AeroWorks BD-5B ELECTRIC ARF User manual

BD-5B ELECTRIC ARF
ASSEMBLY MANUAL
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Aeroworks Contact Information …………………………………………………………........ 3
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Kit Contents……………………………………………………………………………………... 5
Items needed to complete ……………………………………………………………………… 7
Covering……………..………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Wing Assembly………………………………………………………………….……………… 9
Stab and Elevator Assembly…………………………………………………………………… 17
Rudder, Nose Gear, Servos, and Motor Installation ………………………………………… 21
Radio Installation ……………………………………………………………………………….. 28
Finishing and Preflight Preparation …………………………………………………………… 31

401 Laredo Unit “D”
Aurora, CO 80011
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Website: www.aero-works.net
E-mail: [email protected]
Thank you for choosing the Aeroworks BD-5B Electric ARF. We put great effort into
making this plane the best model you will ever build and fly. We provide you with the
highest quality and performance possible. We wish you great success in the assembly and
flying of your new Aeroworks BD-5B Electric ARF.
WARNING
An R/C aircraft is not a toy! If misused, it can cause serious bodily harm and property
damage. Fly only in open areas, and AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) approved
flying sites. Follow all instructions included with your plane, radio, and motor.
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INTRODUCTION
Your new BD-5B Electric ARF is a highly maneuverable electric powered sport airplane. It is
capable of gentle and stable slow flight to full out jet like sport flying. We hope you enjoy building and
flying your BD-5B. This aircraft builds easily, quickly, and accurately due to the CAD design and
LASER cutting technology. The wing, stab and fuse are pre-assembled and covered requiring only a
minimum amount of gluing or drilling.
The BD-5B Electric ARF can be transported completely assembled. This totally eliminates
assembly time when you get to the flying field. The battery installs easily with Velcro to get you into the
air quickly to enjoy high performance jet like sport flying.
A Himax 2815 brushless motor is shown in the assembly instructions. The aircraft was tested with
this motor, a 3 cell 2000mah LiPoly battery, and a Castle Creation 25amp speed control. These
components provided excellent performance. The final choice of motor, battery, and speed control is left
up to the builder. A minimum four channels in the radio are required to allow the pilot to take full
advantage of the capabilities of this aerobatic aircraft.
Before starting the assembly of your new BD-5B, please inventory and inspect all parts and
hardware for imperfections or damage. Notify AEROWORKS immediately if there are missing or
damaged parts.
IMPORTANT! Please read through the assembly manual carefully before starting assembly.
Follow the order of assembly in the manual. This will help save time and eliminate any chances of
building errors.
INTENDED USE
This plane should not be regarded as a toy. This is high performance plane and is recommended for pilots
who are beyond the trainer-stage and are comfortable with flying a high performance sport plane.
WARRANTY
It is important to notify Aeroworks of any damage or problems with the model within 30 days of
receiving your plane to be covered under warranty. If you wish to return this aircraft for any reason a 15%
restock fee will be charged to the customer. In addition the customer is responsible for all return shipping
cost and all prior shipping cost will not be refunded. Parts will be exchanged or replaced once the original
item is returned at the owner’s expense. If you have any problems, please contact Aeroworks.
Aeroworks cannot ensure the skill of the modeler and cannot influence the builder during the
construction or use of this aircraft. Therefore, Aeroworks will not be accountable for any property
damage, bodily injury, or death caused by this aircraft.
The purchaser/operator accepts all responsibility of any and all structural or
mechanical failures.

