Lanier R/C Corsair ARF User manual

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Corsair ARF
WARNING! THIS IS NOT A TOY!
THIS IS NOT A BEGINNERS AIRPLANE
This R/C kit and the model you will build from it is not a toy! It is capable of
serious bodily harm and property damage. It is your responsibility, and
yours alone -to build this kit correctly, properly install all R/C. components and
flying gear (engine, tank, radio, pushrods, etc. and to test the model and fly it only
with experienced, competent help, using common sense and in accordance with all
safety standards as set forth in the Academy of Model Aeronautics Safety Code. It
is suggested that you join the AMA and become properly insured before attempting
to fly this model. If you are just starting R/C modeling, consult your local hobby
dealer or write to the Academy of Model Aeronautics to find an experienced
instructor in your area.
Write to : Academy of Model Aeronautics, 5151 Memorial Dr, Muncie, IN 47302
LIMITED WARRANTY
Lanier R/C is proud of the care and attention that goes into the manufacture of parts for
its model kits. The company warrants that for a period of 30 days, it will replace, at the
buyers request, any parts or material shown to the company's satisfaction to have been
defective in workmanship or material at the time of purchase.
No other warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, is made with respect to the
merchandise sold by the company. The buyer acknowledges and understands that he is
purchasing only a component kit from which the buyer will himself construct a finished
flying model airplane. The company is neither the manufacturer of such a flying model
airplane, nor a seller of it. The buyer hereby assumes the risk and all liability for personal
or property damage or injury arising out of the buyers use of the components or the
finished flying model airplane, whenever any such damage or injury shall occur.
Any action brought forth against the company, based on the breach of the contract of
sale to the buyer, or on any alleged warranty thereunder, must be brought within one year
of the date of such sale, or there after be barred. This one year limitation is imposed by
agreement of the parties as permitted by the laws of the state of Georgia

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Before you began to assemble this kit we suggest you read
the instructions thoroughly to familiarize yourself with
the complete assembly procedure.
Please check the contents of this kit against the parts list. If there is anything
missing or damaged please contact the dealer immediately for replacement.
TO ASSEMBLE THIS KIT:
The following items listed below are needed to complete the kit but are not included in the kit.
EPOXY GLUE (5 minute and 30 minute)
CYANOACRYLATE GLUE (medium thickness)
MODELING KNIFE
SCREW DRIVER
HAND OR ELECTRIC DRILL
STRAIGHT EDGE RULER
SAND PAPER
NEEDLE-NOSE PLIERS
WIRE CUTTERS
SCISSORS
Other items required (not included)
A 4-CHANNEL RADIO W/5 SERVOS
12” AILERON EXTENSIONS
ONE Y-HARNESS
ENGINE
PROPELLER TO SUIT ENGINE
SILICONE FUEL LINE
SAFETY SPINNER NUT TO SUIT ENGINE
GLOW PLUG

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1) Wing Construction: The wing consists
of four sections; the center section, the
two outer sections, and the fiberglass
belly pan. Carefullyunpack the four
sections and lay them out on your
building table.
2) Next locate the two 3/16” plywood
dihedral braces. Note that there is a
long and short side to the braces. The
short side mates with the center section,
and the long sides mate with the outer
sections.
3) Using the 30-minute epoxy, glue the
dihedral braces into the center section
of the wing.
4) Pull strings for the servo leads are
already installed in each section of the
wing. Before adding the outer wing
sections, it will be necessary to pull the
strings out from both sides of the center
section and the root of each outer
panel.
5) When the epoxy has cured in the center
section, tie the end of the pull string
from one side of the center section to
the string from one of the outer wing
panels. We are showing the right side
here.
6) Next, apply 30-minute epoxy inside the
slot in the outer wing panel. Now, using
5-minute epoxy, apply an even thin coat
to the root rub of the wing panel.
7) Slide the wing panel onto the dihedral
brace and up against the end of the
center section, keeping the trailing edge
of the wing aligned. Have a paper
towel and alcohol handy to wipe away
any excess epoxy that might ooze out
between panels. Make sure the string
does not get glued between the two
sections. An easy way to do this is to
hold the center section vertical and let
the weight of the balsa at the end of the
string pull the string through as you join
the sections. Secure the panels in
alignment until the 5-minute epoxy has
cured. Repeat the process for the other
outer wing panel. Set aside until the 30-
minute epoxy has cured.
8) The ailerons have already been hinged,
but the hinges have not been glued.

