RC Factory Edge 540T User manual

Instructions for the Funplanes.com Edge 540T
Thank you for purchasing the funplanes.com Edge 540T! We hope you enjoy the kit as much as we enjoyed
providing it to you. The Edge will perform most maneuvers you will want to try and the nice thing about it is if
you happen to meet the ground sooner than you had planned there is a good chance the plane will survive for
another flight although you may want a tube of goop or epoxy close by just to be sure you can fix minor tears if
they occur.
If this is the first time you have worked with EPP foam there are some things you will want to be aware of. The
foam is very resilient to many substances including some glues. The best glues to use on this plane are contact
cements and low temp hot glues. Epoxy works well too it is just heavy but you can use it where you feel you’d
like. Also while EPP is often referred to as “indestructible” it really isn’t quite so completely bullet proof. One
of the things to be careful of is ripping the foam. It will rip if pulled hard so where there will be tearing forces
we will reinforce the foam with strapping tape. This foam is very good to work with once you get use to these
qualities.
One other feature of this foam which struck me as odd: it dulls blades like I have never seen before. After a few
cuts you’ll see what I mean. The blade will start to pull instead of cut the foam. So I had a pack of 100 blades
that had lasted me almost 10 years when I started making these kits and I used up almost all of them in very
short order. At the Toledo show this year I came across a booth selling blade sharpeners. I thought “Yeah right.
I’m gonna sharpen a #11 razor blade”! What I saw amazed me. I will never buy another pack of blades again
unless I just want a different shape or blade type and then a 5 pack of blades will last a life time. I am not
kidding. I was so impressed I began to stock them on my web site for just this purpose: EPP is a blade dulling
son of a gun! Get one of these blade sharpeners and I know you’ll be as impressed and happy as I am that I
never need to change or buy blades again! Look for the Hobby Blade Sharpeners on my website if you are
interested. There are videos there to show you the before and after effects as well as the process to sharpen
them.
So having said all that lets have some fun and build an Edge 540T!

Glues and adhesives
1- Tube of Goop (there are many types and which ever is on sale is ok! I have outdoor goop shown but
regular household goop is fine…Outdoor Goop was ½ price at Home Depot….:o)
1- Low temperature hot glue gun with low temp glue
1- Pack of Low Temp glue sticks
1- Can or 3M 76 (not 77!) Hi-Tack Spray Adhesive
1- Roll of ¾” strapping tape. You may also want a roll of 2” wide tape as well for the larger reinforcement
areas.
Tools
1- Exacto knife
1- Extra blades or blade sharpener
1- Metal ruler or straight edge
1- Metal yard or meter stick
1- Builders Square
1- Fine tip marker or soft pencil
1- Glue Brush (or two)
Parts Identification:
Foam Parts:
q 2 - Fuselage sides
q 1 - Wing skin
q 1 - Depron rudder
q 2 - Depron elevator halves
q 1 - Depron stabilizer
q 1 - 6mm EPP Wing spar
q 1 - 6mm EPP Fuselage rib
q 1 - 45mm x 45mm x 145 Motor block
q 2 - 6mm EPP ailerons
q 10 - Front rib halves
q 10 - Rear rib halves
Hardware Bag:
q 2 - 16" .040 Carbon rod wing spars
q 1 – 9.5” Carbon tube elevator joiner
q 2 - Wheels 38mm
q 1 - 18" .062 Landing gear wire
q 1 - .039 Pushrod wire 18"
q 1 - .055 Tail Skid Wire 4"
q 1 - 3/8 x 3/8 Basswood motor stick 6"
q 1 - 1/8" x 1.75" x 1.75" lite ply AXI mount
q 1 - 1/2" x 1.75" triangle LG support brace
q 8 - 1/64" x .5 x .5 ply control horn
supports
q 1 – Nylon Tie control horn material
q 1 - 1/8" x 1" x 1.5" LG support bracket
q 1 - Velcro strips set 8.5"

Let’s build the wing!
Size up the wing skin
The Edge wing has a 34” (864mm) span and the wing skins ship 36” (914mm). So the first thing we’ll do is
size the wing skin to the correct span.
qLay the foam wing skin flat out on your building board and measure to find the center span of the skin.
Using a builders square aligned on the long edge closest to you mark the center line of the wing with a
soft pencil or a pen. Note: If you use a ballpoint pen or other ink the solvents in the glues tend to make
the ink show through the foam when you apply them. All you want to do is see the marks while building
so a light pencil mark works fine)
qFrom the centerline measure out 17” (432mm) and make a mark on the foam. Do this for both sides of
the wing. Trim off the edge of the foam on both sides so your wing skin is 34” long.
qMeasure the width of the wing skin at the tips and insure they are the same. They should be around 16”
(406mm). This is important as we are going to roll the skin over the ribs and the wing skin should trued
up so there will not be any warps. If the wing skins are not the same size true them up at this time.
Now that we have a squared and true 34” x 16” wing skin with a centerline on it lets mark the locations of the
spar and ribs…