KIT CONTENTS
BD-5B Electric ARF Parts List
1. Left Wing assembled and covered
• Aileron in place with CA hinges not glued
• Torque rods and nylon control horn installed
• Wing bolt holes pre-drilled
2. Right Wing assembled and covered
• Aileron in place with CA hinges not glued
• Torque rods and nylon control horn installed
• Wing bolt holes pre-drilled
3. Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator covered
• Elevator in place with CA hinges not glued
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• Control horn holes pre-drilled
4. Fuselage assembled and covered
• Canopy installed
• Nose gear mount installed
• Wing mounting blind nuts installed
• Rudder in place and hinges not glued
• Rudder pushrod installed connected to rudder
• Elevator pushrod installed with nylon keeper
• Motor hatch installed
• Battery hold down Velcro strap installed
• Plastic belly pan

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5. Landing gear parts
• Main landing gear painted and pre-drilled
• 2 main wheels
• 2 axle bolts with 2 nuts and 2 lock nuts
• 2 sheet metal mounting screws
• 1 wire nose gear strut
• 1 nose wheel
• 1 nose wheel steering tiller with set screw
• 2 wheel collars
6. Control system parts
• 2 wire aileron pushrods
• 4 pushrod easy links
• 1 nylon elevator control horn
7. Misc. assembly parts
• Plywood dihedral brace
• Plywood aileron servo mount
• Wood wing mounting dowel
• 2 Wing mounting bolts
• White covering patch for rudder linkage hole
• 2 Velcro adhesive patches for battery
• Aluminum spinner kit
8. Decal Sheet
• Self adhesive decals and logos

Items needed to complete:
Hardware:
• Himax 2815 motor with mounting screws
and 18” leads
• 7-5” APC-E propeller
• Castle Creation 25 amp speed control
• Battery – 3 cell 1500-2000mah Li-Poly for
motor and receiver
• 4 Ch receiver, feather or micro size
• 1 x aileron mini servo – Recommend Hitec
HS-55
• 1 x rudder mini servo – Recommend Hitec
HS-55
• 1 x elevator mini servo – Recommend Hitec
HS-55
• 1 x 6” servo extension
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Tools:
• Modeling knife
• Electric drill and selection of bits
• Phillips screwdriver
• Needle nose pliers
• Allen wrenches US and Metric.
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Wire Cutters
• T pins
• Medium sandpaper
• Ruler and tape measure
• Pen, pencil or felt tipped marker
• Rubbing alcohol
• Paper towels
• Masking tape
• Waxed paper
• Hobby iron
• Hobby heat gun
Adhesives:
• 15-30 Minute epoxy
• Thin CA
• CA kicker (optional)
• Blue Lock Tite (optional)
• Epoxy mixing cups, sticks
• Double sided foam mounting tape

COVERING
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1. Open your kit slowly and take care not to damage
any parts of the kit. Remove all parts from their
plastic protective covers for inspection. Before
doing any assembly or installation of any decals
it is very important to re-shrink or re-tighten the
factory applied covering. Due to shipping, heat
and humidity changes from different climates,
the covering may become lose and wrinkle in the
sun. If you take the time to re-tighten the
covering, you will be rewarded with a long
lasting beautifully covered model.
2. Using your covering iron with a soft sock, gently
apply pressure and rub in the covering. If any
bubbles occur, your iron may be to hot. Reduce
heat and work slowly. If bubbles persist, use a
small pin to punch holes in the bubble to relieve
trapped air and reheat.
3. Warning! If you use a heat gun, do so with
extreme caution. Take care not to apply too
much heat to any area for long periods of time.
This may cause the trim colors to over shrink and
pull away leaving unsightly gaps on the color
lines. The red and blue lines are especially
vulnerable to over heating and over shrinking.

WING ASSEMBLY
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1. Gather the left wing, right wing, wing dowel,
plywood dihedral brace, plywood aileron servo
mount parts, thin CA, epoxy for the following
steps.
2. Remove the aileron from the wing. Remove each
CA hinge and push a T-pin through the center of
each CA hinge. Reinstall each hinge in the
trailing edge of the wing and push the hinge half
way in so the T-pin is flush against the trailing
edge. Use a toothpick to place a small amount of
15 minute epoxy in the aileron torque rod hole.
Then reinstall the aileron onto the CA hinges and
aileron torque rod. Press the aileron against the
trailing edge of the wing and the T-pins as shown
below. Remove any excess epoxy with alcohol
wipes.
3. Remove the T-pins. Allow enough hinge gap to
ensure maximum control throws. Next, place 3-4
drops of thin CA on each side of all hinges. Do
not over soak the CA hinges. Glue may run out
and cause binding. Repeat for other wing panel.
4. Prepare to epoxy the wing halves together.
Assemble all needed items prior to mixing epoxy.
Dihedral brace, wing dowel, masking tape,
wipes, alcohol, mixing stick, application brush,
wax paper, and epoxy. Use 15-30 min epoxy to
allow adequate working and clean up time.