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Align the aileron with the trailing edge
of the wing, making sure that the gap at
the hinge line is not excessive. When
you are satisfied with the alignment,
deflect the aileron to it’s maximum throw
and apply several drops of thin CA to
each hinge on both the trailing edge
side and aileron side. Repeat for the
other aileron. Set aside to dry.
9) Locate the two servo covers and note
that there is a left and right side.
10) Lay a servo on it’s side on the
uncovered side of the cover, aligning
the output shaft with the center of the
slot. Mark the location for the
hardwood mounting blocks and remove
the servo.
11) Epoxy the hardwood blocks in place.
When the epoxy has cured, cut a piece
of shirt cardboard or other suitable
object to use as spacer for mounting the
servo. Mount the servo using the
hardware supplied with the servo.
Remove the spacer and repeat for the
other cover.
12) You will need two 8-inch servo
extensions. Attach the extensions to
your servo lead and secure with
masking tape or one of the commercially
available keepers.
13) Using the servo lead pull string,
carefully pull the servo lead through the
wing and out the exit hole in the center
section of the wing. Tape in place so it
cannot slip back into the center section.
14) Position the servo cover and the servo
over the servo well and drill four 1/16”
holes 1/8” in from each corner of the
cover. Secure in place with the supplied
#2 wood screws.
15) Using a straight edge, mark the location
for the aileron control horn. (Note that
the slot for the servo arm is cut at an

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angle.) The control horn should be in
line with the servo arm and hole in the
control horn should be centered over
the hinge line.
16) Now mount the control horn using the
supplied hardware. Repeat the steps
above for the other side. Locate two 2-
56 pushrods, two clevis, and two rod
keepers. Screw a clevis halfway onto
one of the rods and attach to one of the
servo arms, making sure the arm is
centered. At the other end, make a 90°
bend at the hole in the control horn. Cut
off the excess rod, leaving ¼” of the
90°bend.
17) Insert the rod into the control horn and
side on the keeper. Repeat for the other
side. Fine tuning of the rod can be
finished later by adjusting the clevis
during the final radio installation.
18) Locate the pre-bent wire landing gear,
noting that there is again a left and right
side. The gear fits in the two slots on
the bottom of the center section and is
held in place with the supplied
hardware.
19) Now install the wheels, using two of the
supplied wheel collars on each axle.
20) The final step of the wing assembly is
mounting the belly pan. You will need
the fuselage for this step. Begin by
mounting the wing on the fuselage. Now
position the belly pan on the wing as
shown and tape in place. Note that the
end with the flange goes toward the
front of the aircraft. Using a ballpoint
pen, mark the edges of the belly pan
where it will be glued to the wing. Even
though the wing is dark blue, the indent
made by the pen will be easy to see
when you remove the pan. Now remove
the pan.
21) With a #11 Exacto blade, cut the
covering 1/16” inside of the line and
make another cut 1/16” inside the first
cut and remove the covering from the
area. Now repeat the process on the
other side.
22) Using 30-minute epoxy, run a bead
along the two lines and carefully install
the belly pan. Make sure you don’t get
any epoxy between the wing and the
fuselage! Again it is a good idea to
have paper towels and alcohol handy to
clean off any excess epoxy.
23) Tape the front and back in place. Use
T-pins and masking tape to secure the
sides until till the epoxy has cured.

