Dynaflite super decathlon, Instruction Manual

Page 1: ...ranty does not cover any component parts damaged by use or modification In no case shall Dynaflite s liability exceed the original cost of the purchased kit Further Dynaflite reserves the right to change or modify this warranty without notice In that Dynaflite has no control over the final assembly or material used for final assembly no liability shall be assumed nor accepted for any damage result...

Page 2: ...cathlons have been the choice for basic aerobatics in the US for the past twenty five years One of the things that made this plane so popular was the fact that it was one of the easiest landing taildraggers ever made The Dynaflite Super Decathlon has the great landing habits of the full scale plane with more aerobatic potential The two piece wing means transporting this 89 span model can be done i...

Page 3: ...he model has remained structurally sound Please inventory and inspect all parts carefully before starting to build If any parts are missing broken or defective or if you have any questions about building or flying this model please call us at 217 398 8970 or you may email us at productsupport dynaflite com and we ll be glad to help If you are calling for replacement parts please look up the part n...

Page 4: ...calls for another type of adhesive If your parts do not fit well substitute medium or thick CA Whenever just epoxy is called for you may use either 30 minute epoxy or 6 minute epoxy When 30 minute epoxy is specified it is highly recommended that you use only 30 minute epoxy because you will need either the working time or the additional strength CA accelerator causes CA glues to react immediately ...

Page 5: ... 4 mm 1 8 3 2 mm 5 32 4 0 mm 3 16 4 8 mm 1 4 6 4 mm 3 8 9 5 mm 1 2 12 7 mm 5 8 15 9 mm 3 4 19 0 mm 1 25 4 mm 2 50 8 mm 3 76 2 mm 6 152 4 mm 12 304 8 mm 18 457 2 mm 21 533 4 mm 24 609 6 mm 30 762 0 mm 36 914 4 mm DIE PATTERNS METRIC CONVERSIONS ...

Page 6: ...rom the building board 6 If you will be adding flying wires drill a 5 16 hole in the bottom of the upper rear gusset Cut 3 8 off one of the 5 16 x 6 5 8 dowels Using thin CA glue the 3 8 piece in the hole 7 Using a 3 8 x 15 16 x 24 balsa stick the 3 8 x 1 2 x 28 1 2 balsa stick leftover from the upper rear gusset and a 1 8 x 3 8 x 30 balsa stick build the rudder Do not forget the 3 8 x 1 2 gusset ...

Page 7: ... center and stab leading edge joiner to the 1 2 piece pinned to your plans 5 From the 3 8 x 3 8 x 22 basswood stick cut fit and glue the stab spar to the stab center 6 Using two 3 8 x 15 16 x 24 balsa sticks cut fit and glue the leading edge and trailing edge 7 From the leftover 3 8 x 1 2 balsa stick used to build the fin and rudder cut fit and glue the stab tips 8 Using a 1 8 x 3 8 x 30 balsa sti...

Page 8: ...s you go Note Pull the stick just enough to touch the pins but do not move them 8 One at a time install the remaining four 1 16 x 3 8 x 24 balsa sticks as you did the first using medium CA to glue each successive stick to the one applied before it and pressing it in position until the CA dries Note Leave some balsa overhang on both ends to be trimmed off later 9 Remove the elevator from the plan 1...

Page 9: ...ge the holes in the ribs as necessary When satisfied with the fit remove the ribs from the tubes and set the tubes aside 5 Cut the two 1 8 x 2 1 8 x 14 5 8 birch ply sheets in half making four 1 8 x 2 1 8 x 7 5 16 shear webs 6 Sand a taper on the last two inches of the four 1 8 x 3 8 x 18 basswood spar doublers 7 Glue the four spar doublers to the four 1 4 x 3 8 x 42 basswood spars with the non ta...

Page 10: ... 13 Using the 3 32 x 4 x 24 balsa cut fit and glue the shear webs in place Note You will install the remaining balsa shear webs in the bays that have pins in them after the wing is turned over 14 Glue the 1 8 x 3 8 x 42 basswood bottom aft spar in place being careful to keep the ribs straight over the plans 15 Glue the die cut 1 8 ply W1A in place at the root of the wing with the spars firmly set ...

Page 11: ...8 x 1 x 42 balsa sub leading edge to the ribs centering it vertically on the front of the ribs 24 Using a razor plane and or sanding bar shape the top of the sub leading edge to the contour of the ribs Trim the sub leading edge flush with the wing tip rib and the root rib 25 From a 1 4 x 1 x 24 balsa stick fit and glue the trailing edge in place in the aileron bay Sand the top to the shape of the ...