ark the rib and spar locations
The ribs and spar locations will follow the diagram below.
qMeasure out from the centerline of the wing skin 23mm and make a mark. Then measure 99 mm from
this mark toward the wing tip and make the next mark. Do this for each rib understanding that the wing
tip rib is about 96 mm instead of 99 mm from the previous rib. This isn’t really critical. The ribs can be
on 100 mm centers.
qMake the marks all the way across the wing skins where the ribs will go
Glue the ribs to the spar
Using the same dimensions we just covered we’ll glue the ribs to the spar and then the spar to the wing
skin
qSet the spar on the wing skin over the spar line you made and cut the spar to the same length as the wing
skin. The spars Leading Edge is the one to line up with the line you made for the spar. This is where the
leading edge of the spar will glue down when we get to that point.
qMark the rib positions on the spar where you have made them on the wing skin.

qUsing a small amount of low temp hot glue on the front end of the rear wing ribs glue them in place
over the position lines you made on the spar. Be careful to get them perpendicular to the spar.

qNow using the same method glue the front rib halves to the leading edge of the spar. Try to only use as
much glue as necessary to hold the rib to the spar as excess here doesn’t add strength just weight.
Glue the rib and spar assembly to the wing skin
Now it’s time to glue the entire assembly to one edge of the wing skin. We’ll use small thin beads of the low
temp hot glue for this.
qStarting at one end of the wing skin squeeze out a small thin bead of low temp hot glue on the trailing
edge side of the line you drew for the spar. (Remember the spar line was drawn to line up on the leading
edge of the spar). Only apply the glue one rib bay at a time so you can position the spar and have it set
properly on the wing skin. Hold the spar in place until the glue cools and apply the glue to the next rib
bay. Continue until the bottom of the wing spar is completely glued down.
qThen glue the bottoms of the ribs to the foam in the same way. Be careful here to not introduce any
warps to the wing!

Fold and glue the top of the wing onto the whole assembly
The next step will be to paint the contact glue onto the wing skin and to the tops of the spar and ribs. We will
use a spray on glue 3M 76 Hi Tack glue sprayed into a cup and brushed onto the parts. Then we’ll fold over the
wing skin to join the trailing edge together. I strongly suggest reading the entire section here before actually
starting the process.
qGrab a glue/epoxy brush and trim off a bit of the bristles so they are a bit stiffer when you use the brush.
Then walk into your sweethearts kitchen and get a small jar like a baby food jar and head back to the
shop (grab your favorite beverage while you’re there…). We’ll use the jar for spraying the glue into.
Shake the can of spray glue (I have found the 3m 76 Hi Tack glue works well here) and spray a healthy
dose of it into the jar. Using your glue brush dab glue onto the foam where the rib lines are drawn on the
upper section of the wing where it will contact the ribs. Be sure to get under the front of the ribs where
they join the skin on the bottom. Dab the glue along the trailing edge on both the top portion and bottom
portion of the inside wing skin where they will meet once the wing skin is folded over. Be careful here:
You only want about 1/8” of glue on both surfaces! If you paint on a wider stripe of glue the trailing
edge will flatten out and not look right when pressed together.
qOnce you have the glue brushed on it’s time to fold the wing skin over and join the trailing edges. This
is to be done CAREFULL ! As you can imagine contact cement is not very forgiving. Carefully roll
the wing skin over the ribs being cautious not to introduce a warp.
qOnce the trailing edge is sealed you are finished with the wing for a while. Now it's time to move on to
the Fuselage. Grab another diet soda and we'll get started!

Let's build the fuselage!
The fuselage is easy to build but requires making sure the parts are aligned properly. The first thing we'll do is
draw reference lines on the fuse sides. Then we will tape reinforcements into the insides of the sides and cut out
the stab and wing holes. Next we'll join the fin at the rear glue in the tail stiffener and motor block cut the
holes for the landing gear wire and glue the top and bottom together. Let's get started...
qUsing the measurements on the building diagram make a mark:
o45mm down from the corner on the inside nose of the right fuse side for the centerline
oMake the corresponding mark on the tail at 51mm from the bottom corner of the fin. Connect the
marks with a line forming the centerline of the fuselage.
oMark the position of the Stab and wing on the centerline using the measurements on the diagram.
qUsing 3/4” fiber tape tape both inside fuse halves in all the areas shown in the diagram below. Strip the
fiber tape to 4mm to line the perimeter of the fuselage. This helps keep the foam from ripping in the
event of a hard landing. Be sure to leave the area where the tail stiffener and the motor block goes
uncovered as the glue does not stick to the tape and it will peel off when you glue on the parts. Use a
rubber wall paper seaming roller to press the tape firmly onto the foam. It will make the foam curl a bit
toward the inside and this is alright. You do not need any extra spray adhesive as the tape sticks well to
the foam. You may want to use 2” bi-directional packing tape for the larger areas.
q
qUsing the completed wing as a template line up the center of the wing leading edge and trailing edge on
the right fuselage center line 178mm from the nose and trace around the wing's airfoil with a soft pencil.