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24) When the epoxy has dried, carefully
remove the masking tape from the front
and rear of the belly pan and gently lift
the back edge o the wing up from the
fuselage.
25) Turn the wing over and using a 9/64”
drill bit, drill out the two access holes in
the belly pan, following the angle of the
holes in the wing.
26) Now turn the wing over and enlarge
the holes with a 9/32” drill bit to allow
for the bolt to be removed. Now remove
the T-pins and masking tape from the
sides of the belly pan. Your wing is now
completed.
Fuselage Construction
1) We will begin the fuselage construction
with the motor installation. In the back
of this manual you will find a template
for drilling the motor mounting holes.
We used the Mecoa .46 motor (available
from RJL) mounted sideways witha
Slimline Pitts style muffler for the
prototype. The spacing should be close
for all motors of this size, But you
should check it after you have your
motor secured to the mounts.
2) Locate the two beam-type motor
mounts. Secure one of the mounts in a
vise and drill the holes for the motor.
The cowl length is adjustable on the4
fuselage so the distance from the back
of the mount is not critical. Mount the
one mount 3ith the drilled holes to a
scrap piece of plywood. Now align the
other mount to the motor and secure it
to the plywood. Now you can drill the
holes in the mount for the other side of
the motor. Secure the motor to the
mounts and remove them from the
plywood. Now you can check to see if
the pattern is the same as the template.
If not, alignthe mount and motor
assembly on the centerlines of the
template and mark the correct locations
for the holes.
3) Align the template on the firewall and
tape in place, drill the four 11/64” for the
motor mounts. Secure it in place with
the four 6-32” screws and blind nuts
provided. Next mount the motor on the
mount. Using the motor as a guide,
locate and drill the hole for the throttle
pushrod. Be sure that you drill through
the second bulkhead located in the tank
compartment inside the fuselage. The
hole should be positioned level with the
carburetor arm.
4) Locate the long plain wire used for the
throttle pushrod. Make a Z-bend at one
end of the wire where it attaches to the
carburetor arm. Slide the wire into the
plastic housing and attach the wire to
the carburetor arm. (If necessary,
remove the arm from the carburetor,
attach the wire, slide the assembly into
the fuselage and reattach the arm.) The

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wire attaches to the throttle servo arm
with an e-z connector.
5) Slide the horizontal stabilizer in the slot
at the rear of the fuselage. Using your
ruler or measuring tape, center the
stabilizer in the opening. Attach the
wing to the fuselage and block up the
airplane with the wingtips equal
distance from the table. Measure the
stabilizer at the tips. It should measure
the same from each tip to the table. If
the tips are not equal distance from the
table , use sandpaper to sand down the
stab mounting platform until the proper
alignment is achieved. Now measure
from the tip of the stab to the trailing
edge of the wing and adjust the stab
too, so the tips are equal distance from
the trailing edge. Now mark the
stabilizer where it and the fuselage meet
on both side, top and bottom. Now
remove the covering inside of lines.
(Note: Don’t remove the covering up to
the lines. Stay approximately
1/16”inside the lines.) See the
illustration in the back of the manual.
Now glue the stab in place using 30-
minute epoxy, rechecking all your
measurements before the epoxy sets.
Set aside to dry. When the epoxy has
cured, run a bead of medium CA as filler
in the gap between the stab and the
fuselage side. Now add the elevator
halves, using the same method used for
hinging the ailerons to the wings.
6) Now install the hinges in the rudder and
trail fit it to the fin. When you are
satisfied with the fit, remove the rudder
and apply 5-minute epoxy to the hole
and slot for the tailwheel wire. When
the epoxy is dry, install the rudder using
same method used for hinging the other
surfaces. Keep the gap as close as
possible while letting the rudder turn
freely.
7) Now slide the tailwheel bracket on the
tailwheel wire up to the fuselage. Using
the bracket as a guide, drill the mounting
holes through the mount. Secure the
bracket with the screws provided.
Install the tailwheel and collar, making
sure the wheel turns freely. See the
drawing in the back of the manual.
8) Locate the following hardware: 4 nylon
clevises, 4 brass collets, 4 threaded
couplers, 2 control brackets, 2 control
horns, 1 threaded rod, 2 nuts, 2 washers,
and 2 hardwood blocks. Mark & drill a
1/8” hole through the rudder for the
threaded rod, in line with the exit holes
for the rudder cable. Use the nuts and
washers to secure the threaded rod.
Thread a horn bracket on each side of
the rod. Using a pair of wire cutters, cut
the cable into two equal lengths. Install
a coupler at one end of each cable.
9) Insert the cable through the brass collet,
then into the coupler, and back into the
brass collet. Loop it around and back
through the collet again. Squeeze the
collet with pliers and either solder the
assembly with silver solder or apply a
drop or two of thin CA glue.
10) Thread a clevis halfway onto each
coupler and attach the clevises to the
control horns and drop the other end of
the cable into the fuselage theough the
cable exit holes.
11) Hold the rudder in it’s neutral position
using masking tape. Center the rudder
servo arm. Glue the two hardwood
blocks to the servo tray using medium
CA, to elevate the rudder servo. This
will prevent the rudder servo from
interfering with the other servo arms.
Attach the other two clevises with
couplers to each end of the rudder servo
arm.
12) Now attach the cables to the couplers in
the same manner described above. The
tension should be equal on each side
and the rudder should move freely.
13) Next comes the elevator pushrod.
Mount the two control horns on the

