Now that you have all your parts cut out and marked, it is time to get them ready for assembly. One of the first things to do is remove the paper from the wing plate where the KF airfoils will be attached. The easiest way to do this is to lay the KF on the wing plate, trace along the trailing edge and then use that line as your guide. I wrote this blog article that might be more helpful and detailed on how to remove the paper from DTF.😊
I also removed the paper from my electronics bay hatch door, this is optional, I just wanted to reduce the weight on my plane a little bit. Also, remove the paper from the small rectangular pieces that will attach behind the wooden motor mount and on the inside of all the nose pieces as indicated on the plans.
Once you have the paper removed where it needs to be removed, it is a good time to install the wing spar for reinforcement. I used two pieces of bamboo skewer, you could also use carbon rod/tube if you want to. I shot this video awhile ago that shows how I go about making the groove and installing my reinforcement in my park jets. As mentioned in the video, I find five minute epoxy works best for this as it dries relatively quickly and does not need exposure to the air to harden.
I used one long section (about 10" long) of bamboo skewer that would go across the opening for the electronics bay and then measured and cut a smaller section to fill the rest of the groove made in the foam. Hopefully you can see that in the first picture below. Note that I put waxed paper under the wing plate so that in the event any five minute epoxy oozes out, I don't glue my wing plate to the table😧
Once I have the reinforcement installed, I lay another piece of wax paper on top of the wing plate and then weight it down so that the reinforcement will dry flat in the wing. I know this looks like overkill, but you get the idea😉I will often leave this overnight as sometimes DTF can have a bit of a warp in it and this process helps to ensure the wing plate is as flat as I can make it.
Although you can use hot glue for this, it will weigh your plane down, so it might be best to use tape along the leading edge of the nacelle to prevent paper from peeling off on landing and hope for the best on the rest of the plane😊 Otherwise the paper can get peeled off the leading edges of the nacelles and landing skids after a few landings. I also remove about 1/2" of the paper along the very back of the wing plate (on top only) where I am going to attach my hinges. I also do this on the top of the elevon so that the tape has a section of bare foam on which to adhere. Here are a series of pictures of areas where I have trimmed the paper from the foam.
Trailing edge of the wing top and bottom, about 5mm wide.
As already mentioned, about 1/2" along the very back of the top of the wing plate where I will be attaching my elevon hinge tape.
Leading and trailing edge of the prop slot.
Leading and trailing edge of the nacelles.
All around the edges top and bottom of the elevon, note the 1/2" edge area where the paper is removed for the hinge tape. I also do the same thing around the outer edge of the vertical stabilizer although I forgot to take a picture of that😳
I also remove the paper from the leading and trailing edges of the landing skids. In the picture below, you can see I have already sealed the edge of the paper as I describe in the blog post linked in the first paragraph of this article.
After all the edges of the paper has been sealed, I gently sand a taper on all the edges (except on the back of the wing plate and the elevons where they will be hinged) to ensure a nice smooth airflow over my plane. Also, do not taper the leading edge of the wing at this point, that will be done later once the KF airfoils have been attached. Once I have all the sanding done, I actually vacuum all the parts to get any remaining dust off them using this brush attachment on the vacuum. I find it is the easiest way to get the pieces clean😊
This next step is not necessary if you don't every think you will get your plane wet, but if you live in an area like I do where even in the summer you might get some moisture on your plane from the wet grass, I highly recommend you treat your plane with oil based Minwax polyurethane or other similar product. It is important to use an oil based product as water based will saturate the paper.
Otherwise, the paper will absorb the water, make the plane very heavy and eventually the paper will fall off which can compromise the strength of your plane. I wrote this detailed article on how I do the Minwax treatment. In that article, I included a Flite Test video on how they demonstrate applying the Minwax. As the video is unlisted, if you click on the words Flite Test video in the previous sentence, you will be taken there.
Although in the video they mention it best to Minwax after the plane is assembled, that is a bit more difficult with this plane, so I applied the Minwax before assembly, doing one side first, then the other after the first side was dry.
It is very important to stir the Minwax, I just use a popsicle stick to ensure you get all the resin off the bottom of the can, especially if it has been sitting for awhile. Otherwise, you won't be getting the full protective effects of the product. I use the inexpensive foam brushes I can get from the dollar store to apply and then paper towel to remove the excess Minwax before leaving it to dry completely.
While I am waiting for the Minwax to dry, I find it an excellent opportunity to set up my electronics and program my transmitter so that I know everything is good before I get busy with assembly.
I used the very inexpensive FlySky FS-i6 transmitter to fly my F-22 Mini V3, if you want more info on my journey evaluating this great little transmitter, please check out this playlist on my You Tube channel.
Next up, part 4 - Assembly😀
Cheers,
Scott
#ParkJetnoise
#ParkJetpilot
#GCRCF22MiniV3
Great tips! Those steps are nearly identical to the process I use in my build. You cover every step of the way very thoroughly.
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