3D Hobby Shop Velox VR-1 Assembly Manual - User Manual

Full Text Searchable PDF User Manual

3 D H O B B Y S H O P . C O M

Assembly Manual

For the following aircraft -

Velox VR-1 48” and Edge 540 47”

Thank you for purchasing this 3DHobbyShop ARF RC aircraft. If you have any issues, questions,
concerns or problems during assembly, please contact our tech department at:

Info@3DHobbyShop.com

or 1-830-990-6978 10am-5pm Central M-F

We highly recommend

www.RCGroups.com

as a good source for RC tips, tricks, and information.

SAFETY in Assembly

During assembly of this aircraft, you will be asked to use sharp knives and hobby adhesives. Please
follow all safety procedures recommended by the manufacturers of the products you use, and always
follow these important guidelines:

ALWAYS protect your eyes when working with adhesives, knives, or tools, especially power tools. Safety
glasses are the best way to protect your eyes.

ALWAYS protect your body, especially your hands and fingers when using adhesives, knives, or tools,
especially power tools. Do not cut toward exposed skin with hobby knives. Do not place hobby knives on
tables or benches where they can roll off or be knocked off.

ALWAYS have a first-aid kit handy when working with adhesives, knives, or tools, especially power tools.

ALWAYS keep hobby equipment and supplies out of the reach of children.

IMPORTANT NOTE – We strive to provide the absolute best-quality ARF aircraft on the planet. However,
the ultimate success or failure of this aircraft is dependent upon proper assembly by you.  If you have
questions about an assembly step, please contact us, or read the assembly thread for your airplane on
RCGroups.com before proceeding. It is always better to slow down and be sure of your assembly than to
rush through it and make a mistake which can cause a crash.

SAFETY in Flying

SAFETY NOTICE: This is NOT a toy! It is a very high-performance RC airplane capable of high speeds
and extreme maneuvers. It should only be operated by a competent pilot in a safe area with proper
supervision.

ONLY fly your aircraft in a safe, open area, away from spectators and vehicles–and where it is legal to fly.

NEVER fly over an unsafe area, such as a road or street.

NEVER fly near overhead power or utility lines. If your airplane ever becomes stuck in a line or a tree DO
NOT attempt to retrieve it yourself. Contact the authorities for assistance in retrieving your aircraft.
Power lines are DANGEROUS and falls from ladders and trees CAN KILL!

Never fly too close to yourself or spectators. Spinning propellers are DANGEROUS!

Never run your motor inside a house or building with the propeller attached – Remove the prop for safety.

Always fly within your control.

Always follow manufacturer’s instructions for your radio system.

Always obtain proper insurance before flying – contact the AMA at

www.modelaircraft.org

REQUIRED ITEMS

CA Glue – Thin and Thick
Hobby Knife
Small Phillips Screwdriver
Set Metric Allen Wrenches
Scissors
Needle-nose Pliers
Regular Pliers or a small adjustable wrench
Clear Tape
Wire Cutters
Loctite blue thread locking compound
Optional – Heat gun and covering iron

Assembly Instructions – Read completely before starting assembly!

UNPACK

Unpack your airplane and examine the components. Check for damage of any kind. If you have
damage, please contact 3DHobbyShop to discuss.

WRINKLES

Your airplane was packed in plastic at the factory without any wrinkles in the covering. You may notice
some wrinkles now; more likely, you will notice a few in a day or two or the first time you take the plane
out to the flying field. These wrinkles are the result of wood shrinkage and/or expansion. Balsa wood
changes size and shape slightly as it is exposed to varying humidity in the air. This is a natural property
of balsa wood. As your airplane adjusts to the weather in your part of the world, wrinkles may appear and
disappear. Wrinkles may be removed with the gentle application of heat to the covering material on your
airplane.

Remove the canopy before attempting to use heat on your covering! The canopy is made of
thermo-activated plastic and WILL deform with the application of heat. Do not apply heat to the
canopy.

