Top Flite Elder RC-32 Instruction Manual

RC-32 INSTRUCTION MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

In this day and age of specializa­tion, TOP FLITE MODELS felt
that it might be a refreshing
break from the "norm" to come
up with an airplane that was

specifically designed for FUN.
The Elder was not designed to
Pylon Race, fly Pattern, be
entered in Scale or be used in
Fun-Fly contests, which have
become anything but. Nope, the
Elder was designed for the FUN
of

it.

Relatively slow, realistic and
stately in flight, the Elder is easy
to fly and build. Furthermore, it's
a lightly-loaded design that does
not tend to build-up lots of inertia
with excess flight speed. This
means that fairly rough handling does not necessarily
mean destruction. Nothing is "crash-proof" but the

Elder is a rugged aircraft that will keep coming back for
more.

For the beginners, nothing fancy is needed; go out and

fly it. For those of you who are into detail ing, the design

lends itself extremely well to all kinds of "bells and

whistles"; flying wires, turnbuckles, detailed cockpits,

plastic machine guns, etc., etc., etc. We have flown our

prototypes both "stripped" and detailed to the nines.
Either way it still looks and flies great.

A word about power is in order. Fire-breathing,
Schneurle-ported engines are not needed and indeed
are not recommended for the Elder. Normal, everday
sport engines with mufflers are all that is needed to pro­vide you with some delightful flying. Any discussion
about powering the Elder would be incomplete without
mentioning and highly recommending the use of the HP
.21 rotary-valved 4-cycle engine. This little jewel, when
installed in the Elder, makes probably the best possible
combination imaginable! With it's quiet, scale-like ex­haust note, this engine flies the Elder beautifully! The 6
ounce fuel tank shown on the plans will keep this little

engine purring for almost an hour without coating your
airplane with oil! If you do decide on this engine, replace
the engine mount in your kit with a ".40-size" mount. It
all fits quite nicely; in fact, we've shown this installation
on the plans.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

TOP FLITE MODELS, INC. would certainly recommend
the Elder as a first R/C powered aircraft. However, if you
are a beginner to the sport of R/C aircraft, we would urge
you to seek and use experienced assistance in construc­ting and flying this airplane. Again, if you are new to this
hobby, consider this:

Flying this or any other radio-controlled model aircraft is
a PRIVILEGE and not a RIGHT and this privilege begins
with the utmost safety considerations to others and
yourself as well. An R/C model airplane in inexperienced
hands has the potential of doing serious personal or pro­perty damage. These safety considerations start at the
building board by following instructions, seeking com­petent help when you are confused and avoiding short­cuts. These considerations have to be carried over to the
flying field where safety must come first and limitations

Product Support

(Do Not Remove From Department)

TOP FLITE MODELS INC.

1901

NORTH NARRAGANSETT

AVENUE • CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS

60639

cannot be exceeded. We urge you to:

1. Send for and obtain your AMA (Academy of Model

Aeronautics) membership which will provide in­surance for your R/C activities — DO NOT RELY ON

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE.

2. Join an AMA sanctioned R/C flying club in your area
where you can obtain competent, professional in­struction in trimming and learning how to fly this
model.

Check with your favorite local hobby shop for the re­quired AMA forms or the address where they can be ob-

tained.

WARNING!!!

A radio controlled model is not a "toy." Care and
caution must be taken in properly building the
model, as well as in the installation and use of the
radio control device. It is important to follow all
directions as to the construction of this kit as well
as installation and use of the engine and radio
gear. The advice and assistance of a well ex­perienced builder and pilot is highly recommend­ed. Don't take chances! Improper building, opera­tion, or flying of this model could result in serious
property damage or in bodily injury to yourself or
others.

PRE-CONSTRUCTION NOTES

TheEIder, like otherTop Flite kits employs the use of die­cut wood to ease the task of construction, parts fit and

identification. The dies used for this kit have been
rigorously checked for absolute accuracy and should
provide you with excellent fit. Die-cut parts should be
carefully removed from their sheets by first lightly san­ding the back of each sheet of parts and then carefully
removing each part. Use a light garnet paper for the san­ding and keep a sharp hobby knife with and X-acto #11
blade or equivalent handy for assistance in removing
any parts that might not have completely cut-through on

the dies. Parts which oppose one another and must be
precisely uniform—such as fuselage sides, ribs, etc...—
should be carefully "matched" after their removal from
the part sheets. Matching is the process of holding the
opposing pieces together with either pins, tape or spot
gluing and lightly sanding the edges of the parts until
they are identical. A sanding block with light garnet
paper is most useful for this and other phases of con­struction.

Your building surface should be at least large enough to
accommodate the wing panels. This surface should be
as absolutely flat as possible and yet be able to accept
pins easily. We have found that a product such as
Celotex fiber board works quite well for this purpose.
Another good surface can be found in most well-stocked

hardware stores, this is a 2'x 4'fiber board ceiling tile—­these are quite inexpensive and can be used for several
airplanes before needing replacement.

