Top Flite Holy INSTRUCTION MANUAL

RC-34 INSTRUCTION MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

Holy smoke, what a name for an airplane!
The name was derived from comments

made by other modelers when they saw
this delta fly for the first time. From a
marketing standpoint, we're very happy
that the standard comment was not "Holy
Cow"!

The delta that we are presenting in this kit
was designed by Hal Parent! and it has a
long and successful history. The design is
exceptionally easy to fly due to its in­herent stability and will accept a fairly
broad range of engine sizes (2-cycle) and
still remain flyable and fun. The design
itself is the essence of simplicity. We feel
that it is entirely possible to start con­struction on a Monday evening and have it
ready to fly by the following Saturday. It
may well be the perfect "other" airplane.

The "H.S. 40" has been test-flown off of grass fields as

well as asphalt with uniformly good results. When

powered with one of today's strong-running .40 engines
(Enya CX, O.S., etc.), the take-off is short and to the point.
We have test-flown the airplane with engines as small as

.25 (an 0.S. FSR) and it still flys quite nicely. Those of you
who may be considering the installation of a .60 engine

might first strongly consider one of the .40's or .45's

mentioned earlier. A .60 is going to give you some balan-

cing problems which might well result in a rather heavy

airplane.
The radio installation in your H.S. 40 is straight-forward

and the radio/tank compartment is roomy enough for all

but the largest of servos. As with most R/C models, the

radio installation should be made with achieving the
correct Center of Gravity as the goal. If your battery

pack, for instance, has to be located at the rear of the
radio compartment in order to achieve the correct C.G.,
that's fine and superior to having to add lead. The in­stallation shown on the plans is typical of our pro­totypes; yours may be different due to varying radio com­ponents and engine weights.

Flying your H.S. 40 should prove to be a delight. There
just aren't many maneuvers that this design is not
capable of. The possible exception might be those
maneuvers which require some rudder.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

TOP FLITE MODELS, INC. does not recommend the
Holy Smoke 40 as a first R/C powered aircraft. However, if
you are a beginner to the sport of R/C flying, 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

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 ob­tained.

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
bodily injury to others, yourself, or property
damage.

PRO-CONSTRUCTION NOTES

The Holy Smoke 40, like other Top Flite kits employs the

use of die-cut 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 an
X-acto #11 blade, or equivalent, handy for assistance in
removing any parts that might not have completely cut­through by the dies. Parts which oppose one another
and must be precisely uniform—such as 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. 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—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 Holy Smoke 40's were constructed using a variety of
common hobby adhesives including 5-minute epoxy,
cyano-acrylates, aliphatic resin (such as Titebond) and
1-hour epoxy. Since all of us have our own construction
techniques and favorite adhesives, stick with the ones
that you are familiar with 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.

The last thing we should touch on before we begin ac­tual construction is the sequence in which the Holy
Smoke 40 is assembled. The sequence given to you in
this booklet has been proven to be the most straight­forward and provides the finished components in the
order that 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.

LEADING EDGE CRUTCH ASSEMBLY

The Leading Edge Crutch serves to "tie together" all ten
of the wing ribs and align them at the same time. This
assembly should be built flat over the plans. Be sure that
your plans are covered with either the clear backing from
a roll of Monokote or a clear food wrapping material.

1. From your kit box, locate the two pieces of 1/8" x
1-3/16" x 28" balsa sheets that will become the leading

edge crutches. Lay these directly over the plans and
carefully cut each end to fit as shown. The outer end
is cut to fit against the inside face of tip rib W-5 while
the inner end is cut at an angle corresponding with
the centerline of the airplane. Once satisfied with
the fit over the plans, glue the two crutch pieces
together at the center, pin parts accurately over the
plans.

2. From your die-cut sheet RC-34-2, carefully remove
parts W-6A and W-6B. Glue W-6A to W-6B to form a
triangle. Fit the finished W-6A/B part in place direct­ly behind the leading edge crutch assembly at the
center. You might have to lightly sand this assembly
for a nice fit. Once satisfied, glue this part in place,
directly over the plans.

