Extreme Flight slick 580 exp User manual

Please take a few moments to read this instruction manual before beginning assembly. We have outlined a
fast, clear and easy method to assemble this aircraft and familiarizing yourself with this process will aid in a
quick, easy build.
Please read the following paragraph before beginning assembly of your aircraft!
THIS IS NOT ATOY! Serious injury, destruction of property, or even death may result from the misuse of this product. Extreme
Flight RC is providing you, the consumer with a very high quality model aircraft component kit, from which you, the consumer,
will assemble a flying model. It is beyond our control to monitor the finished aircraft you produce. Extreme Flight RC will in no
way accept or assume responsibility or liability for damages resulting from the use of this user assembled product. This aircraft
should be flown in accordance to the AMA safety code. It is highly recommended that you join the Academy of Model Aero-
nautics in order to be properly insured, and to operate your model at AMA sanctioned flying fields only. If you are not willing to
accept ALL liability for the use of this product, please return it to the place of purchase immediately.
Extreme Flight RC, Ltd. guarantees this kit to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 30 DAYS from the
date of purchase. All warranty claims must be accompanied by the original dated receipt. This warranty is extended to the origi-
nal purchaser of the aircraft kit only.
Extreme Flight RC in no way warranties its aircraft against flutter. We have put these aircraft through the most grueling flight
tests imaginable and have not experienced any control surface flutter. Proper servo selection and linkage set-up is absolutely es-
sential. Inadequate servos or improper linkage set up may result in flutter and possibly the complete destruction of your aircraft.
If you are not experienced in this type of linkage set-up or have questions regarding servo choices, please contact us at info@
extremeflightrc.com or 770-887-1794. It is your responsibility to ensure the airworthiness of your model.
Congratulations on your purchase of the Extreme Flight RC 74” Slick 580 EXP ARF! Designed specifically
to handle the high G loads of Xtreme Aerobatics (XA), Freestyle routines, aggressive 3D maneuvers and
precision aerobatics, the Slick was born of the desire to meet the demands of today’s top ultra-aggressive
pilots.
Featuring carbon fiber square tube wing spars, D-tube wing design, carbon fuselage longerons, compos-
ite-reinforced fuselage formers, tank/battery tray, firewall, motor box and fuselage sides, as well as alu-
minum landing gear mount, quick-mount cowl, dual hatch latches, pre-jigging stabilizer, multi-airfoil wing
design, carbon fiber wing tube, carbon landing gear, complete competition-grade hardware package, and
many other features, the Slick 580 is the ultimate 35CC aerobatic aircraft on the market.
Please refer to the ARF Assembly Resources page on our website
under the Multimedia drop down menu for informative videos to
aid in the assembly and set-up of your aircraft.
A few tips to ensure success:
1. We are very pleased with the level of craftsmanship displayed by the builders in our factory. Through hundreds of grueling
test flights containing maneuvers that no aircraft should be subjected to, our prototypes have remained rigid and completely
airworthy. Having said that, it is impossible for us to inspect every glue joint in the aircraft. Take a few minutes and apply some
medium CA to high stress areas such as the aileron servo mounting trays , landing gear mount, anti rotation pins, wing and stab
root ribs, etc.
2. Having survived the journey half way around the world while experiencing several climate changes, it is not uncommon for a
few wrinkles to develop in the covering. Fear not! These are not manufacturing defects, and are easily removed with a little bit of
heat. Use a sealing iron to go over all seams, stripes and sharp points in the covering scheme. You may want to apply a drop of
clear fingernail polish at the tip of all sharp points to prevent them from lifting. To remove wrinkles use a 100% cotton tee-shirt
or microfiber cloth and your heat gun and heat the covering while gently rubbing the covering onto the wood with the t-shirt or
cloth. Be careful not to use too much heat as the covering may shrink too much and begin to lift at the edges. Take your time,
and a beautiful, paint like finish is attainable. If you need to repair any covering during the life of your aircraft, the colors are:
Yellow scheme: Bright Yellow, Black and Deep Blue in the Ultracote system.
Red/white/blue scheme:True Red, White, Midnight Blue in the Ultracote system.
3. By the time your aircraft arrives at your door step it will have been handled by a lot of people. Occasionally there are small
dings or imperfections on some of the surfaces. An eective method to restore these imperfections to original condition is to use
a very fine tipped hypodermic needle to inject a drop of water under the covering material and into the ding in the wood. Apply
heat to the area with a sealing iron and the imperfection will disappear. Deeper marks may require that this process be repeated
a couple of times to achieve the desired result, but you will be surprised at how well this technique works.
4. DO NOT SKIMP ON SERVOS! Your aircraft is equipped with very large control surfaces that deflect over 45 degrees. A lot of
servo power is required to prevent flutter and to maintain the required deflection for maneuvers. We absolutely recommend the
use of METAL GEARED servos with a minimum of 300 oz. inches of torque.
5. Use a high quality epoxy for installing the composite control horns and hinges. We highly recommend the use of Pacer
Z-Poxy 30 minute formula. We have used this glue for many years with zero failures.
6. You may want to add a bead of RC-56 Canopy glue to the intersection of the canopy/hatch and its wood frame for additional
strength and resistance to vibration. DO NOT USE CA here as it will fog the canopy.
7. Your aircraft is built using very modern construction techniques and is very light weight for its size. As with any high per-
formance machine, regular inspection and maintenance is a must. While disassembling your aircraft after a flying session, pay
close attention and inspect glue joints, linkages and loose covering to be sure the airframe is sound. A few minutes spent doing
this will help maintain airframe longevity.
8. Be sure to put a drop of blue Loctite thread locker on every bolt on this aircraft! Failure to do so may cost you your aircraft!
This includes servo screws!
9.We highly recommend a Desert Aircraft DA-35 gasoline engine if you prefer gas power in your slick. If you prefer electric, we
recommend the Extreme Flight XPWR 30CC motor with Castle Creation Edge HV speed controller, and 2 x 6S 3000-3700mah
lipo batteries, arranged in series for 12S.