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elevators following the method
described for the ailerons. Next slide the
elevator pushrod through the fuselage
and out the two lower exit holes in the
fuse. Thread a clevis halfway onto each
rod and attach them to the control
horns. Mount the elevator servo and
center the servo arm. Secure the
elevators in their neutral position using
masking tape. Mark the pushrod at the
servo arm and make an “L” bend. Cut off
the excess, leavingapproximately ¼” of
the rod past the bend for the rod keeper.
Insert the rod into the outer hole of the
servo arm and secure in place with the
rod keeper.
14) Locate the long plain wire used for the
throttle pushrod. Make a “Z” bend in
the end of the wire where it will attach to
the throttle arm of the carburetor. Slide
the wire into the plastic housing and
attach the end to the throttle end. (If
you have trouble attaching it to the are,
you can attach it to the motor, then
install the motor, or, remove the arm
from the carb, insert the wire, then re-
attach the arm.)
15) Wrap the battery pack in foam rubber
and insert it into the fuselage as far
forward as it will go, preferably snug
against the rear of the firewall.
16) Next install the fuel tank. Insert the metal
tubes through the large cover plate and
out the rubber cap and through the
smaller cover plate. See the figure in the
back of the manual for tank assembly.
Attach 3 pieces of fuel tubing to the
metal tubes. Slide the tank into the
fuselage, pulling the three pieces of fuel
tubing through the large hole in the
firewall.
17) Next, mount your on/off switch in a
convenient location on the side of the
fuselage. We used the Maxx Products
#3170 switch for the prototype. It has a
built-in charging jack and heavy-duty
wires. It can be ordered with connectors
for all popular radio brands.
18) Now connect your servos to your
receiver. Don’t forget the “Y” harness
for the ailerons. Wrap the receiver in
foam, then wrap it in plastic to protect it
from any possible fuel leakage. Install
the receiver in the fuselage in front of
the servo tray.
19) Radio Setup. We will start with the
throttle. Turn on your radio system and
position the throttle stick and trim lever
to their lowest position. Pull the
carburetor barrel completely closed.
Position the servo back toward the rear
about 45°from the center line of the
servo. Using an adjustable stopper,
connect the pushrod to the servo arm at
this position. Cut off the excess wire,
leaving approximately ¼” at the rear of
the stopper. Tightenthe setscrew.
20) Next, with the radio still on, ensure that
the elevator and rudder servo arms are
centered. Check the rudder for
centering. If it is not centered, adjust the
clevis until it is centered. Next, check the
elevators to see that they are set in line
with each other and centered with the
stab. Again, adjust the clevis if
necessary. Finally, plug in the aileron
servos and check the alignment of the
ailerons. Adjust the clevis if necessary.
Now check that all the surfaces are
moving in the correct direction with the
stick movement. Aircraft are very
difficult if not impossible to fly when a
control surface moves opposite to the
transmitter stick.
21) Finishing The Corsair. Now comes the
cowling installation. Glue the four wood
mounting blocks to the firewall using 5-
minute epoxy. They should be glued on
the horizontal and vertical centerlines,
and should be slightly higher than the
firewall to allow for airflow and to fit the
round cowl. (See the illustration in the

