Moving right along................let's take a look at the assembly manual.
This link will take you to a collection of Redwing's product manuals
http://www.redwingrc.com/manuals.html
Since I'm building the 20cc Edge ARF the comments below come from what I've found in reviewing the Edge manual.
All in all the manual is well done. There are "From the Pro" tips in there to help make some steps of the build go a little better and I only found a few inconsistencies with the actual airplane. The airplane currently being delivered is version 3, I'd guess the manual is for revision 2.
Here are the differences I've found so far, feel free to add any that I might have missed.
In the bottom right hand corner of Page 3, it says to scuff the control horns where they are glued into the control surfaces so that the epoxy will bond better. It then goes on to say that there may be a clear plastic film on one side of the control horn that should be removed.
The control horns in my kit didn't have the clear film on them so there was nothing to remove.
Page 6 shows how to mount steel straps to the root ribs of each wing panel for mounting to the fuselage but the Rev3 version of the plane no longer uses those straps. The Rev3 version uses nylon bolts from one wing panel, through the fuselage, and into blind nuts in the other wing root rib to hold the wings in place. The new way is much nicer looking as there isn't any hardware visible outside of the wings and it should be easier to attach the wings with two bolts instead of four. It shouldn't cause any issues for a builder to figure out the new method of attaching the wings.
Pages 6 and 7 explain how to assemble and install the landing gear, wheels, and simulated wheel pants. A quick search of the internet, including the videos at RedwingRC's website show that the landing gear is pretty flimsy. I don't think the design is bad but that the aluminum used is the wrong grade for spring landing gear legs. Feel free to use them as they will keep the prop out of the dirt but for my build I'm using a replacement set of fiberglass gear legs.
The methods shown for mounting the horizontal stabilizer are pretty much identical to what I did in the second video so I have no issues there.
On Page 11 they show how to mount the tailwheel but the tailwheel hardware that came with my kit is different from what is shown in the manual. I'll make a post with photos showing specifically how I installed the tailwheel hardware that was provided with my kit.
Page 13 directs the builder to remove the monokote from the servo cut-outs but with my kit that step was already done.
By Page 15 they're installing the engine and it looks very straightforward but since I'm using an electric motor I didn't really study the engine mounting instructions.
That's it. Like I said above the manual is pretty thorough and little tips are repeated wherever necessary so that the build can be done better than what a first run builder might slap together. In fact I have to give credit where it's due and, whether it was by RedwingRC's doing or the manufacturer, the manual is very good. Much better than I expected actually.
My build is moving along and I am probably going to fly it this week. The fuselage is done and on the gear so I only have the ailerons to mount and the aileron servos to install and set up. In that little bit of work I have a couple of more videos that I want to do and a post to explain how I think the tailwheel hardware is supposed to be assembled and installed.
Thanks for reading!
