Fancy Foam Models IndoorDepron001 User manual

Rev. 2.0, 2-15-2012
Fancy Foam Models, LLC
635 Laramie Cir. Maize, Ks. 67101
.fancyfoam.com
3Decathlon – Assembly Instructions.
Recommended Electronics and motors:
Motor: Hacker A10-15s outrunner or any equivalent motor
Speed control: Castle Creations PHX10, Thunderbird 9 or
equal.
Battery: 250 to 350, 2s , 20C rated or equivalent.
Receiver: 4 channel eighing less than 8 grams.
Servos: S75 or HS55 for ailerons, and S60 servos for the
tail. To get full thro , you must use a long dual servo arm
on ailerons.
Disclaimer: Fancy Foam Models has done everything
we can to caution and inform the end user regarding
the use of Lithium polymer battery technology. We
are in no way responsible for any damage that may
be caused by these batteries. lease read,
understand and follow all instructions for the
charger and batteries. Failure to use this battery
technology properly can result in the risk of fire. If
you are not comfortable with this technology, return
the batteries packs and kit to us for a refund. By
building the kit and using the batteries, you accept
full responsibility for the safety of these batteries.
Recommended building methods and glues:
Much of the construction of this model is done by laying
the parts on a flat table. It is strongly recommended that
you put ax paper do n on the surface first so any excess
glue doesn’t soak through the foam and glue the parts to
the table. For all assembly, use thin “foam safe” CA glue.
Gap filling or “medium” glue just adds eight. Al ays use
accelerant or “kicker” to get the glue to set. If possible,
apply the glue to one part and the kicker to the other part
and then press them together and hold until cured. Wipe
off any excess glue ith tissues before it cures.
Wing reparation:
Apply hinge tape to the top of the aileron hinge lines.
Carefully fold the aileron back onto the ing. Using
medium sandpaper and very light pressure sand the
inside of the vee so that the aileron ill move freely.
On the “vee” side of the hinge, apply a 1” long piece of
hinge tape in the area of the bottom ing here the
control horn slots are (near the center of the ing).
Cut one flat carbon piece 32 1/2” long. Lightly sand the
“glue side” of the carbon strip to improve glue adhesion.
Lay the ing on a flat table ( ith ax paper underneath).
Carefully glue the flat carbon to the leading edge of the
ing. The easiest ay is to apply glue to the flat carbon,
spray kicker on the ing leading edge and then bring the
t o together (on a flat surface). Do one ing panel first,
then once it is cured, rap the carbon past the ing
centerline and do the other half of the ing.
1

Elevator reparation and Attachment:
Locate the horizontal stabilizer and elevator. Apply hinge
tape along the entire length of the elevator hinge. Trim
the tape from covering the slot. Sand the inside of the vee
if necessary. Apply a 1” long piece of hinge tape near the
control horn slot on the bottom side.
Glue the stabilizer to the back of the fuselage. Make sure
you take time to make this joint in perfect alignment.
Lower Fuselage Attachment reparation:
The lo er fuselage must be “cut a ay” from the upper
section. There are 2 small tabs and the lo er hinge line
holding the t o parts together that can be removed ith a
hobby knife.
Lay the horizontal assembly on a flat surface, vee side up
and eight it do n so it is perfectly flat. Position the
lo er fuselage into the ing assembly. The tabs on the
lo er fuselage line up ith the slots in the ing assembly.
Use a square to keep the lo er fuselage square as you
glue it. Do not glue the upper fuselage in place until later.
Carbon Strut reparation and Attachment:
Use 1 of the hite ½” foam disk and glue it to the
fuselage at the scribed mark aft of the gear slots. This is
here the ing struts ill attach.
The 1mm carbon rod is provided in bulk lengths. You’ll
need to cut the carbon to the proper lengths and
instructed belo . Always sand the ends of the carbon
rods to improve glue adhesion.
Cut 6 fuselage struts 3 3/4” long and 2 stabilizer braces
4” long. With the fuselage still on a flat surface, eight it
do n so it is perfectly flat.
Insert a strut into the fuselage foam disk ( here the ing
struts attach). The end ill extend back ards to ards
the tail. The approximate rod end locations have been
marked in the foam. Use a hobby knife to cut a slit in the
fuselage foam to accept the carbon rod end. Glue the
carbon end into the foam.
The other five struts continue rear ard in a zig-zag
pattern do n the fuselage. Cut small slots for the rod
ends to be glued into the foam. Once you are happy ith
the fit, glue the rod ends into the foam.
Lastly, glue t o carbon rods from the stabilizer to the
bottom of the vertical stabilizer. Make sure this joint is
perfectly square or flight performance may suffer.
2

Landing Gear reparation and Attachment:
Cut 2 pieces of the 1.5mm carbon, 6” long and t o pieces
1” long. Glue them together as sho n ith a 1/8” overlap
at a 45 degree angle. Cut a 6” piece of string and rap
the joint ith it in t o directions. CA the string to secure
the axel.
Glue 4 foam disks to the marked locations on the bottom
of the nose and sides of the fuaelage. Install the gear legs
through the vertical fuselage foam disks and into the disks
on the bottom of the nose but not through the nose.
When you have the axles parallel and even glue the gear
legs in place.
Glue the gear pant to the gear leg and the fuselage side.
Drill out the axle hole in the heels ith a 1/16” drill bit.
Slide the heels onto the axel. Slide the heel pant onto
the axle and secure in place ith a drop of CA leaving
enough room for the heel to spin freely. Add t o 1mm
carbon braces from the gear pant to the heel pant so it
ill have proper support.
Upper Fuselage Attachment reparation:
Apply hinge tape to the rudder hinge line. The tape should
extend all the ay do n to the bottom of the rudder and
over hang the area here it ill attach to the lo er
fuselage. If necessary you can lightly sand the inside of
the vee.
Position the upper fuselage into the main assembly. The
tabs on the upper fuselage line up ith the slots in the
ing assembly. Start ith the rudder so that the hinge
tape is in the correct position. Do not press the tape in
place on the lo er fuselage until the upper fuselage is
correctly in position. Use a square to keep the upper
fuselage square as you glue it.
3

