Prepare The Model For Covering - Top Flite Douglas DC-3 User Manual

2. Trim the wing fillet bases as shown to accommodate
the fuel tanks.
Refer to these photos for the following steps.
3. Connect the fuel lines and secure the fuel tanks with
two #64 rubber bands connected to the fuel tank hooks in a
crisscross fashion. The battery pack is shown in the
suggested location. You may relocate the battery pack to
the fuse if you need to adjust the C.G. or if it interferes with
the pushrods in the fuselage when you mount the wing.
4. Line the receiver compartment with R/C foam and
position your receiver. Route the servo cords in the wing
around the fuel tanks and connect them to your receiver.
5. Mount your on/off switch and the air filler valve in the
location of your choice. We mounted ours next to the
receiver in the receiver compartment so they can be
accessed from the bottom of the wing.
6. Cut a hole in the top wing sheeting to accommodate
your air valve servo. Make servo mount plates from
leftover 1/8" plywood and glue them to the wing sheeting.
Mount your air valve servo to the mounts with the screws
included with your servo.
7. Mount the air control valve to the wing as shown,
using the die-cut 1/8" plywood air control valve mount
and base with 30-minute epoxy. Connect the air valve to
your servo.
8. Once you have finalized your installation, secure your
receiver in the wing with a piece of leftover 1/8" balsa with
1/4" foam underneath.
9. Cut a hole in the bottom of the receiver compartment
for the receiver antenna. Put a strain relief on the antenna
and route it out the bottom of the wing. When you're at the
flying field, you can connect the end of the antenna to the
bottom of the fuselage after you mount the wing. We used
a small rubber band looped over the tail gear wire.
DC-3 Fact
Donald W. Douglas received his secondary
education from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis
in 1909. Three years later he enrolled at MIT
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Douglas
completed the four year program in two years at MIT
earning a degree in aeronautical engineering.
Following that, Douglas went to work at MIT as a
Graduate Engineer until he was hired by Glenn L.
Martin aircraft company as their chief engineer.
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PREPARE THE MODEL FOR COVERING

1. At this stage, there shouldn't be much left to do.
We've installed the radio system along the way, all the
hinge slots are cut and the control surfaces are all
temporarily connected, the engines are mounted and the
retracts (if you are installing them) have been fitted. If
there are any areas left that you haven't fuelproofed,
now is the time to do it. We recommend taking off the
engines, landing gear and any other systems that may
get in the way of painting or fuel proofing. Make sure
you fuelproof the inside of the flaps and the flap area in
the wing, the wheel wells, the fuel tank compartment,
the wing saddle and the front of the wing, etc. For
fuelproofing, we recommend any kind of fuelproof model
airplane paint but, of course, we prefer Top Flite
LustreKote. See the Hot Tip that follows on how to use
LustreKote to fuelproof these important areas.
Note: You should always fuelproof the model before
you cover it. Otherwise, some types of paint may soak
through the wood and cause blemishes that may show
through the covering.
If you plan to cover your model with Top Flite
MonoKote film and you will be using Top Flite
LustreKote spray paint for parts that require painting
and/or fuelproofing, you may find it easier to apply
LustreKote to some of those areas with a paint brush
instead of spraying it from the can. To apply
LustreKote with a brush, hold a tube (such as a
drinking straw) to the spray nozzle, with the other end
of the tube emptying into a container. Depress the
spray nozzle until you have enough paint in your
container to do the job. Spraying LustreKote into a
tube will keep most of it from becoming airborne.
Allow the paint to stabilize for about ten minutes
before you brush it on. This is a handy method for
painting visible areas on the outside of the model that
require fuelproofing and must match your MonoKote
finish (such as the wheel wells and the insides of the
flaps). To simulate the Zinc Chromate used on the
inside of aluminum airplanes, mix yellow and blue.