To allow the camera to fit while the canopy is in place, a slice of the canopy’s hinge was removed and reinforced with a piece of thin plywood. This will also help support the transmitter that will be mounted into the canopy of the Easy Glider.
Because I will be adding weight to the canopy with the transmitter I opted to add a slide latch to hold it in place. I used some small music wire to from the bolt of the latch and some scrap linkage tubing for the bolt slides. I then glued the tubing to the foam making sure I did not glue the bolt in by accident. A hole was drilled into the canopy and a linkage tube was glued inside. This will act as the slide latch hole to receive the music wire bolt.
I was now ready to glue the two fuselage halves together. I fit checked the parts once more before committing to the glueing process. Because the speed control was attached to the fuselage by it’s cables I decided to wrap it with wax paper to protect it from the glue. I also applied some Vaseline to the slide latch bolt to prevent it from being glued in place. Notice the pitch/roll sensor wire (below) as it is folded onto itself a few times. I needed to put the excess sensor wire somewhere so I folded it up and cut a small pocket for it below the receiver (not shown). Also notice the HS-81 servo wires below the battery. I hot glued them into place as it was easier than threading them through after the fuselage is assembled.
Multiplex suggested using a thick CA to bond the two fuselage halves so I applied a bead of thick CA glue to one side of the fuselage. The manufacturer also suggested using accelerator on the unglued side to speed up the curing process. I opted not to use the accelerator before hand as it will not allow for adjustments in case of a misalignment. Working quickly I put together the two halves and used masking tape to hold them together. I used a cloth to wipe off any excess CA and checked the fuselage for straightness. Once I was happy with the alignment of the two halves I sprayed some CA accelerator to the joint and let the glue cure for 30 minutes.
I checked the strength of the motor pylon by trying to wiggle it but it wouldn’t budge. The Elapore foam works really well with CA glues :0)
It was now time to install the receiver into the plane. I tucked the pitch/roll sensor wire into it’s pocket and fished the receiver antenna into the antenna tube. I connected the servo leads to the FS8 receiver and fit checked it into the receiver pocket. Notice the aileron servo lead extensions. They are installed now as it will be difficult to connect the ailerons directly to the receiver.
I made a wooden support for the aileron servo leads to prevent them from being yanked out of the receiver in the event of a crash.
I had earlier cut out a hole for the FS8 external switch harness in the side of the fuselage. I made a plywood face for the switch harness and installed it to the switch. It was then glued to the fuselage with CA. These switches will later be used to program the FS8.
The pitch/roll sensor was next to be installed. I cut out a flat spot just behind the landing wheel and glued a thin piece of plywood inside of the cutout. The FS8’s horizontal sensor was then double-side taped to the plywood mounting plate. Notice the orientation of the sensor. I mounted the sensor so it’s windows are not directly obstructed by the landing wheel.
The landing wheel was now ready for mounting. I glued two 1/8” plywood rails to either side of the landing wheel pocket for support. I then used a flat white primer to finish the rails before proceeding.
A wheel collar was soldered to a steel music wire 2-hole strap (can be made out of any thin steel). These will form the axle supports.
I cut a short piece of music wire for the axle and installed into the wheel collar brackets. The wheel collar brackets were screwed to the plywood rails. Notice the brass tubing spacers used to center the wheel in the pocket.
The Easy Glider was now ready for the tail fins. I temporarily installed the wings for a level reference and glued on the horizontal stabilizer. I checked the squareness of the stab to the centerline of the fuselage using a string tied to the canopy latch. I made sure both sides of the stab were equal distance to the latch (centerline reference) and also made sure the stab was parallel to the wing. Once the horizontal stabilizer was true I zapped it with accelerator to speed up the cure of the thick CA.
The vertical stab was much easier to install as all it required was a building square. The fin was glued in place and checked on both sides with the square. Once again the accelerator was sprayed on the joint.
I used some clear tape to fasten the excess receiver wire to the trailing edge of the rudder. This will keep it from dragging the ground or breaking off. Notice that I have glued the control horns in place and installed the linkages.
