Classic 320
Covering and finishing
The wing mount and the entire fuselage are covered with colored Japanese tissue.
After everything has received at least four coats of nitrate dope, decals, logos, and license numbers can be applied. After the final coat of nitrate dope has dried for at least a week, a fuel-proofing coat of clear epoxy should be applied. Use unthinned epoxy on the fuselage, fin, and pylon; use thinned epoxy on the wing and horizontal stabilizer.
Final assembly
This includes attachment of the vertical tail and installation of the pylon and the nose and tail skids. The fin must be glued in place with 0° offset; it must be true to the fuselage fore-and-aft centerline.
The 1/32-inch-diameter wire tail skid is inserted into a short (roughly 1/2-inch) length of 1/16-inch-diameter dowel which, in turn, is inserted through the fuselage bottom and into the aft-most fuselage former. The wire itself can extend upward into the fin to help in the fin's attachment to the fuselage. The .045-inch-diameter wire nose skid is inserted into a 1-inch length of 1/8-inch-diameter dowel which, in turn, is inserted through the fuselage bottom and up through the balsa nose plug.
The hardwood pylon leading edges (LEs) and trailing edges (TEs) should extend through the fuselage and attach to its bottom. As with the fin, the pylon must be true to the fuselage centerline in a 0° offset position.
Pylon position and installation
Correct fore-and-aft installation of the pylon is critical.
- The pylon position shown on the plans is suitable for heavier ball-bearing engines such as the .049 Cox, Shuriken, and CS.
- For lighter plain-bearing engines such as the .049 Cox Tec-Dee, Stels, VA, and AME, the pylon will need to be located farther aft to attain the required center of gravity (CG) position at 90% of the wing root chord.
To obtain the correct fore/aft pylon position, the model must be fully assembled in its flying condition, including installation of:
- the timer,
- propeller,
- fuel tank (and fuel-tank holder, if using one),
- airborne tracking transmitter (if using one — and there should be one),
- the engine, and
- the horizontal stabilizer.
Procedure to locate the proper pylon position:
- Rubber-band the wing to the top of the fuselage immediately aft of the engine.
- Lay the inverted pylon/wing mount atop the wing with the mount LE aligned with the wing LE (LE = leading edge).
- Support the whole assembly at a point 1/2 inch forward of the wing TE (TE = trailing edge) — the 90% spot.
- By shifting the wing fore and aft, balance the model so the fuselage is horizontal; this locates the proper pylon position.
- Measure and/or mark that place on the top of the fuselage.
- Disassemble the wing and stabilizer from the fuselage and permanently install the pylon at the marked location for your particular engine and model.
Testing and trimming
All hand-glide and power testing should be done with the airplane in its final flight configuration.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