12
Locate the carbon fiber landing gear. Note that it
has a front and a rear, it is designed to sweep for-
ward toward the nose of the airplane. Locate the
Main Landing gear hardware pack.
Attach the landing gear to the fuselage using the
4mm screws, washers and nyloc nuts. You will need
to use pliers to hold the nyloc nuts inside the fuse-
lage as you tighten the screws.
The landing gear-to-fuselage fairings are attached
to the landing gear and fuselage with Shoe-Goo
type silicone adhesive. First, slide the fairings onto
the gear, and check for fit to determine the front and
re ar.
Place a large dollop of goo-adhesive onto the gear
leg as shown, then slide the fairings into the gear
legs. The Goo will fill up the end of the fairings.
Place an additional dollop of Goo where the fairings
contact the fuselage. Allow the Goo to dry while you
install the wheels and wheel pants.
Locate the main wheels, the main wheels hardware
pack, and the wheel pants hardware pack.
Attach the axles to the carbon landing gear wth
washers and nyloc nuts as shown.
Slide wheel collars onto the axles, then the main
wheels, then outer wheel collars. The wheel collars
locate the wheels on the axles, when you install the
pants you will need to fine-tune the location of the
wheels. Apply a drop of loctite to the set screws in
the wheel collars and tighten them.
3
Trial-fit the wheel pants onto the landing gear as
shown. To get the pants to fit on properly, you will
need to align the wheel axle so that the opening
in the pant slides smoothly over it, and the wheel
collars so that the wheel is centered in the pant.
Holding the pant level, mark the pant through the
hole indicated
Drill the wheel pant on the mark you made as
shown. Start with a 1/8” (3mm) bit.

Increase the drill size until you can press the blind
nut into the hole as shown. Use the 3mm screw and
washer to draw the blind nut into the hole part way
and the spikes on the blind nut engage the fiber-
glass.
Install the wheel pants onto the landing gear. Apply
loctite to the 3mm screws and fully install them into
the blind nuts and tighten as shown.
4Locate the horizontal stabilizer and elevators. In this
step we will hinge the elevators, and we will hinge all
the other surfaces in the same manner. Note that for
hinging, we will be using 30 minute spoxy for adhe-
sive, and denatured alcohol and a rag for cleanup.
Pull the elevators and stab apart and remove the six
hinges.
First, we must protect the hinges from any glue
entering the moving portion. Place a drop of lubri-
cating oil into the center portion of the hinge where
the axle pin is. It only takes a tiny amount of oil. If
you accidentally get oil on the gluing portion of the
hinges, clean it o with alcohol.
Once all six hinges have been lubricated, mix up a
batch of 30 minute epoxy and place several large
drops of glue into each of the hinge holes in the
stabilizer. Press the hinges into the holes, and turn
them so that they flex in the correct direction.
When you press the hinges into the hinge holes,
some epoxy may squeeze out. Use alcohol on a rag
to clean up any excess epoxy.
Put several large drops of epoxy in the hinge holes
in the elevator and fit the elevator and stabilizer to-
gether. Clean up any excess epoxy which squeezes
out.
Once you have the parts fit together, make sure the
elevator can flex up and down at least 45 degrees.
There should be a small gap, about 1/32” (1mm)
between the stabilizer and elevators. Allow the ep-
oxy to cure.

5Once the hinges are cured, locate the hardware
for the elevator as shown. We will be installing the
control horn, and we will install all remaining horns
using this procedure.
Locate the slots cut into the elevator. Place the fiber-
glass baseplate of the horn over the slots and use
it as a template to cut the covering to expose bare
wood.
If necessary, clean out the slots in the elevator of
any stray wood fibers so the control horn can easily
be inserted.
Use sandpaper or an emery file to roughen the part
of the control horn which will be inserted into the
elevator. We do this to ensure the best possible glue
joint on this super-critical connection.
Assemble the elevator control horn as shown, using
a 3mm screw with integral washer, ball link, washer
and nyloc nut.
Place the baseplate on the horn as shown, mix a
new batch of 30 minute epoxy, and coat the base-
plate and legs of the horn assembly with epoxy.
Place more epoxy into the slots in the elevator and
insert the horn assembly. Clean up any excess ep-
oxy which comes out. Allow to cure.
This balsa block is held into postition in the fuse-
lage with tape during shipping. Remove it and set it
aside.
6
Note that the 74” Slick 580 EXP uses two dierent
types of ball joints. One is symmetrical and is used
on the fiberglass control horns i the surfaces. The
other is asymmetrical, with a raised pedestal on one
side, and it is used on the servo arms.