5. Mix epoxy in a mixing cup. Use mixing stick to
apply epoxy into the dihedral brace slots in each
wing panel and on the plywood dihedral brace.
Brush epoxy on each root rib on each wing panel.
Scrape away excess epoxy with the mixing stick.
Insert the dihedral brace into one wing and slide
the other wing on the dihedral brace. Press the
root ribs together. Wipe off excess epoxy. Use
masking tape to hold the wing panels tightly
together until epoxy cures. Use alcohol wipes to
wipe any excess epoxy, smears, or finger prints
from the covering material before it cures.
6. After epoxy is fully cured remove masking tape.
Center the aileron servo mount over the pre-cut
servo hole. Trace around the edge with a felt tip
pen or pencil.
7. Remove the aileron servo mount and lightly cut
thru the covering material inside the lines. Do
not cut into the underlying balsa wood.
8. Carefully remove the covering material exposing
the balsa skin for proper gluing.
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9. Wipe away the ink tracing and then epoxy the
aileron servo mount in place centered over the
aileron servo cut out. The aileron servo mount
should be flat across the wing center joint to
provide a flat surface for mounting the aileron
servo. The epoxy should fill the small gap
between the servo mount and center joint of the
wing halves.
10. Attach two easy links to the aileron servo arm as
shown. Use a 2mm or 5/64 bit to drill out the
servo arm holes if necessary. Do not over tighten
the nut. The easy link must rotate freely in the
servo arm. Secure the nut with Lock Tite or a
small drop of CA glue.
11. Install the servo in the center of the aileron servo
mount with the servo output arm facing the
trailing edge. Mark the location of the servo
mounting holes.
12. Use a 1/16 bit to drill the servo mounting holes.
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13. Before installing the servo, install both aileron
pushrods into the nylon aileron control horns as
shown.
14. Next, insert both aileron pushrods into the easy
links and then slide the aileron servo into the
aileron servo mount.
15. Mount the aileron servo using servo mounting
screws
16. Tape the trailing edge of each aileron to the
trailing edge of the wing. Rotate the aileron
servo output arm parallel to the trailing edge of
the wing. Then carefully tighten the easy link set
screw against the wire pushrod on each side to
ensure the ailerons are centered when the servo
arm is at the centered position. Remove the tape
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17. Use wire cutters to cut off the excess aileron
pushrod wire. Leave approximately 1/4" to 3/8”
extended out of the easy link for any future
adjustments.
18. Aileron servo installation is now complete.
19. Gather the main landing gear parts as shown
below. Note that each axle bolt has a regular nut
and a nylon lock nut.
20. Insert the axle bolt through the wheel and screw
the regular nut on the bolt all the way against the
wheel. Do not over tighten against the wheel.
The wheel must turn freely but without excess
play or wobble.
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21. Insert the axle bolt through the main landing gear
strut and screw the nylon lock nut tightly against
the main landing gear strut. Keep the axle bolt
from turning with a Phillips head screwdriver.
Check that the wheel freely rotates without
excess play or wobble. Adjust bolt and nuts as
necessary.
22. Main landing gear assembly is now complete.
Locate the self-tapping screws for mounting to
the wing.
23. Place a drop of thin CA into the predrilled
landing gear mounting holes to harden the wood
mount.
24. Mount the landing gear to the bottom of the wing
using two self-tapping screws. Do not over
tighten and strip the threads in the plywood wing
mounts.
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25. Center the plastic belly pan in position over the
wing dowel and trace a dowel relief cut out on
the front of the belly pan.
26. Use scissors or modeling knife to cut the dowel
relief out of the plastic belly pan.
27. Trial fit the belly pan on the bottom of the wing
and make sure there is no interference from the
wing dowel to the belly pan.
28. Install the wing to the fuse with both wing bolts.
Align the belly pan to the fuse. Use a pencil to
lightly trace the outline of the belly pan on the
bottom of the wing.
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29. Remove the belly pan and scuff the edges where
it contacts the bottom of the wing with a small
piece of medium sandpaper. Clean the edges
with alcohol to allow good CA glue adhesion.
30. Use a small piece of medium sand paper to scuff
the surface of the covering material just inside
the line where the edges of the belly pan will
contact the bottom of the wing. Clean the area
with alcohol to give a good CA glue bond.
31. Align the belly pan on the wing along the pencil
lines and tack glue in place at each corner with
thin CA.
32. Press the edges of the belly pan to contact the
bottom of the wing and glue in place with thin
CA glue. Do not use excess glue to avoid runs
and drips of glue on the wing and belly pan.
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The wing assembly is now complete.