Using a sharp Exacto blade trim out the wing airfoil shape on the right fuselage side. Then cut the 5mm
stab slot above the fuse stiffener 61mm from the tail end as shown on the plan sheet.
qUsing the right fuse side as a template cut out the wing and stab slots on the left fuse side.
qUsing contact cement or goop glue the fuse tail stiffener onto the right fuse side. Goop the firewall in
place and position the motor block on the fuse side and glue in place with goop. Apply the glue to the
rear inside edge of the fin at the very tail edge and glue the tail together at the fin. It helps to have some
longer flat sticks to hold the edge together as the glue sets.
qApply glue to the inside areas of the left fuse side and glue the fuse sides together. Make sure at this
point that the fuse sides are lined up at the nose to insure the fuse is straight and not curved like a
banana! Let the glue set and have another diet soda.
Joining the fuselage and mounting the stab and wing
Now that the sides are joined int the middle it's time to glue the top and bottom edges together install the
landing gear and put the wing and stab in place. If you follow the instructions below you can put the fuse
together with out using any long edge clamps. The advantage is that the fuse can be built faster and the edges
will not have flat spots around the edge where the 4mm strip is. The key is putting glue on the inside edge close
to the corners that will meet on the fuse sides.
qSlid the stab into the slot you cut in the tail. Using a string measure from the corners of the stab to the
center of the fuselage to insure the alignment is correct and even. Use a small amount of 5 minute epoxy
and glue the stab in place.
qUsing low temp hot glue and starting at the top of the fin squeeze glue about 4” along the inside edge of
the right side. Line up the corner edges of the fuse sides and press the fuse sides together on this edge.
The way I have found to think about this is that you are trying to glue just the corner edges together. If
you think this way you will likely not glue 1/4” of material together as yo go. The diagram below
illustrates the concept.
qRepeat this procedure 4” or so at a time until you join the fuse together up to the end of the fuse
stiffener.
qPlan now on how you will mount your motor. If you are using a GWS motor mount you will want to cut
a 3/8” channel in the motor block to install the stick assembly. If you are installing the AXI “Outrunner”
style motor install the plywood plate on the motor block. Join the top nose section together this same

way stopping at the front of the canopy area. Do the same for the bottom of the fuselage but stop at the
leading edge of the wing so you can install the landing gear wire later.
qNow side the wing into the wing slot you cut earlier. Center the wing using the same string measuring
method as you did for the stab. Measure the distance from the tail fin to the wing tips to insure the wing
is straight and glue it in place. You can use a bead of Low temp hot melt glue to secure the wing or
small amounts of 5 minute Epoxy. Glue the entire seam on the inside around the wing saddle.
Adding the landing gear
Adding the landing gear is simple and quick. Just be sure to follow the process in the order listed below so it all
fits properly. Bend the landing gear to shape using the template attached to the end of the instructions. The
triangle stock is glued to the bottom of the ply brace plate and the plate is slid into the slot you cut into the
motor mount block. The landing gear is bent and slid through holes through the fuselage and then pressed into
the slot next to the plate. When all fits correctly slide the ply plate out and goop everything back into the slot.
qBend the landing gear to the shape shown below.
qMeasure out the distances shown in the diagram and make a hole for the landing gear to go through on
both sides of the fuse.
qUse a small amount of 5 minute epoxy and glue the triangle support brace to the plywood plate along the
bottom back side of the brace as shown.
qSlide the plywood plate into the slot you cut in the motor block.
qThread one side of the landing gear wire through the holes in the fuselage and pull the gear through until
the wire is in position as shown.
qMix up a hardy batch of 5 minute epoxy (or you could use goop) and smear it on the plywood landing
gear plate front and back. Push it into the slot in the motor mount then push the landing gear wire into

