Sig Manufacturing T-Clips
The vertical stab is glued on next (at left). Everthing keys together making alignment simple. The tailwheel is positioned and screwed into place (above), which finishes off the tail.
To get the T-Clips standing on its own, the main landing gear is now assembled. If this was most any other ARF, I would probably be reaching for my drill and most certainly for my Dremel to trim down overly-long axles at this point. But this is a Sig, and all of that is done for you. The axles, gear and wheelpants all bolt together with little ef- fort. The gear assembly is then screwed to the fuse.
The tail feathers go on next, and yet again all of the tricky and tedious work is done for you. The holes for both the horizontal and vertical stab control horns are pre-drilled and all of the covering on the gluing areas is pre-removed. The elevator halves’ joiner wire is already glued too, so all you need to do is hinge them with the included CA hinges. After bolting on the wing to check alignment, the stabs are both then epoxied to the fuse. The rudder is hinged last. My T-Clips required no sanding whatsoever for a perfect fit. The installation of the tailwheel finishes off the aft end of the model. The rudder and elevator servos are in- stalled in the fuse next. The plywood tray
into which they mount isn’t doubled up by the servo screw locations, so hardening the screw holes with thin CA is a good idea. The rudder and elevator pushrods are assembled and slid into their respective tubes. There, they are marked, bent and trimmed to allow the plastic keepers to be popped into place. A receiver of your choice is then mounted to the forward area of the radio tray with the included zip ties.
Now onto the business end of the T-Clips. Due to the huge number of motor possibili- ties, the included plywood motor mount has an adjustable firewall. After mounting your motor to the firewall, it can be moved back and forth to get the proper firewall to thrust washer spacing. Once there, it can be tacked into place with CA. Then, the included strip of balsa tri-stock can be cut and epoxied into all of the front and rear joints. The motor mount assembly can then be epoxied onto the nose of the T-Clips. Lastly, your ESC is installed into the nose directly aft of the fire- wall. Now is a good time to connect every- thing to ensure proper function. The T-Clips has an innovative system for
battery installation and removal that con- sists of a front window hatch and plywood tray to which your battery attaches. The tray itself slides on tracks inside the fuselage. In- cluded self-adhesive hook and loop is applied to both the tray and your battery. Now, at- tach the battery to the tray and try sliding it into position. Mine did not require any addi- tional sanding for a good fit. It is, however, important to make sure all wires are kept away from the tray tracks. Otherwise they can easily become pinched or broken. Lastly, the cowl can be fitted. In order to achieve proper airflow and cooling, a small area of the underside of the cowl must be re- moved. This was the only time I used my Dremel on this whole build. The cowl can then be positioned on the fuse and mounted using the pre-drilled holes as your guide. Mount a prop and we are ready to fly! Well, almost. I gave my T-Clips a good once over before checking the center of grav- ity and programming in my throws as per the manual. Using a 4S 3,700 mAh pack, my T-Clips balanced right in the middle of the recommended range. Off to the field!
The radio compartment of the T-Clips is clean and simple (above left). Receiver, rudder and elevator servos have easy access. The firewall on the T-
40
Clips is adjustable to accomodate motors of nearly any size (above right). Pictured is a Tacon Bigfoot 32 outrunner.
DECEMBER 2013
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