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back of this manual.) Rounding the
corners will make for a better cowling fit.
Temporarily remove the muffler from the
engine and slide the cowling over the
fuselage, aligning it with the thrust
washer on the motor. Make a few
alignment marks on the fuselage at the
back edge of the cowling. Masking tape
comes in handy here. Now measure the
distance from the marks to the wood
blocks, as well as the muffler location,
engine head, and the carburetor needle.
Using a Dremel tool with a sanding
drum, cut out the holes. It is better to
cut them slightly undersized and adjust
them as necessary. Now drill the holes
for the cowl mounting screws. Here it is
better to drill them slightly oversized to
make it easier to mount the cowling.
Now mount the cowl to the fuselage.
22) The final step is the canopy installation.
Apply a thin bead of canopy glue (we
used RC56) to the inside edge of the
canopy. Set the canopy in place and
secure with several strips of masking
tape. When the glue is dry, remove the
masking tape. The construction of your
Corsair is now completed.
23) Preflight Checks. Check the balance of
the aircraft. It should balance 3-1/2”
back from the leading edge of the wing
measured at the fuselage. Balance the
aircraft with the fuel tank empty. If
necessary, add weight to the nose or tail
until the aircraft is balanced. Range
check the radio per the manufacturers
instructions. Give the plane a final once-
over, checking all screws and hardware.
Check once again that all control
surfaces move in the proper direction.
.HAPPY FLYING!

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Cowl Mounting Diagram

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F4U Corsair Parts
Description

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Tail Wheel Assembly

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PARTS LIST
AIRFRAME
Fiberglass Cowling (1)
Belly Pan (1)
Rudder (1)
Horizontal Stabilizer w/Elevators
Clear Canopy (1)
Fuselage (1)
Wing sectors w/ Ailerons (3)
Cover Plate for Aileron Servo (2)
MAIN GEAR ASSEMBLY
Main Gear Wires (2)
Nylon Straps (4)
Wheel Collars (3.5mm) (2)
Wheels (2)
Wood Screw (2.6x12mm) (8)
TAIL WHEEL PARTS
Tail Wheel (1)
Wheel Collars (3.5mm) (1)
Wood Screw (2.6x12mm) (2)
Tail Gear Mount
FUEL TANK PARTS
Fuel Tank (6oz) (1)
Fuel Tank Outer Plate (1)
Fuel Tank Inner Plate (1)
Fuel Tank Rubber Cap (1)
Metal Tubing (3)
Silicone Fuel Tubing (1)
Fuel Pick-up (1)
Screw (3.x25mm)
CONTROL SYSTEM
Pre-made Split Elevator Pushrod (1)
Tri. Control Horn w/ mounting screws (4)
Aileron Pushrod (2)
Nylon Clevises (8)
Nylon Brackets (6)
Rudder Cable (1)
Washer (black) (2)
Threaded Rod (1/8”x50mm) (1)
Throttle Pushrod (1)
Throttle Housing (1)
Rod Keeper (3)
Threaded Couplers (4)

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Nut (1/8”-black) (2)
Brass Collets (4)
ACCESSORIES BAG
Engine Mount Beams (2)
Plastic Washer (2)
Adjustable Stopper (1)
Hardwood Block (2)
Wood Mounting Block (4)
CA Hinge (20)
Blind Nut –4mm (4)
Screw –4x35mm (4)
Wood Screw –4x20mm (8)
Screw –4x20mm (4)
Spring Lock Washer (4)
Cable Tie (4)
Control Surface Travels

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Horizontal Stab & Wing Alignment

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