DUMMY CONTROL LINKAGE
8A real nice treatment to improve the model’s appearance is to
add scale (non-functioning) control linkage to the control
surfaces. Here you can see the tops of the ailerons with a
small, scale-sized plastic control horn and a length of braided fishing
leader cable added. The black cable swages are made from a length
of heat-shrink tubing shrunk into place and secured with a drop of thin
CA adhesive. The control horns are inserted and then glued into thin
slits cut into the surface. The cable fairing covers are vacuum-formed
just like the exit covers.
CLEAN STRINGERS
10For an unblemished covering job, the stringers that give
your model its shape need to run straight and
uninterrupted from one end of the fuselage to the other.
Scallop the formers on either side of the stringers by cutting away
some of the wood. If you simply sand the formers flush with the tops
of the stringers, the formers may touch the covering fabric and will
show through the finish. Be sure to support the stringers in between
the formers with scrap bits of wood.
HIDDEN WING HATCH
9Here’s an easy trick you can do on any model, scale or otherwise.
If your aileron servos are attached to flush-fitting hatch covers out
in the wing panels, just in front of the control surfaces, install the
servo and then screw it into place. But first, countersink the screw holes
in the corners and install flush-head screws. Now cover over the entire
hatch cover and just expose the slot that the servo arm sticks through.
Seal the covering material over the hatch cover and if you do ever need
to get to the servo, all you have to do is cut along the hatch cover seams
to remove it. A small patch of material is all that’s needed to cover over
the hatch again.
EASY ACCESS TRAY
11A good way to keep tabs on your model’s fuel tank and
battery pack is to make them easy to get to. I like to install a
removable tray supported by plywood rails and kept it in place
with a couple of screws. This tray supports both the engine’s ignition
battery and the receiver’s battery packs, as well as the fuel tank.
Everything is held secure with Velcro tape and Velcro straps. The tray
slips into position through the wing saddle area and the screws prevent
the tray from shifting position. The fuel lines are cut extra long so they
can be fed through the openings in the firewall to connect to the engine.