As with most R/C kits that are constructed from wood, a
selection of tools—most of which can be found in the

average workshop—are a must to do the job correctly:

Hobby knife and sharp #11 blades
Single-edge razor blades
T-pins
Sanding blocks in assorted sizes
Sandpaper in various grits
Hand-held hobby saw, such as an X-acto
Dremel tool or power drill and assorted drill bits

Straight-edge, preferably metal, at least 36" long
90" triangle
Soldering iron, flux (silver) and solder
Carbide cut-off wheel for wire cutting
Small power jig-saw, such as a Moto-Saw

Razor plane
Tapes such as masking and cellophane

Our Elders were constructed using a variety of common
hobby adhesives including 5-minute epoxy, Cyano­acrylates, aliphatic resin (such as Titebond) and 1-hour
epoxy was used to secure the main wing wire tubes in
the wing roots. Since all of us have our own construction
techniques and favorite adhesives, stick with the ones
that you are familiarwith and prefer. However, in certain
areas there will be callouts for certain types of

adhesives and we urge you to try not to substitute since
doing so could possibly cause problems structurally
later on.

The last thing we should touch on before we begin ac­tual construction is the sequence in which the Elder is
assembled. The sequence given to you in this booklet
has been proven to be the most straight-forward and pro­vides the finished components in the orderthat you will
need them to progress to the next assembly phase. Try

to stick with the building order presented here to avoid
mistakes.

Spread the plans out on your work surface, cover them
with a clear plastic material, such as the backing from a
roll of Monokote or plastic wrap and commence con­struction.

WING ASSEMBLY

Wing construction for the Elder consists of building
three (3) separate pieces; the two wing panels and the
center section. These will be joined in the Final
Assembly section of this manual. You will need the
center section, with its top unsheeted during the
Fuselage Assembly section. In this sequence, be cer­tain that you are working with a flat work surface. The
wing is built directly over the plans so cover them with
Monokote backing or food wrap.

1. Start with the center section first. Locate the die-cut
sheets containing parts W-5A (ply), W-5B (2, balsa),
W-6 (ply), W-7 (ply), W-1 A (there are four but you need
two at this time, balsa) and W-1 B (2, balsa). Remove
these parts from their sheets and clean-up any rough
edges before assembly. Also, locate the shaped
hardwood insert for the wing bolts and W-13 as well.

2. Using the plans as a guide; measure, cut and butt­glue the three required lengths of 3/32" balsa sheet
that makes-up the bottom center section sheeting.
Note desired cross-grain of this sheeting. Measure,

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cut and glue in place the

3/8" x 1/2" leading edge. Glue
the forward ply dihedral brace, W-6, in place against
the inside surface of the leading edge piece—be
sure it's centered. Glue the two forward W-1A half
ribs in place against the rear face of the dihedral
brace, lined-up with the edges of the bottom
sheeting at right angles to your work surface.

3. As shown on the plans, the center dihedral brace is a
composite made by laminating the two W-5B's to
each side of the ply W-5A, resulting in a 1/4" thick

part—do this now. Glue the completed center
dihedral brace in place to the bottom sheeting and

the two rear edges of the W-1A half ribs—again, be

sure it's centered.

4. Now glue the two rear W-1 B ribs in place to the bot­tom sheeting and rear face of the center dihedral
brace. As shown, these two half ribs also line-up
with the outside edges of the bottom sheeting, at

right angles to the work surface. Now glue the
shaped hardwood wing bolt insert in place between
the W-1B ribs, with its rear edge lined-up with the
rear edges of these ribs. Finally, glue remaining W-7
ply dihedral brace in place against the rear edge of
the shaped wing bolt insert and the two W-1B
ribs—be sure it too is centered. Locate and mark the
position of W-13 on the outside surfaces of the two
W-1B ribs, do this with light pencil marks (you will
need these marks for later locating and cutting-out
the cockpit opening). Glue W-13 in place.

NOTE: For the time-being, this completes the center
section construction. We will finish it after we have
used it in the construction of the fuselage. Set it
aside for now and build the two wing panels. The
wing panels are constructed directly over the plans
—build both at the same time.

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5. Locate and remove all of the required die-cut parts,
W-2's (12), W-3's (10), W-4's (10) and the W-8 wingtips
and the W-9, 10, 11 and 12 wingtip formers. These

should be removed carefully and their edges
cleaned-up with a sanding block as needed. Start
construction by accurately cutting and positioning

the bottom 3/32" x 1" leading edge sheeting strip in

place.

Dothesamethingfortherear 3/32"x

1 "trailing
edge sheeting as well. Now take one of the W-2 ribs
and test fit it in place between these two sheet
strips. The notches should fit accurately, allowing

the bottom of the rib to contact the work surface. If

any adjustment is needed due to gaps, move the rear
sheeting strip slightly forward or back as needed;
once satisfied, pin the sheeting in place.

