Top Flite KittiWake User Manual
AEROBATIC R/C SEAPLANE
RC-36 KITTIWAKE INSTRUCTION MANUAL
INTRODUCTION
The KittiWake, proof-positive that there
can be more to R/C seaplane flying than
just take-offs and landings! Top Flite
Models is sure that your KittiWake will
provide you with hours of flying fun and
performance.
Realistic, finished flying weights of 3 to
3-1/2 pounds can be expected when the
model is built to the following instruc-
tions. Our prototypes were all covered
and flown with Monokote® coverings.
The covering instructions will give you
the details of how we accomplished the
few extra precautions that should be ex-
ercised when covering a seaplane.
Engine selection for your KittiWake is im-
portant. Our prototypes have been
powered with a variety of engines, rang-
ing from .19's through .28's. The KittiWake
that is shown in the ads and on the label
of your kit has a O.S. .25 FSR installed
with a Mac's muffler. This has been an
excellent combination, providing lots of power at the top
end while offering an excellent and reliable idle. A
reliable idle is an absolute must! Face it,yourKittiWake
will have to spend a portion of each flight taxiing on the
water and without a reliable idling engine, you better
have access to a boat to go out and get it when the
engine "flames out." Take extra time to work on the idle
of the engine you choose—it will pay off later.
While on the subject of engines, it is worthwhile to point
out that the physical mounting of your engine does not
necessarily have to be a side-mount, as shown. Your
engine can be mounted up-right, at a 45 degree angle,
even inverted (although we do not necessarily like an in-
verted engine in a seaplane due to potential flooding
problems). Generally speaking, the use of a muffler on
your engine is highly recommended as it greatly
enhances the idle characteristics as well as serving to
keep you on good terms with people who may also be at
your flying site! Therefore, mounting your engine in the
nose of your KittiWake should take into consideration
the positioning of the muffler. Mounting the engine up-
right or at a 45 degree angle allows the use of most
engine's stock muffler set-ups. Side mounting the
engine, as we did, most usually requires a replacement
muffler (one with a longer header) or a header extension.
Our prototypes all used fiber-filled motor mounts, sized
for whatever engine chosen for the airplane. Your local
retailer should be able to supply you with the correct
mount for your engine.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
TOP FLITE MODELS, INC. does not recommend the
KittiWake 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 con-
structing 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
TOP FLITE MODELS INC.
2635 S. WABASH AVENUE • CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60616
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
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.
PRE-CONSTRUCTION NOTES
The KittiWake, 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 cut-through 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 KtttiWakes were constructed using a variety of
common hobby adhesives including 5-minute epoxy,
cyano-acrylates, and 1-hour epoxy. Since all of us have
our own construction techniques and favorite
adhesives, stick with the ones you are familiar with and
prefer. However, in certain areas there will be cal louts 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 KittiWake
is assembled. The sequence given to you in this booklet
has proven to be the most straight-forward and provides
the finished components in the order in which 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 CONSTRUCTION
It is important that you study the plans and illustrations
to understand how this wing is constructed. It is also at
this point that you make up your mind about the possible
addition of the optional landing gear set-up that we've
shown on the plans. The grooved trunnion block
material is a stock item by Sig Mfg. Co. (their #SH-655)
and the V dia. landing gear wire is bent from the pattern
provided on the plan. This set-up has worked well in actual practice. The rib reinforcements for the trunnion
blocks, RR-1 through RR-3, have been accurately
depicted for you on the plans. The addition of the optional landing gear will permit you to use the model
either on the land or in the water. Additionally, Halico
2
sells a pre-bent, tempered aluminum landing gear that
mounts directly to the fuselage, at the forward float leg
location. Ken Willard has used this variation quite successfully (see RCM Magizine, November, 1986). The
following instructions assume the float plane version
only.
1. From their die-cut sheets, carefully remove all
wing ribs, W-1 (A and B) through W-8. Where
necessary, use a #11 blade to free the parts, making very sure that bottom tabs remain attached.
(These have been partially cut through for later
removal, should one break off, reattach it with a
spot or two of glue). If needed, lightly sand the
edges of the ribs to remove any burring. Locate
and remove die-cut (ply) parts W-9 and W-10. Addi-
tionally, locate and have ready the four 1/ 4"x 3/8"x
24"wing spars, the two 3/8 x
edges and the two 1/8" x
balsa. Of course, as we proceed with these in-
structions, you will need wing sheeting
(1/16"balsa) from the stock provided in your kit.
Protect your plans with clear food wrap or
MonoKote® backing. We will build the center
section first, followed by the outer panels.