Page 12: ...If this is your second or fourth time through this section complete the following steps 6a Cut the 1 4 x 3 8 x 8 basswood stick in half making two 4 long aileron servo rails Glue one servo rail in the forward square holes in the W5 ribs 6b Slip the rear 4 servo rail in place Fit your servo on the rails sliding the aft rail forward until the spacing between the rails is correct for the servo Glue t...

Page 13: ... strut braces and to W5 14 Using a piece of leftover 3 32 balsa fit and glue a cap onto the bottom of the rear strut block 15 Sand the trailing edge sheeting as shown in the cross section on the plans and in the photo 16 Glue the remaining balsa shear webs in place as shown on the plans 17 Sand the 1 8 sub leading edge and the 1 4 trailing edge to match the contour of the ribs 18 Trim the leading ...

Page 14: ...ing 6 Go back to step 9 on page 9 and build the other wing half BUILD THE AILERONS 1 From two 3 32 x 3 x 42 balsa sheets cut two aileron sheets 18 9 16 long Pin one in place over the aileron section on the plan 2 From a 3 8 x 7 8 x 24 balsa stick fit and glue the aileron leading edge to the sheeting 3 Position the two end ribs flush with the inboard and outboard ends of the aileron sheeting Glue i...

Page 15: ... when we refer to a glow installation we are referring specifically to the steps we took to install the O S 1 20 4 stroke Similarly when we refer to gas installation we are referring specifically to the steps we took to install the US 25 If you are installing a gas or glow engine other than those listed above you may need to modify these steps somewhat to accommodate your particular engine Note Th...

Page 16: ... 8 Loosely mount the Great Planes 60 120 engine mount to the engine mount spacer firewall with four 8 32 x 1 1 4 socket head cap screws and 8 washers Slide the mount halves to the widest position then tighten the mount to the firewall 9 Position the engine on the engine mount so that the spinner backplate is 6 7 8 from the firewall Note Do not confuse the engine mount spacer with the firewall 10 M...

Page 17: ...ted engine mount at the punch marks Drill four 9 32 holes in the firewall at the outermost punch marks as shown in the photo 4 Using a hammer gently tap four 1 4 20 blind nuts into the back of the firewall Glue in place with thin CA 5 Using four 1 4 20 x 3 4 bolts attach the engine mount to the engine Note Make sure the embossed letters are facing the engine when the engine is bolted to the engine...

Page 18: ... Note For clarity our photos show the fuse components off of the plan but you should build over the plans 2 Using 1 4 x 1 2 x 30 and 1 4 x 1 4 x 30 balsa sticks build the bulkheads 4 5 and 6 Note Use the ends of two different 1 4 x 1 4 x 30 sticks for the cross trussing Save the leftover long sections of 1 4 x 1 4 stick for the fuse sides 3 Notch the outer framework of bulkhead 4 to allow clearanc...

Page 19: ...the fuse sides be the same Take your time aligning these pieces so that the second fuse side matches the first 10 Lift the left fuse side off the right side and lay it down mirrored to the right fuse side Write left on the inside for clarity Remove both fuse sides from your work surface Sand the glue joints smooth on both sides of each fuse side 11 Glue the die cut 1 8 ply wing saddle doubler and ...

Page 20: ... your work bench 4 Epoxy the firewall in place again using your squaretomakesurethefusesidesareperpendicular to your work surface 5 Glue the fuse bottom to the fuse sides 6 Unpin the fuse bottom from your work surface 7 Laminate the two die cut 1 8 ply tail gear mounts 8 Fit bulkhead 7 the tail gear mounts the aft fuse bottom and the stab base to the fuse Using your square check that the fuse side...

Page 21: ... Mount the hatch to the fuse with four 2 x 3 8 flat head screws 18 Using 3 32 x 3 x 30 balsa sheet the bottom of the fuse with the grain running across the fuse bottom NOT along the length of the fuse Note Be careful not to glue the hatch to the fuse Save the leftover sheeting for the front deck 19 Turn the fuse right side up Laminate the die cut 1 8 ply bulkheads 3B and 3C with medium CA aligning...

Page 22: ... through the bulkheads then the first front ply shear web DO NOT drill through the second shear web 3 From the 5 16 dowel cut two 3 pieces Fit the 5 16 dowel through the hole you drilled 4 Drill the second hole the same as the first making sure the wing halves are still tight against each other 5 Remove the wings from the fuse and the wing tube Round one end of each 5 16 x 3 dowel Epoxy a wing dow...

Page 23: ...ches the wing tip Now swing the string over to the other wing tip If the tip aligns with the arrow the wing is properly aligned If not adjust the wing s position and try again Continue to adjust the wing until both wing tips are aligned with the arrow on the tape Secure the wing in its squared position 9 Drill two 13 64 tap holes at the marks you made on the wing bolt plates through the wing bolt ...

