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Section 6: Covering
Covering the SwitchBack Sr.
Determine what material you'll use to cover, we recommend using Solite or SolarFilm covering
material since it is extremely lightweight and won't crush the balsa when shrinking. Please refer
to the instructions that came with your covering for details on how to cover if you haven't done
it before.
Following your covering material instructions, cover the pieces in this order:
Do not shrink the covering until both sides of each part are covered. This reduces your
chances of twisting the surfaces.
•
Wings (Trim out covering for servos and servo wires
•
Fuselage (Cut out the aft bottom lightening hole for an air exit)
•
Ailerons
•
Tail Feathers
•
Control Horns (Looks a LOT better than leaving them uncovered!)
Cutting the Slits for the CA Hinges
You need to cut slits into the tail feathers and ailerons to allow for the CA hinges to be
attached.
•
Cut the rest of the CA hinges in half, lengthwise . Cut 1/2" wide slits into the ailerons,
wings, stabilizers, elevator, and rudder. The slits in the tails should be exactly
centered into the thickness of the wood. The rudder gets 3 hinges; one ¼" down
from the top, one just above the rudder horn slot, and one ½ way between the other 2.
The elevators/stab get 2 hinges per side, one about ½" in from the tips, and one 1bout
½" away from the dowel. The ailerons get 3 hinges each, one about 1" in from each end,
and one in the middle. For the aileron slits, cut them in the ailerons first and then lay
out the ailerons to see where the corresponding slits need to go into the rear of the
wing.
Section 7: Installing the Tail Feathers
For this step, you are going to install the horizontal stabilizer, elevator, the vertical
stabilizer and the rudder to the fuselage.
Attaching the Horizontal Stabilizer
•
You need to remove some of the covering on the horizontal stabilizer so that you can
securely attach it to the fuselage. Set the stabilizer onto the bottom of the fuselage,
making sure it is centered on the fuselage. Mark the elevator to show where you need to
trim the covering. You need to remove the covering so you get a strong balsa to balsa
glue joint. Use a sharp blade and try not to cut into the balsa itself.
•
Make sure the stab is centered on the fuselage and flat with the bottom of the fuselage
and glue it in place with 5 minute epoxy or thick CA.
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