3/4"
x 24" leading
1/4"
x 36" sub spars—all
tween the W-1 B's, about 3/8" ahead of the trailing
edge. Sand the insert as needed to fit and when
satisfied, epoxy in place. The bottom of this structure is now sheeted with 1/16" balsa from the
leading edge back to the trailing edge. Do this accurately and neatly. Use a small sanding block to
now smooth the rib/sheeting joints, keeping the
outer
(Note: The following outer wing panel construction steps assume that both the left and right
panels are built simultaneously. Also, this is the
point at which your decision about installing the
landing gear option, shown on the plans, should
be
rib
be
should now be epoxied in place to the concerned
surfaces of W-1A and B flat.
made. The patterns provided on the plans for
reinforcement parts RR-1 through RR-3 should
used to make the 1/16" Ply parts and these
ribs.)
2. Cut two 2
portant: cut one of these lengths from one piece
of spar stock and the other piece from a different
length of spar stock). From one of the leading
edge pieces, cut a
of the spar pieces directly over the plans. Now
securely pin the two rear W-1 B's in place against
the spar, making sure that they are perfectly ver-
tical to your work surface (use a triangle or block
to be sure). Now set the W-9 dihedral brace in
place on the work surface, against the bottom
spar and the two W-1 B's. Like the W-1 B's, ac-
curately position and securely pin the forward
W-1A's in place against the W-9 brace. With the
above securely in place, glue the
leading edge stock to the front of each W-1A (do
not glue to the break-away tabs). Now carefully
glue the top length of spar stock in place to the
W-1 B's. Starting from the leading edge, cut, fit
and glue all of the center-section's 1/16" balsa
sheeting in place; allow to dry.
3. Carefully remove this assembly from your work
surface. Unpin the short length of spar stock from
your work surface. Turn the assembly over and
epoxy W-10 in place against the rear face of the
leading edge and up against the top sheeting.
Carefully glue W-9 in place against the W-1A's and
B's, the top spar and sheeting. Take care here to
wipe-off any excess adhesive on the outer surfaces of the ribs and W-9. Glue the remaining
length of spar stock in place against W-9 and to
the W-1 B's. Carefully remove the bottom rib tabs
from each rib section and use a sanding block to
smooth the bottom of this structure as well as
bevel the bottom rear edge of the top sheeting.
From the kit, locate the shaped basswood wing
bolt insert. As shown, this part fits in place be-
11/16"
lengths of 1/4" x 3/8" spar stock (Im-
2-11/16" piece.
Accurately
2-11/16"
pin one
piece
of
4. Use the full cross section of the wing, the view
directly beneath the wing plan, to now accurately
cut and bevel the top and bottom 1/4" x 3/8" spars
and the
inboard W-1 ribs are angled to provide the needed
7/8" dihedral for each wing panel. In order to provide this angle uniformly to each W-1 rib section,
we've provided you with a dihedral guage, shown
here. Use this as a pattern to now makethis guage
from either scrap ply or balsa. As you did for the
center section, now pin the bottom spars accurately in place over the plans. Take care here to
ensure that they are in place straight. These bottom spars are only in place for accurate rib alignment at this time.
3/8"x3/4"
leading edges.
You'll
note that the
FULL SIZE
DIHEDRAL GAUGE
FORW1-A&W1-B
3
5. Starting with tip rib W-8 and working inboard to
W-2, securely pin each rib in place overthe bottom
spar, making sure each is perpendicular to your
bench at 90°. Using the dihedral guage that you
made in Step 4, now accurately and securely pin
both W-1A and B rib sections in place. Note that
W-1A is spaced 1/16" ahead of the spar to compensate for the thickness of W-9 (ply dihedral brace).
Now trial-fit the pre-cut and beveled 3/8"x3/4"
leading edges in place against each rib face and
on each rib's bottom tab. Use a soft pencil to now
mark each ribs location on the leading edge and
remove. Apply glue to the marks made and glue
the leading edge in place, securing with pins.
Glue the top spar in place, W-8 through W-1B
(remember that you need a 1/16" gap for W-9, use a
scrap spacer).
6. As shown on the plans, each wing panel has a
sub-spar system which allows for the cutting and
hinging of the inset ailerons. These sub-spars are
made from 1/8" x
1/4"
balsa and the effected ribs
(W-8 through W-3) are slotted for their installation.
Cut, fit and glue the forward sub-spar in place
from W-8 to W-3. Now cut and trial-fit the rear sub-
spar in place at the rear of the slots provided in
ribs W-8through W-5. Note that the inboard end of
this sub-spar extends to and contacts W-4 and
that when in place correctly, there is an approx-
imate 1/8" gap between the front and rear subspars (this allows for 1/16" cap sheeting after the
ailerons are removed from the wing). Glue the rear
sub-spar in place.
