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Composite-ARF Yak 55 (2.1m/83")
techsupport@composite-arf.com
Building Instructions
General Tips:
We recommend that you follow the order of construction shown in this manual for the fuselage,
as it makes access to everything easier and saves time in the end. You can complete the assem-
bly of the wings and stabs at any point.
The first thing to do is protect the finished paint on the outside of the model from scratches and
dents during building - so cover your work table with a piece of soft carpet, cloth or bubble-plas-
tic. The best way to stop small spots of glue getting stuck to the outside painted surfaces is to
give the whole model 2 good coats of clear car wax first, but of course you must be sure to
remove this 100% properly before adding any additional paint, decals or trim. Alternatively you
can cover the majority of the fuselage with the bubble-plastic used to pack your model for ship-
ping, fixed with paper masking tape, which also protects it very well.
When sanding areas inside of the fuselage to prepare the surface for gluing something onto it,
do NOT sand right through the layer of glasscloth on the inside foam sandwich! It is only neces-
sary to rough up the surface, with 60/80 grit, and wipe off any dust with alcohol (or similar) before
gluing to make a perfect joint. It is very important to prepare the inside of the fuselage properly,
by roughing up and cleaning the surface, before gluing any parts to it.
Before starting construction it is a good idea to check inside the fuselage for any loose glass
fibres that could cut your hands, and a quick scuff over any of these with a coarse Scotchbrite
pad will remove them.
Landing Gear
The 1st job is to fit the landing gear legs and you
can leave these in place to protect the bottom of
the fuselage during the rest of the assembly.
The landing gear legs consist of 45° laminated
fibreglass and carbon cloth with a huge number of
carbon tows inside, all made in negative molds
and heat-cured. However it is still lightweight, and
is flexible enough to take the shock of any land-
ings that are less-than-perfect!
The plywood supports for the landing gear are
already factory-installed on top of the integral
exhaust tunnel. Please double-check now that this
is properly glued in. If you wish to reinforce it
against any really poor landings, you can add a
layer of heavy weight (8 oz/200 gram) fibreglass
cloth to join the vertical plywood supports to the
sides of the fuselage, laminated on with slow epoxy
- but this is absolutely not necessary for normal
landings.
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