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3. Locate die-cut sheet RC-34-1 (2 req'd.) and remove
the two Motor Mount Fillers. These are now glued in
place against the leading edges of the two leading
edge crutches, at the nose, directly behind the spin­ner shown on the plans. Now use your sanding block
to lightly smooth off the glue joints. From the ply die­cut sheet RC-34-6, remove the two W-7 parts. Use
your sanding block to clean up their edges. Glue one
of the W-7 parts directly on top of the leading edge
crutch assembly, aligning its rear edge with the rear
edge of W-6B and its forward edges with those of the
two motor mount fillers. Use weights to make sure
that W-7 stays flat against the leading edge crutch
assembly until it is dry.

4. Remove the leading edge crutch from the plans, turn
it over and use your sanding block to smooth out any

glue joints. Glue the remaining W-7 part in place to
the bottom surface of the crutch assembly, exactly
aligned with the W-7 previously glued to the top sur­face. Again, use weights to hold this part in place
and allow it to dry.

Remove this assembly from your building board as
we will now build the rest of the airplane.

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

1. From the die-cut sheets provided, carefully remove
all of the required wing ribs W-1 through W-5, two of
each. Note that these ribs each have temporary
"tabs" attached to the front and rear ends (W-2 and
W-3 have them in the center as well). These are there

to provide stability during construction on a flat sur-

face—do not remove these until told to do so. Use
pins to now locate each rib in its appropriate posi-

tion over the plans and vertical to your work surface.
We would suggest using a 90° triangle to be sure
that the ribs are truly vertical.

2. Carefully slide the previously built leading edge
crutch assembly into the slots provided on the front
of each rib (except W-5). The ply W-7's should fit on

the inside faces of the two W-1 's at the nose and the

outer ends of the crutch assembly should be in con­tact with the inner surfaces of the two W-5's. It may
be necessary to trim a little here or there to achieve
the proper fit. If so, do it now.

With the crutch still in place but not yet glued, turn
your attention to the slots provided in the ends of
each rib. Locate the 3/32" x 7/8" x 36" bottom trailing
edge balsa piece provided in your kit and carefully
slide it into place in the rear rib slots.

Now take the time to inspect this structure for cor-

rect alignment and that each piece is indeed contac­ting the other in the previously described manner.
Once satisfied, glue the leading edge crutch and
trailing edge piece to each rib. A slow-setting CA is
just the ticket here. Don't worry about getting glue
onto the bottom of the crutch assembly, we'll do that
when we remove the structure from the building

board.

3. From die-cut sheet RC-34-2, carefully remove former
W-9. Lightly sand the edges of this part to fit in place
between the two W-1 ribs and against the rear edge
of the crutch assembly. Note that the "peaked" side
of W-9 is the top. Once satisfied, glue W-9 in place,
again being sure that it is vertical to your building
surface.

4.There are four(4) 3/16"x3/8"x24" wing spars provided
in your kit; locate two of them. Bevel the inboard
ends of these spars to fit against W-9 as shown on
the plans. Test fit the spars in place in the slots pro­vided. Once satisfied, glue these spars in place. Trim
the outer ends flush with the outer faces of the two

W-5's.

5. Use light sandpaper and your sanding block to now
bevel the front edges of each rib flush with the
leading edge crutch. From your kit box remove the
two 1/2" x 1-1/8" x 36" balsa strips provided. These are
the leading edges and wingtip material. From each
piece cut a 24" length and place the balance back in
the kit box for later use. Bevel the inner and outer
ends of the two 24" pieces to fit in place as shown on
the plans. Note that each rib has been provided with
"lip" at the leading edge; these position the leading
edge accurately for gluing. Glue the leading edges in
place to each rib and the front edge of the crutch
assembly. Pin and/or weight as needed and allow to
dry.

6. Your kit has been provided with twelve pieces of 3/32"
x 3" x 36" balsa for planking purposes, locate and
have ready six of these at this time. Stress-relieved
balsa sheet can sometimes have curved edges and it
may be necessary for you to use a straight-edge and
X-acto knife to true them up. This is important
especially when the wood is used for butt-glued
planking purposes.

IMPORTANT

NOTE:

The plans

depict

the top view of

the airplane. The right side is shown with the top

planking removed and you can therefore see the
planking patterns used for the bottom of the wing.

The left side of the wing depicts the patterns used

for the top sheeting. In the next steps we are dealing

only with the top sheeting.

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