7. From your kit, locate the 1/16" x 3" balsa sheet
stock. (Note that whenever you are applying balsa
sheet stock to a structure, it is almost always necessary to "true- up" edges by the use of a sharp
X-acto blade and a long metal straight edge.
These instructions assume that you will be doing
this as you progress.) Cut and fit the 2" wide
lengths of sheet required for the top, rear trailing
edge. Apply a moderate amount of glue to each
rib and glue this sheet in place; weight and/or pin
as needed to secure. Move forward to the top front
sheeting. Cut, fit and glue this piece in place (note
that the rear edge of this sheeting is cut to fit
halfway across the width of the spar). Now cut, fit
and glue the 1/16"x1/4" cap strips in place to the top
of each rib; W-8 through W-4.
8. Remove the wing panels from the work bench and
lay them back down, upside down. Glue the bottom spar in place. Now carefully remove all of the
tabs from the wing ribs. Use a long sanding block
to lightly smooth the bottom wing rib contours
and to bevel the trailing edge sheeting. Again,
with the panel's upside down on your bench,
locate and remove the two W-4A inboard aileron
"riblets". These are now glued in place, 1/16" outboard of W-4 (use scrap of balsa as a spacer), to
the sub-spar and top sheeting. Use a pencil to
now draw the aileron "cut-out" lines directly onto
the top sheeting. With this out of the way, cut, fit
and glue in place the bottom trailing edge
sheeting; pin and/or weight and allow to dry.
9. From your kit, locate the 10" length of slotted
hardwood tip float trunnion stock;
1/4" x 1/2"
. As
shown on the plans, you need to cut two 3-1/2"
lengths and six at 7/16"; do this now. Next,
drill
3/32" dia. hole through the 3-1/2" pieces, just outboard of the W-5 rib. This hole allows passage of
the 3/32" dia. formed main tip float wire. Trial-fit
these wires in place now. Some chamfering of the
slot and hole may be needed to allow the wire to
nest in the slot. Once satisfied, epoxy the two
3-1/2"
trunnion
blocks
in place to the front of the
bottom spar and ribs W-6 and W-5, carefully lining
up the hole just drilled with the outboard face of
W-5. Tape the formed tip float wires in place to
their trunnion blocks. Now carefully glue the 7/16"
lengths of trunnion blocks in place, over the wire
stub end, to W-5 and the top of the already-installed
3-1/2"
trunnion
block.
The resultant
positioning
of the formed wire, as shown on the plans, should
be vertical to the bottom surf ace of the wing. Note
that the remaining 7/16" lengths of trunnion stock
should first be trimmed to conform to the bottom
curvature of W-5 and epoxied in place per the
spacing shown in section C-C.
10. The bottom leading edge sheeting is now cut, fitted and glued in place, making sure that the glue
is kept out of the tip float trunnion slots and holes;
weight and/or pin as needed and allow to dry.Cut,
fit and glue the bottom 1/16" sheeting that fits over
W-5 and W-6, between the leading and trailing
edge sheets—bottom of wing only. The bottom
center section sheeting can now be cut, fitted and
glued in place. All of the bottom 1/16" x 1/4" rib cap
strips are now cut and glued in place. The last
thing to do in this step is to locate and clear-out
the
tip float trunnion slots and holes.
11. In this step you will be joining the outer panels to
the center section. If you've been careful to this
point, all that is needed is to lightly sand the inboard faces of the wing panels to render them truly flat and at the correct angle to achieve the required 7/8" dihedral. Now carefully trial-fit the
center section to each wing panel (one at a time)
to check fit. Some trimming of W-9 may be needed. Once you've achieved a good fit, prop up each
panel's wing tip 7/8" and check for the proper angle
in each panel, when in placetothecenter section;
sand and trim as needed to achieve this fit. For
joining the wing panels, we suggest an adhesive
like 30-minute epoxy as it gives you plenty of time
to work. Apply a moderate amount of glue to each
side of the center section and the rear face of W-9,
where it contacts the spars. Slide one of the wing
panels in place to the center section and gently
move it up and down a little to disperse the glue
evenly. Slip on the other panel and do the same
thing. Place the wing on your bench with the tips
supported at 7/8" each. Weight the center section
to
hold it flat. Use tape and/or pins to maintain the
a
4
wing panel's alignment. Before leaving this structure to cure, carefully remove any oozing
adhesive from the tops of the wing panel's still exposed W-1B ribs.
12. Remove the now-assembled wing from your
bench and inspect yourwork.Useasanding block
to clean-up the joints. The leading edge of the
wing is now first razor-planed to rough shape
followed by the sanding block to achieve final
shape. Take your time here and bring these
shapes down to those shown on the plans.
