Specs AUW ~6.5oz Width 32.875 Length 29.50 Wing Area 1.35 sqft Horz Area 2.22 sqft Vert Area 1.26 sqft Suggested Hardware ~25g 90 watt Motor 12 amp ESC Servos 6g+ (4) 2s LiPo (300-500mAh) 4ch Radio/Rx Color - Top White Red w/ Blue Orange w/ Blue Burgundy w/ Orange Other Color - Bottom White Black Checkers Other Checkers
Light RC EPP Magnum Lite 33 1) Glue Wings to Horizontal Nose (Wing Spars ( 3mm x 1mm flat x2 ) 2) Glue Lower Vertical Nose to Lower Vertical Tail 3) Glue Horizontal Nose to Horizontal Tail 4) Glue Upper Vertical Nose to Vertical Tail 5) Glue in Elevator Stiffener ( 3mm x 1mm flat ) 6) Glue in Aileron Counter Balance Stiffeners ( 1mm round ) 7) Glue Lower Vertical Assy to Wing Assy 8) Glue Carbon Chassis Stiffeners 9) Glue Landing Gear Struts ( 3mm x 1mm flat, 9 )( Insure Panels are Perpendicular ) 10) Glue Rear Landing Strut onto Tail ( 1mm rod, 8 ) 11) Glue Upper Assy to Wing Assy 12) Glue Wheel Pants to Gear Legs 13) Install Motor Mount Tubing 14) Build Control Rods 15) Insert Servos and Control Arms 16) Check the Gear Length ( Does Plane Set Level ) 17) Install Remaining Electronics CG set to the Aft Wing Spar Target AUW 6.5 oz
Prebuild Tips To reinforce you hinges try this tip. Right, Cut a slit in the foam about 1/2 each side of the hinge line. The slit should be perpendicular to the hinge. It only needs to be one or two millimeters deep. Tuck a piece of fishing line into the slit, no deeper than the hinge. Below,You can cut before, or trim with flush cutters as shown. Glue the fishing line in place and your done. I like to do this to the outboard of the ailerons and elevator. I also like to do this right next to the control horns on the ailerons and the rudder. As well as one more at the top of the rudder. Combining the above and below techniques can provide a very loose hinge without being overly fragile. Below, You can fine tune the stiffness of your hinges. I use a well worn medium soft sanding block. Take care not to sand too much, it is easy to go to far. Check your results every couple swipes of the block Below, If you are using a hot glue gun, wipe it clean on the square foam. This foam is provided to be a build aid and scrap foam.
Right, Lay the carbon above the appropriate location and mark the needed length to cut. Below, This aileron counterbalance carbon supports has been glued in with hot glue. Zoom in and note that very little glue is needed. Above, Trim the underside of the sileron at the counterbalance as needed. Below, Drag the carbon through the slot before gluing to clear any snags. Above, While gluing and as the glue sets press the carbon unto the center of the foam. If needed pinch the foam against the carbon to keep the foam from becoming arched.
Right, Glue the mid-tail to the wing. The result should look like this. Both parts appear to be a single piece. The slot is not stepped or misaligned. Again, if you are using hot glue, this is what it should look like. No glue present, the parts should blend together with no seem present. Not Shown, Glue the nose to the wing. Take care to align the parts as shown with the mid-tail picture Far Right, After gluing the nose and mid-tail glue the second wing in place. Taking care to once again line everything up very well. Below, Note that you do not need glue in the slots. If you accidentally get glue in these pockets clean the glue out. Left, Once again clear out the carbon slots by dragging the carbon through the slot. Glue all three of the carbon spars in the wing. Take care to follow the same precautions as before. Push the carbon into the slot. Pinch the foam as needed to build a flat panel.
Below, Do not glue the aileron counterbalance to the spar. You can fold the wing in half to glue in the main spar, can help glue. Other pics, Glue these parts together..
Left, Note the small slits for the spars. If needed you can enlarge them. Right, Use the foam square to keep the fuse aligned while gluing the gear legs in place. Start by gluing the leg to the spar. You will want to glue this onto the back side of the spar. Left, Use the foam square to align the fuse lower to the vertical fuse. Use this every time you glue a section of the parts together. Right, You can spread the legs away from each other to get glue between them. It is very important to use a square on the fuse while gluing the legs. The legs and wing spars creates a stiff triangle that will be the foundation for the 1mm truss work. Left, Another picture of parts glued with hot glue. The entire build shown in this manual is with hot glue.
This is what your carbon will look like when complete. Look to later pages for more details. The end goal is to create a simple series of triangle structures. At each intersection you want to bond the carbon to the next piece of carbon as much as the foam. The result is a structure that couples the torsional load in the wing as well as the fuse. These next steps can create a very straight and strong airframe. 5 5.25 5.25 5
Take you time while building your truss work. Start at the gear legs by pushing the 1mm rods directly into the gear legs. These first 1mm rods should then glue to the front side of the rear wing spar. Your spars should cross at the point where they enter the foam. The approximate cut lengths are shown. Continue to use the square at each step. 5.25 5 5 5.25
Left, Once the truss work is complete glue a piece of 1mm carbon rod onto the angled foam as the tail skid. Use a long piece and trim it later. With the skid glued in place, glue the upper fuse onto the lower along the skid rod. Do not glue to the horizontal foam until you are able to use the foam square. Once the bottom side is glued add a short length of the 1mm rod as shown in the bottom right pic to hold the gear skid square. This will support the bottom of the rudder hinge also.
