Assembly
AT A GLANCE Type:
Construction: Wing span: Wing area: Airfoil: Length: Weight:
Wing loading: Motor: ESC:
Battery: Radio:
R/C electric aerobat balsa
38 inches 375 sq. in. symmetrical 41.5 inches
28–32 ounces
10.8–12.3 oz./sq.ft. Rimfire .10 brushless ElectriFly SS 35
3S 2200 mAh Li-Po Futaba R617FS RX
Servos: (4) Futaba S33156 Digital MG Manufacturer:
Great Planes Dist. by: Hobbico P.O. Box 9021
Champaign, IL 61826 217-398-3630
www.greatplanes.com
Once all the components are removed from the box and their protective bags, as- sembly begins with installing a servo in each beautifully covered wing. Thanks to preinstalled strings, the leads of the recom- mended Futaba S3156 micro servos install with ease and don’t require any extensions. The ailerons come pre-hinged, but the con-
trol horns have to be attached using two 3⁄8-inch wood screws for each horn. A small nylon pin gets glued on each wing half just aft of the main spar. Once this is complete, the control rods need to be assembled. The control rods for all of the control sur- faces are assembled in the same way. A nylon clevis is threaded on the end which connects to the control horn while the other end gets a 90-degree bend to align with the servo arm.
Trim the wire leaving approximately 3⁄8 inch of rod beyond the bend. Drill a 5⁄64-inch hole in the servo arm and insert the 90-de- gree bend, retaining it using a nylon Faslink. Moving to the rear of the fuselage, the rudder hinges are already glued to the ver- tical stabilizer, but you will need to mount the horizontal stabilizer and secure the ele- vator. This makes installing the aft mount- ed rudder and elevator servos easier. In an effort to keep the control rods as short as possible, I oriented the output shaft of the servos toward the rear of the air- plane. This was probably not necessary as
the rods will be quite short either way. It did, however, make it so the 16-inch servo extensions were just barely long enough. Just as on the wings, there are strings in place to pull the leads through the fuselage. If I were going to do it over, I would consider cutting the original servo lead and soldering in an extension of the exact length needed. It’s certainly more work but it will elimi- nate a connection, make for a neater job, and be easier to pull through the fuselage. Once the servos are installed in the aft of the fuselage, the horizontal stabilizer needs to be glued into place. Great Planes did a great job with the manual (as usual) and the installation of the horizontal stabilizer and elevator is clearly shown. It is worth men- tioning, however, that failure to pay close at- tention on this step will result in disaster! The elevator (not yet hinged) must be threaded into its final resting place before the horizontal stabilizer is glued in place. Unlike the ailerons, the control horns on both the elevator and rudder utilize the back plate and machine thread screws. I found the rudder control horn needed a little trim- ming in order to allow maximum travel without hitting the fuselage.
The two-piece main gear legs are made of unpainted aluminum and attach to the fuse- lage with four screws and lock washers. The tailwheel setup is a little bit unique, espe- cially on such a small airplane. The pivot
The Factor 3Dcomes highly assembled as evidenced by the low parts count (above left). Futaba receiver boxes have been a long-time favorite for keeping the small hardware organized. The servo setup in the wings (above right) is very straightforward. Even with no servo extension, there is just enough wire on the aileron servo to go right into the receiver. A trick of the cheapskate modeler
(below left); the string that is used to pull the servo leads through the fuselage and wings also serves well for keeping the servo extensions tied together. Make sure to put the elevator (below right) through the fuselage and in its place before gluing the horizontal stabilizer into place. It’s not a difficult process but it is absolutely critical!
FLYING MODELS
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