13. The top of the fully sheeted center section,
behind the spar, is now opened up to accept your
aileron servo. As shown on the plans, the aileron
servo is to be installed on it's side. The opening
that you need to make should correspond with the
dimensions of your system's servo. Under no circumstances should the width of this opening exceed the inside dimensions of the fuselage interior
(2-1/8"
between the
F-2
doublers). Most radio
system manufacturers provide what is called an
Aileron Servo Tray for their servos. This is what
we've used on our prototypes and recommend to
you. The servo is mounted to the tray and the tray
can then be mounted into the opening in the
center section and to the floor. The tray can be
held in place with servo mounting tape or you can
do as we did and install a couple of scrap spruce
rails (1/4" thick) and screw the tray to the rails. You
should now make-up the aileron servo mounting
system that you're going to use. As shown, the
aileron servo's output arm is fitted with the DuBro
EZ Connector (supplied) which is used to drive
the aileron drive cable. Install this connector to
the output arm that you plan to use. (IMPORTANT
You will not need a great deal of "throw" from
your servo to the output arm and we suggest that
this connector be mounted on the output arm's
innermost hole.) Place the servo, in place to the
servo tray and with the EZ connector attached, into the opening. Now observe where the cable
housing tube (one in each panel) needs to enter
the compartment, through the W-1B ribs and
carefully mark these locations on the ribs.
Remove the servo and use a 1/8" drill bit (handheld) to drill these first two holes. Use the plans to
now drill the remaining 1/8" holes through ribs W-2
through W-5. Angle drill the tube exit holes, as
shown on the plans, just inboard of W-6 (also see
Section C-C)
14. From your kit, locate the 36" length of aileron
drive cable and drive cable tubing. Lightly sand
the surface of the tubing and cut it into two 18"
lengths. Now install the tubing into the holes
you've drilled, as shown on the plans—don't glue
yet, just get it into place with the excess protruding out of the aileron end. Working from one
side, slide the cable into the tube, working it as
needed to negotiate the corners—be patient, it'll
go. Run the cable all the way through and out the
other side, centering it in the servo compartment.
Try moving the cable back and forth a few times, it
should be fairly smooth and free. Adjust the asyet unglued tubing to achieve free movement of
the cable (a little heat from your heat gun at the
curves, really helps). Once satisfied, use slowsetting CA glue to permanently secure the tubes
at each rib station and the angled exit points—do
thiswiththecablestill in place. When dry, remove
the cable and trim the outboard angled ends of
the tubing flush with the sheeting.
15. Cut, fit and glue the top center section sheeting to
each wing panel followed by the last cap strip
pieces over the two W-3 ribs. Lightly sand the
outer faces of the W-8 ribs smooth and flat. You
can now glue the 1" x
1-1/4" x 6-1/8"
balsa wingtip
blocks in place to the W-8 ribs but NOT to the
outer ends of the ailerons. These blocks can now
be shaped and final-sanded, as shown on the
plans. The entire wing should be sanded and
smoothed to final shape.
16. Using the marks made earlier, the ailerons can
now be cut from the wing. Use a sharp #11 knife
and a straight edge. Once the ailerons are free;
sand the aileron bays smooth and straight. Cut, fit
and glue 1/16" balsa sheet over the open rib ends
and against the top and bottom sheeting, thus
closing uptheaileron bay.As shownonthe plans,
the ailerons now need to be beveled, to facilitate
free movement. Do this now with your sanding
block. Also sand the face of W-4A flat and smooth.
Before capping the face of the ailerons, you'll
need to install the two die-cut W-11 aileron horn
mounting plates (1/16" ply)
in place
as
shown. Glue
these in now. Take one of the nylon control horns
from your kit, hold it in place on the bottom of the
aileron and use a pencil to mark the hole locations for later mounting. The front face of the nowprepared aileron can now be sheeted with 1/16"
balsa. Lightly sand the ailerons, top, bottom and
ends, with your sanding block. Use the sanding
block to slightly bevel the top, front edges of each
aileron, down to the hinge line (see Sections A-A
and
C-C).
17. Using the plans, mark the hinge locations for
each aileron on both the wing and aileron. Use a
#11 blade to carefully cut the hinge slots. Temporarily install the ailerons to the wing with the
nylon hinges. Check for fit and movement and
trim as needed for a perfect fit.
Your wing is now complete with the exception of installing the 1/4"dia. dowel in the forward center section. This
will take place during fuselage construction.
TIP FLOAT ASSEMBLY
From your kit, locate the four ABS plastic tip float
halves. You should have two right and two left halves. As
you can see from the diagram and the views on the
plans, these molded tip floats are mounted over a central light-ply "core" (TF-1). These cores are slotted at the
top to accept three
3/32"
I.D. x 3/8" brass tubes. These
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