6
HARDWARE IDENTIFICATION
GLOSSARY OF MODELING TERMS
ARF: Almost Ready to Fly
AILERON: the control surface on the wing that rolls the
plane
AIRFOIL: the shape of the wing as seen from the end
ANGLE OF ATTACK: the angle at which the wing meets
the air flow
BEVEL: to sand to an angle shape
BURR: the rough edges on a piece of wood or metal after
it is cut
CAP STRIP: a thin strip glued to the edges of the ribs to
shape the wing
CONTROL HORN: a device attached to each control sur-
face to provide an attachment point for the pushrod
COWL (COWLING): the nose section of the fuselage that
encloses the engine
DECALAGE: the difference between the incidence of the
wing and stabilizer
DIHEDRAL: the upward angle of the wings, as seen from
the front
ELEVATOR: the moveable part of the horizontal tail,
which controls pitch
EMPENNAGE: the tail of the plan
FIN: the fixed vertical part of the tail
FIREWALL: the hard wooden former at the front of the
fuselage, to which the engine is mounted
FORMER: a piece which shapes the fuselage; and to
which the sides of the fuselage are attached.
GUSSET: a small triangular piece glued into a corner to
strengthen it
INCIDENCE: the angle of the wing or the tail in relation
to the thrustline
LAMINATE: to glue two thin sheets of material together
to form a thick sheet
LEADING EDGE (L.E.): the edge of the wing that first
meets the airflow
LONGERON: a stringer that runs the length of the fuse-
lage
OUTPUT ARM: the piece that attaches to the servo and
connects it to the pushrod
PITCH: an up and down movement of the nose of the
plane, which is controlled by the elevator
PROTOTYPE: the full scale airplane from which the
model design was taken
PUSHROD: the long, stiff dowel, plastic or wire piece that
connects the servo with the control horn
RTF: Ready to Fly
RIB: the airfoil-shaped piece that connects the leading
edge, spars and trailing edge of the wing together
and holds them in shape
RETRACTS: devices for extending and retracting the
wheels on command
ROLL: tilting of the plane as viewed from the front, con-
trolled by the ailerons
RUDDER: the moveable vertical tail of the plane, which
controls yaw
SERVO: the part of the airborne radio system that
moves the control surfaces
SHEAR WEB: wood sheeting that connects the top and
bottom spars to stiffen the wing
SHIM: a thin piece of wood inserted between two other
pieces to improve their fit
SPAR: a wooden stick running lengthwise through the
wing that serves as its backbone
SPINNER: the rounded cone that fits over the propeller
hub
STABILIZER (STAB): the fixed horizontal part of the tail
STALL: a situation in which the plane is flying too slow-
ly to move sufficient air across the wing to produce
lift
STRINGER: a long piece of wood attached to the form-
ers to shape the fuselage
THRUSTLINE: a line drawn from the center of the pro-
peller hub straight through the airplane
TORQUE: a rolling tendency caused by the spinning
propeller
TRAILING EDGE (T.E.): the edge of the wing that faces
the rear of the plane
TRIM: small adjustments made to the control surfaces
to cause the plane to fly straight and level by itself
WASHIN: a twist in the wing that makes the trailing
edge lower than normal
WASHOUT: a twist in the wing that makes the trailing
edge higher than normal
WING SADDLE: the shaped part of the fuselage in
which the wing rests
WHEEL COLLAR: a metal ring that holds the wheel on
the axle
YAW: a right-to-left movement of the nose, controlled by
the rudder
BLIND NUT
EYELET
PUSHROD CONNECTOR WITH SNAP NUT.
NOSE GEAR BLOCK
SNAP LINK
LANDING GEAR
STRAP
STEERING ARM
CONTROL HORN
SOCKET HEAD
SCREW
WHEEL COLLAR
PAN HEAD
SCREW
SHEET METAL
SCREW
SET SCREW
WASHER