STAB AND ELEVATOR
ASSEMBLY
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1. Remove the elevator from the stab. Remove
each CA hinge and push a T-pin through the
center of each CA hinge. Reinstall each hinge in
the trailing edge of the stab and push the hinge
half way in so the T-pin is flush against the
trailing edge. Then reinstall the elevator onto the
CA hinges. Press the elevator against the trailing
edge of the stab and the T-pins as shown below.
2. Remove the T-pins. Allow enough hinge gap to
ensure maximum control throws. Next, place 3-4
drops of thin CA on each side of all hinges. Do
not over soak the CA hinges. Glue may run out
and cause binding.
3. Insert the nylon elevator control horn into bottom
of the elevator through the predrilled holes in the
elevator. Make sure holes in the control horn are
facing forward toward the trailing edge of the
stab. Lightly trace around the base of the
elevator control horn with a pencil.
4. Remove the elevator control horn. Use a T-pin to
punch small holes through the covering material
under the base of the control horn on the bottom
of the elevator. Clean the area with alcohol.
This will allow the CA glue to penetrate and
bond the control horn to the wood.

5. Use a small piece of medium sand paper to scuff
the bottom of the elevator control horn as shown.
Clean the bottom surface with alcohol for a good
CA glue bond.
6. Reinstall the elevator control horn to the bottom
of the elevator. Glue in place with thin CA
around the base. Allow the CA to wick under the
control horn but do not allow excess CA to run
out and bond to the covering material.
7. After the CA has cured, use wire cutters to clip
the prongs flush with the top of the elevator
surface. Apply a drop of thin CA to each prong
to bond the control horn to the top of the elevator
surface.
8. Reinstall the stab in the fuse slot and push fully
forward with the elevator horn on the bottom
right side. Install the wing with the wing bolts in
place. Measure from the trailing edge wing tip to
the trailing edge stab tip on both left and right
sides. Make sure both sides are equal
measurements.
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9. Lightly trace the outline of the fuse on the top
and bottom of the stab with a pencil or felt tip
pen. Use care not to move the stab while tracing
the outline.
10. Remove the stab and use a T-pin to punch several
holes through the covering material inside the
fuse outline lines where the fuse sides will
contact the stab surface. Punch holes on the top
and bottom of the stab to allow the CA glue to
penetrate to the wood beneath the covering.
11. Use a small piece of medium sand paper to scuff
the surface of the covering material just inside
the line where the edges of the fuse will contact
the surface of the stab. Clean the area with
alcohol to remove the ink lines and give good CA
glue adhesion.
12. Reinstall the stab pushed fully forward, aligned
with the lines, and with the elevator control horn
on the bottom right side. Re-measure from the
trailing edge wing tip to the trailing edge stab tip
on both left and right sides. Make sure both sides
are equal measurements. Glue stab in place
using thin CA glue. Use care not to move the
stab during gluing. Allow glue to wick in under
the fuse joint. Use care to not allow excess CA
to run out and cure on the covering material.
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13. Install the wire elevator pushrod into the control
horn and attach the nylon pushrod keeper as
shown.
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The stab and elevator installation is now complete.