Right and Lower Right, Continue to glue the fuse upper on, using the square as you go. You will also want to run a piece of 1mm carbon from the horizontal stab to the vertical stab. Do this on the some side as the brace that runs from the stab to the tail skid. Below, Glue the triangular foam parts shown to the gear legs. These are to stiffen and support the legs. Beveling the parts where they meet the fuse can improve appearance and bond strength. You can optionally add 1mm carbon rods to the triangular foam parts Cut a slit into the foam in push the carbon into the foam. The carbon need not go completely to the ends of the foam. Some compliance is desirable.
Left, If you are not going to use the optional rolling gear setup then you will be installing the pants as shown. Once again you can use the square foam to install the pants. The slam triangular parts are to support the pants in this configuration. They are not used if installing the rolling bracket. If you want to slide easier on floors look at the tips page of the LRC site for how to make your own thermal formed skid plates. Below, Cut the plastic tube into four pieces. You want to mount these so that the torque of the motor pushes the tubes into the nose. The motor mount bond can be strengthened by putting a very thin layer of hot glue around the motor mount area. Putting the tip down directly on the foam and using it to spread and smooth works well. To insure proper alignment and spacing, screw the tubes onto the motor. Then twist the motor into position to self center and align. The motor can be removed and the tubes trimmed to allow thrust angle changes.
Most of the control rod management is straight forward. The heat shrink tubing has adhesive built in, do not use CA with it. Do feel free to tweak the length by reheating the heat shrink Pushing the heat shrink towards the z-bend, crowding the horn with the heat shrink. This will take up any slop that may otherwise exist. Use the included standoffs to support the 1mm rod. Glue the standoffs in place after testing the install for binding. The standoffs will likely need trimmed. This design is intended to have the aileron and elevator control linkages on top of the horizontal. The servos for the ailerons and elevator are meant to be mounted on the underside. The aileron servo control horns should pass through the slots in the wings. Shown in these three pictures, the elevator control rod and pass from the top to the underside of the plane. This should be utilized to create the most possible throw. If you are not looking for maximum throw this is not needed. As shown the control rod passes very near the foam with the standoffs located as shown does not bind.
You are supplied with a pair of unneeded SFG parts. The smallest size does not have an intended use. Feel free to play with them, mounting them wherever you would like. Right, Use the square to align the SFG. With one edge of the square on a spar, align the large SFG with the hinge line as shown. Below, Do the same thing on the top side of the wing. Use the square to align perpendicular to the spar. Below Right, Use the square to align and space the medium size SFG. Use the square one both bottom and top of the wing again.
Optional Rolling Gear Start by finding the side of the Gear Bracket with the etched bend lines. Your Poly Card will have two of these, and four small round circles. Your kit will also have included four small ply circles (Hubs) Second step is to bend the Bracket on the etched lines. Use a wide nosed set of pliers, or a smooth jawed vice. If needed bend in steps by working one side of the Bracket then the other as shown. It is not necessary to bend to 90 degrees in a single motion. Move up and down the etched line, bending a little at a time. If using a smooth jawed vice you can use a hard, flat surface to bend the entire edge at once. Hard rulers will work well for this. Both sides should be bent away from the lines. With both sides of the Bracket bent away from the etched lines you can start fitting the carbon onto the bracket. A short length of 1mm rod (Axle) should pass through both holes. The 3mm x 1mm gear leg will slide onto the diagonal slots. Trimming the Gear Leg to match the Bracket angle is optional. Leave the Axle a little extra long until the entire assembly is finished with the small Poly Disk Wheel Retainer glued in place.
Build the Wheel by gluing two Ply Hubs into the center of the Foam Wheel. Slide one small Poly Disk one the 1mm rod (axle). Then slide the Wheel assembly onto the Axle. Lastly install another Poly Disk, adjust it so that the Wheel spins freely. Glue in place with thick CA. With the gear assembled slide the Foam Wheel Pant over the Rolling Gear Bracket. You can now trim the Axle back, near the Poly Wheel Retainer Disk. The slot length in the Wheel Pant can be altered to taste. Shown here the Wheel Pant is very low to the Rolling Wheel. The placement shown will not be acceptable for many flying sites. Adjust the location of the Wheel Pants to best suit your flying site. The exposed Bracket in this picture was colored black with a sharpie.
TIP Most glues can be applied and wiped with a small stick. Show here is a small scrap of 1mm carbon. Other common tools for this could be a toothpick, needle, splinter of balsa, piece of wire, or the back side of a razor. To help keep weight down, or things looking good, give this a try. This also work great in hard to reach places. Notice the acute angle the parts meet at. It would be difficult to glue these with any glue. Using the hot glue allows needed flexibility, but the gun would never fit. Using the stick not only puts the glue where you want, it lets you easily wrap the glue around the carbon. Creating an attractive fillet, and good bond. Another thing to remember is this approach lets you pull away excess glue too. Most glues work well with a swiping motion. Hot glue also works well rotation as you pull away. Great for when you need to fill a hard to get to place. Glob it on and take some back off. When using lighters or other heat source near foam or other heat sensitive materials such as covering, use a heat shield. An R/C shop tool that should be handy for this is a razor saw blade. Anything steel will delay any heat from damaging your plane long enough to do simple soldering, heat shrink tubing, etc. A spoon would also work well, but is harder to prop into a good place. Aluminum can be used, such as foil, but beware that it will transfer heat much faster and not provide as an effective barrier. See http://www.lightrc.com/foamy-build-tips/ for more