the slot in front of the plywood plate. The pressure of the foam should hold the wire in place while the
epoxy sets. Make sure the gear is centered and even.
qWhen the glue is finished setting close the remaining sides of the fuselage up to the nose as you did
before using low temp hot glue.
Attaching the tail control surfaces
Now we'll finish the major part of the construction by attaching the control surfaces... We'll do this by attaching
the elevators to the joiner tube then making fiber tape hinges and applying them to the foam. We'll attach the
elevator to the stab and then the rudder to the fin.
qLay out the elevator halves on your workbench over some waxed paper. Measure the stab span and cut
the joiner tube about 2mm longer than the elevator. This will leave some clearance for the hinging
motion. Mix a small amount of 5 minute epoxy and glue ONE side of the elevator to the tube and let it
set.
qRefer to the diagram on the plan sheet and below for reference to the following procedure. Trim off four
1.5 inch (38mm) piece of .75 (19mm) fiber strapping tape from a roll and cut each of them into 2 halves.
Take one pair of the tape strips and place the sticky sides together overlapping them .25 inches (6mm).
You should now have a 1.25 inch (32mm) strip that has the sticky side facing in opposite directions on
each end. Place the joined center of this strip on the trailing edge of the stab about .5 inches in from the
tip and fold the sticky side down against the stab. Lay the next strip down on the opposite side of the
stab just over one hinge width and press into place. Repeat this for the third hinge. Do this for all 4 of
the hinge groups on the stab.
qWith your sharp #11 Exacto blade make a hole in the fuse for the elevator joiner tube to go through.
qFold the hinges on both sides of the stab to their respective positions as if to attach the elevator. Slide the
joiner tube through the fuse at the rear of the stab and line up the edge of the elevator to clear the stab by
1 mm. Press the elevator against the stabilizer's trailing edge with the tips level with the stab and press
the hinges into place on the elevator that is glued to the carbon tube. You should now have one elevator
half in place and joined to the stab. Make sure the hinges you applied on the side that does not yet have
an elevator are folded in the proper position to apply to the elevator once it is glued into place in the next
step.
qMix up a small batch of 5 minute epoxy and glue the other elevator half to the carbon tube. An easy way
to hold the elevator into position is to clamp the elevator in place by using a couple of pieces of scrap ply
or Popsicle sticks clamped across the top and bottom of the stab and elevator at the tips holding the
parts together and flat while the epoxy sets. Once the epoxy has set fold the hinges down an onto the
foam to finish the hinging process for the elevators.
qUsing the same hinging method you used for the stab hinge the rudder onto the fin and fuselage tail. Use
3 sets of hinge points on the fin: top middle and bottom.
qTake this time now to bend the tail skid and glue into place. Use the diagram below.
qTrim the ailerons to length and attach them to the wing in the same way as you did the tail surfaces. Use
3 to 4 hinging points on each aileron.

Installing the radio and motor and attaching the control links
First we'll install the servos into the tail section then the aileron servo(s). Finally we'll install the rest of the gear
and we'll be closer to flying!
qPlace the servos for the elevator and rudder underneath the stab so that they are centered front to back on
the stabilizer where it joins the fuselage. Move the servos down toward the bottom of the fuselage 6mm
from the stab to accommodate the fuselage stiffener and outline the servo bottom as it is flat against the
fuse side. Cut out a tight outline of the servo and trial fit each one onto the fuse. The servo should be flat
against the bottom of the fuselage stiffener when it is mounted as this is what we will be gluing the
servo to.
qAttach the servo extensions to the serve lead and wrap a bit of tape around the junction to make sure
they don't get pulled apart by accident. Slip the servo extension lead into the servo hole. Apply some
tape around the servo to protect it from the low temp hot glue. Apply some of the low temp hot glue to
the top side of the servo that will be flat against the stab. Lean the servo slightly away from the stab to
avoid the glue smearing on the bottom of the stab and slide it into the servo cut out pressing it firmly
into position. Do this for both the rudder and the stab servos.
qNow we'll apply the control horn reinforcements to all of the control surfaces using the following
method. Cut two pieces of the 1/64” ply strip supplied about 10mm long each for each control surface (2
for the elevator 2 for the rudder etc). Mix a small bit of epoxy and glue the ply plates to both sides of
each control surface where you want the control point to be. Offset them slightly as in the diagram
below.

qCut the smooth non-ribbed tip off of the supplied tie wrap material and discard. Cut off about .6 inch of
the tie wrap. Using an exacto blade make a small slit into the ply plates so the tie wrap material can pass
through as shown above. It may help to make the holes for the push rod now in the control horn before
gluing into place. Epoxy the control horn into place for all surfaces. Put the remaining servos into the
plane.
Setting it up to fly
This is the fun part!
If you have dual rates set your rates to move the controls 30% and 45%. Of course your settings are as
individual as your color scheme so set them however you feel comfortable. The Edge will perform most any
maneuver you want it to perform but it won't do it for you! The beauty of this plane is that you can try stunts
that would normally make your butt pucker with out the fear that one mistake will completely demolish the
plane!
Balance the plane at about 3.5” back from the Leading Edge for the first flight and move the CG back an 1/8”
inch at a time as you experiment with 3D flight.
Sending your pictures to www.funplanes.com
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Again we'd like to thank you for purchasing a funplanes.com kit and wish you many hours of flying enjoyment!