Page 24: ...e right thrust in it to match the firewall so make sure to mount the tank on the correct side of the tray 3 Glue the tank floor with the tank attached in place in the fuse 4 Attach the fuel lines to your tank and route them through the firewall Note You may have go up through the front deck plate with the carburetor line If so run the line now then cut the deck plate as needed during its installat...

Page 25: ... 1 8 ply sub formers 1 and 2 perpendicular to the fuse bottom 2 From a 1 4 x 1 4 x 30 balsa stick cut and glue the four belly pan stringers in place 3 Sand the side stringers to the shape of the sub formers 4 From each of three 1 8 x 3 x 24 balsa sheets cut a 6 1 4 long piece Edge glue the three 6 1 4 pieces together making one 9 x 6 1 4 sheet Save the three leftover 17 3 4 sheets for step 9 5 Glu...

Page 26: ... both sets of stringers to match the sub formers 9 From three 1 8 x 3 x 17 1 2 balsa sheets leftover from the front of the belly pan cut three 7 5 8 sheets Edge glue two pieces making a 7 5 8 x 6 sheet Save the third piece for the sides of the belly pan Set the remaining 9 7 8 pieces aside for step 14 10 Sand a taper on one 6 end of the sheet so that when the sheet is positioned on sub formers 5 a...

Page 27: ...he leftover piece to sheet the other side 14 Using the remaining three 9 7 8 balsa sheets sheet the last section covering the middle first then the sides 15 Round the edges of the belly pan sheeting to shape 16 Epoxy the 1 8 x 3 1 8 x 7 1 2 ply landing gear plate in place inside the fuse 17 Drill four 3 16 holes through the fuse bottom and the landing gear plate using the landing gear as a guide R...

Page 28: ...re that the stab aligns with the wing horizontally as well When satisfied with the fit and alignment glue the stab to the fuselage with 30 minute epoxy 3 Cut the 1 2 x 12 balsa triangle stock in half making two 6 pieces Glue them to the fuse and the bottom of the stab 4 Using a 90 degree triangle align the fin vertically Be sure that the fin is also aligned with the centerline of the fuselage Glue...

Page 29: ...aped basswood wing struts 2 Thread four 6 32 x 1 1 2 studs into the struts until 3 4 of the stud is protruding from the end of the strut Do not glue at this time Note You will permanently secure the studs to the struts after the model is completely covered and all measurements and alignments have been checked 3 Using the wing plans as a reference drill four 1 8 holes through the bottom sheeting an...

Page 30: ...se two marks which indicates where the two struts will join Mount the forward strut 9 Screw a nylon end onto a second strut making your rear strut Mount the rear strut to the wing Align the rear edge of the rear strut at the rear edge of the forward strut as shown in the photo Extend the line on the front strut onto the rear strut Make a line on the front strut along the rear strut s leading edge ...

Page 31: ...the engine carburetor air inlets and air exit If you go slowly and remove a little material each time you will be rewarded with a tight fitting and good looking cowl 8 Mount the cowl with four 6 x 1 2 sheet metal screws and washers Reinforce seams inside the cowl and the mounting holes with 1 wide fiberglass cloth 9 Fill the joints with Bondo or a similar filler Sand smooth 10 Mount the tail gear ...

Page 32: ...fer iron on coverings that do not require painting this type of model lends itself very well to 21st Century Fabric This material has a painted appearance with a fabric texture It will make your Super Decathlon look like it has been covered with fabric and painted just like the real Super Decathlons were when they came off the assembly line Your Dynaflite Super Decathlon will require two fifteen f...

Page 33: ...p to 1 2 from the optimum CG to fit your flying style PREFLIGHT BALANCE YOUR PROPELLERS Many problems are the result of vibration caused by an unbalanced propeller Nuts and bolts can vibrate loose Vibration can damage delicate radio components and even damage the delicate glow plug element resulting in an engine that is difficult orimpossibletostart PurchaseaTopFlitePrecision Magnetic Balancer or ...

Page 34: ...your face and body as well as all spectators away from the plane of rotation of the propeller Keep loose clothing shirt sleeves ties scarfs long hair or loose objects away from the prop Be conscious of pencils screwdrivers or other objects that may fall out of your shirt or jacket pockets Use a chicken stick or electric starter and follow the instructions to start your engine Ask an assistant to h...

Page 35: ...s turns stalls spins and gentle aerobatics Being relatively low powered it does not have a high rate of climb and has poor vertical performance To gain speed for a loop it is necessary to dive for a brief period Barrel rolls are slow teaching rudder elevator coordination While the Super Decathlon is a more powerful and advanced model it still has most of the same basic flying characteristics Your ...

Page 36: ...TWO VIEW DRAWING Use copies of this page to plan your trim scheme ...