6. You are now going to provide the proper dihedral
angle to the leading edges and the spars to give you
an accurate, tight fit when the two panels are joined
to the center section later. Take the center section
structure that you just built and position it in place
against the inboard edges of the two sheeting strips
that are pinned in place. Tilt the center section struc­ture down until the front and rear ply dihedral brace
arms contact the sheeting. The resulting angle of
the side of the center section is the angle that you
want to impart to the inboard ends of both spars and
the leading edge. Take one of the 3/8" x 1/2" x 30"

leading edges and lay it in place on the leading edge

sheet, against the now tilted center section—note
the gap at the bottom due to the tilt. Use a razor blade
to trim the end of the leading edge to fit flush and
square to the tilted center section's leading edge.
Once satisfied, mark and cut the other end of the

leading edge to end at the outboard edge of the

leading edge sheeting. You should now have a

perfect fitting leading edge—repeat the process for
the opposite panel and glue the leading edge in

place. Now do the same thing to the inboard ends of
the top and bottom spars. Position and pin the bot­tom spar in place over the plans. Glue the first, in­board W-2 rib in place to the rear face of the leading
edge, to the spar and the rear trailing edge sheeting
strip. Hold the tilted center section structure in

place to provide accurate placement of this first rib.

7. Glue all of the remaining W-2 ribs in place.

8. Glue the top spar in place into the W-2 rib slots—use
the center section once again to ensure proper in­board positioning of the spar end.

9. Glue all of the W-4 half ribs in place to the top and
bottom spars and the leading edge.

10. Glue all of the W-3 angled rear ribs in place. NOTE:
Where the forward ends of these ribs contact the W-2
ribs, they should be chamfered to fit flush, do this
with your sanding block.

11. As shown on the cross sections on the plans, the

bottom rear trailing edge sheeting strip needs to be
chamfered a little to receive the top rear trailing
edge strip. Do this now with your sanding block.
Once satisfied, glue the top rear trailing edge
sheeting

strip

(3/32" x 1")

in

place, again using

the

tilted center section structure for alignment and

positioning. Pin in place and allow to dry.

12. Glue

wingtip W-8 in place to the ends of the wing
panels. Note the positions of and glue wingtip
formers W-9, W-10,W-11 and W-12 in place.

13. Remove the wing panels from the work surface. In­spectthem for anydriedglobsof glue, remove these
with a #11 X-acto knife. While holding both panels
together, make sure they are identical by using a
sanding block to go around all of the edges to match
them as closely as possible. Take your time here and
do a neat job.

14. Use a razor plane and your sanding block to now
shape the leading edge down to the cross sections
shown. A strip of masking tape just behind the
leading edge and across all of the ribs will protect
them while you are forming the leading edge shape.
Finally, use a well-worn piece of light sandpaper to
go over all of the wing panel surfaces to totally
smooth it out for covering later.

15. You will notice on the plans that each wing panel is
shown with three lengths of 1/4" sq. spruce which is
meant to serve as wing wire anchor points. If it is
your intention to use these wires on your model, cut
and glue these anchor points in place.

TAIL GROUP

The tail group of your Elder, hopefully like the rest of the
airplane, is quite straight-forward and buildable directly
over the plans. Note there are a few options open to you
with these parts in terms of shape. The stab's gentle

curves which terminate in sharp points at the trailing

edge of the elevators give a certain "look." This look can

be changed by rounding the outboard trailing edges of
the elevators to get rid of the sharp point. This "softens"
the look of these shapes. The same thing can be done to
the fin and rudder, top and bottom—looks nice. As
shown, you can also seal lop the trail ing edges of the rud­der and elevators to give yet another look.

1. Start with the stab, build it directly over the plans
which you have covered with the clear backing from
Monokote or food wrap. Position S-1 in place and
pin. Cut a length of 1/4"x 1/2" stock to glue to the for­ward edge of S-1—glue in place. Glue the two S-2
leading pieces to the two S-3 pieces to form the two
required leading edges. Glue these in place to each
side of S-1 and the 1/4" x 1/2" trailing edge of S-1.

2. Cut, fit and glue the two 1/4" sq. balsa ribs into each
side of the stab. Use short lengths of 1/4" x 1/2" stock

to make the fillets—note their grain direction.

3. From the 1/4 " x 1-1/2" x 24" balsa stock supplied,
measure and cut the two elevators. Notch them as
shown to accept the 1/4" dia. x 3-1/2" dowel elevator

joiner. With the stab still in position on the work

bench, position the elevator halves in place and pin.
Protect the trailing edge of the stab with a strip of

waxed paper and epoxy the dowel elevator connec­tor in place in the notches made earlier—allow to dry
completely.

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