Wing Attachment:
Position the ing onto the fuselage assembly pressing the
tabs on the fuselage into the slots in the ing.
Cut four ing struts 12-3/8” long. Lay the ing on a flat
surface and eight it do n so it is perfectly flat, the
rudder ill have to hang off of the end of your table.
Glue the blue/ hite and red foam disks in place on the
ing at the scribe marks.
Insert the four carbon ing struts into the foam disks.
Make sure the lo er fuselage remains square to the ing.
Once you are happy ith the alignment and fit, glue the
carbon rods in place.
Cut four 2-1/2” and t o 2” pieces of carbon rod. Press the
longer rods in the marks in the ing and position as
sho n. Place the shorter rods as sho n and glue them in
place. You may ant to rap the rods intersection ith
thread and CA to make the joint stronger.
Cut t o carbon rods 6-1/4” long. Cut slits in the foam for
the rod ends. The location for the ing end is marked on
the bottom of the ing. Insert the rods into the foam and
hen happy ith the fix and that the ing is square to the
fuselage, glue the rods in place.
Glue t o carbon rods from the stabilizer to the top of the
vertical stabilizer. Make sure this joint is perfectly square
or flight performance may suffer.
4

Spade Assembly and Attachment:
Locate the spades and spade arms. Assemble the spades
as sho n.
Glue the spades on the bottom of the ailerons as sho n,
ith the spade pointing for ard.
Radio and Motor Installation:
The follo ing instructions apply to our recommended
electronics. If you are using other electronics, the
follo ing ill give you the basic concept of you the radio
gear is to be installed.
Solder the BEC connector (red connector ith black and
red ires) to the speed control and insulate the
connections ith heat shrink. Solder the speed control
leads to the motor. Before proceeding, connect the
controller to the receiver and a battery and make sure the
motor is turning the correct direction. If it is not,
unsolder any t o motor leads, reverse them and re-
solder. Once the motor is turning correctly, heat the shrink
sleeves over the motor connections. Plug all servos and
speed control into the receiver. Attach a battery and
check for proper servo rotation and centering.
The aileron servo is installed in the top of the ing. The
rudder servo is installed on the right side above the
horizontal fuselage. The elevator servo is installed on the
left side belo the horizontal fuselage. Use a couple of
spots of hot glue on each servo tab to hold it in place.
Mount all servos in the same manner. It may be
necessary to make the servo mounting cutouts larger, e
have left them a little small to fit a good range of servos.
Connect the receiver, speed control and servos.
If using a fire all-mounted motor, glue the motor mount
to the front of the fuselage. Cut the depron gusset into
four pieces here marked and glue to the back of the
fire all and to the fuselage. Mount the motor ith servo
scre s. The Speed control, receiver and excess servo ire
can be tucked a ay in the lo er for ard fuselage area.
If using the recommended Hacker motor, use the supplied
X-mount and mount the motor ith ½” hinge tape or
strapping tape.
ush Rod Installation:
Glue all of the control horns in place ith CA. All
pushrods are made as sho n. Use the .032 ire to make
the Z ends. Install the Z ends to the control horns and
servo arms. Test fit each carbon rod and trim as needed.
Add a small drop of CA to the ire/carbon joint. The
1/16” heat shrink is used to secure the 1mm carbon
pushrod to the .032 ire. Make sure the control
surface and the servo are centered before heating
the shrink sleeve. Any adjustments past this point must
be made ith the sub-trim function of your computer
radio.
5

When installing the long elevator and rudder pushrods,
make sure to install the included ply ood pushrod guides
as needed along the fuselage sides. Slip 3 of these
standoffs onto the elevator and rudder pushrods before
attaching the z ends. Cut small slots in the fuse and glue
the pushrod guides in place as needed to eliminate any
pushrod flex.
Flight set-up:
Use double stick Velcro on the battery and airframe to
secure the battery to the bottom of the horizontal
fuselage in a location that gives the model proper
balance.
A good starting balance point is 2-1/2” behind the leading
edge of the ing. Adjust the battery location back and
forth to suit your flying style. Use your computer radio to
set the final sub-trims, exponential and dual rates. Double
check the control directions before your first flight. With
proper CG, the plane should fly nearly the same
upright or upside-down. Good pilots experiment ith
various battery locations until the CG feels just right.
For indoor flying, e use 2 cell lipo packs rated at 20C or
greater. Batteries of 250 to 350 mah are perfect for giving
good flight times and plenty of po er. The final airplane
eight should be bet een 5.0 and 5.5 oz.
We hope you like the 3Decathlon. It as designed by
Champion pilot RJ Gritter to meet the needs of the indoor
contest pilot and the backyard sport pilot.
Thank You,
Mike & Niki Bailey
Fancy Foam Models
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