the stab as shown in the photo. Swing the
string over to the other end of the stab and hold it in
the same position. Keeping the trailing edge of the
stab centered from side-to-side, move the stab tips
forward or back as necessary until the arrow aligns
with both ends of the stab.
❏ 6. Use a fine-point felt-tip pen such as a Top Flite
®
Panel Line Pen (TOPQ2510) to mark the outline of
the fuselage on the top and bottom of the stab.
❏ 7. Remove the stab from the fuselage. Use a sharp,
new #11 hobby blade or use the following Hot Tip to cut
the covering from the stab along the lines. Use care to
cut only into the covering and not into the wood.
Cutting into the balsa will weaken the structure.
❏ 8. Peel the covering from the top and bottom of
the center of the stab. Remove any ink from the stab
and fuse with a paper towel square dampened with
denatured alcohol. Re-seal the ends of the covering
to the stab where it may have lifted while peeling off
the middle.
One more alignment procedure before gluing
the stab into the fuselage…
To avoid cutting into the balsa, use a soldering
iron instead of a hobby knife to cut the covering.
The tip of the soldering iron doesn’t have to be
sharp, but a fine tip does work best. Allow the iron
to heat fully. Use a straightedge to guide the
soldering iron at a rate that will just melt the
covering and not burn into the wood. The hotter
the soldering iron, the faster it must be moved to
melt a fine cut.
HOW TO CUT COVERING FROM BALSA
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