The best tools to use are a heat gun and covering iron. A hair-dryer is not hot enough. Apply the heat
gently: the covering material will shrink as you apply the heat, and this will remove the wrinkles. BE
CAREFUL! Too much heat applied too quickly can damage the covering, either by causing it to pull away
from the wood at seams and corners or even by melting it. The covering will shrink at low temperature
with patient application of heat.

Wrinkles in the covering DO NOT affect flight performance.

If you

are shrinking inside a large area of one color, and not at a seam, the heat gun is the best choice. If you
must shrink on a color-seam, use the iron and go slowly and carefully to avoid any pulling or lifting at the
seam.

If you need to clean your airplane, we recommend using a damp towel. The paint used on the canopy
and cowl is not safe for all cleaners. In particular, DO NOT use alcohol on these parts, it will remove the
paint.

Covering Material –

Your airplane is covered in genuine Oracover covering material. If you ever need to purchase additional
covering, Ultracote brand covering is an exact match.

Removing covering –

Use a new sharp blade in your hobby knife when removing covering over the access holes in the
airplane. You can also use a hot soldering iron, or a “hot knife” to remove covering if desired. Note that
covering material cuts easily, but rapidly dulls knife blades. To achieve clean cuts, change the blade
often. Remove the covering over the access holes in the fuselage as shown:

emove covering for the horizontal stabilizer, and for the elevator servo – NOTE only remove covering

for the elevator servo on ONE side of the fuselage.

Remove covering on the bottom of the fuselage as shown for motor/battery cool air exit:

Assemble the wheel onto the aluminum wheel axles, fix with wheel collar, and slide axle assembly into

wheel pant as shown.

Assemble axle, wheel and pant onto landing gear leg as shown. Note that the carbon gear has a “front”

and “back” orientation, check the gear against the fuselage to find the “front” side. Slide the axle thread

through the gear leg. Apply locking nut. NOTE – The nut is self-locking. It will not “spin” onto the axle

thread easily. You will need to hold the axle with needle-nose pliers and tighten the nut as shown.

When both wheel/axle/pant assemblies are fixed onto the gear legs, assemble the gear onto the fuselage

as shown. The screws used are 2 of the shorter black allen-head 3MM screws. Use loctite on these

screws.

Locate the rudder, the double-sided rudder control horn, and the tail-wheel wire as shown. Open the

slots in the covering on the rudder for the horn and wire as shown. Using thick CA glue, glue the horn

and wire into the rudder as shown.

Your model uses pull-pull cables to actuate the rudder. Please examine the pull-pull system assembly
diagram closely:

Start the pull-pull installation by screwing the ball links onto the pull wire ends 5 to 6 threads. The cables

are already run through the fuselage for you. After you crimp the crimp sleeves onto the wire, place a

small drop of thin CA glue on the crimped joint. Assemble both the right and left cable ends in the rear of

the plane as shown.

Fit the rudder onto the fuselage and glue the hinges using 2 large drops of thin CA glue per hinge.

Using a 2mm Phillips screw, washer, and nut, attach the ball joint to the rudder horn. Do this on both

sides of the rudder. Use a drop of thick CA glue, as shown in the pull-pull diagram, to lock the 2mm nut

on the bottom of the rudder control horns after tightening.

Install the rudder servo into the fuselage as shown

Assemble the dual-sided rudder servo arm with two servo adjustors as shown. Please refer to the pull-

pull system diagram as needed and note that these adjustors must be free to rotate after installation, so

the nuts which retain them should be tightened only until almost snug and then glued with a small drop of

thick CA to lock the nut so that it will not fall off. Note – in these photos, the optional 3DHobbyShop long

arm set is shown. You can use a variety of different servo arms, some transmitters will require the use of

long servo arms to achieve full 3D throw. If you are unsure of the arm length required, we recommend

not gluing the adjustor nuts until you have set your control throws.

Use a piece of tape to immobilize the rudder, and make sure the rudder servo is centered.

Assemble the cables onto the pull wire ends, crimp, and add a drop of thin CA to the crimp joints. The

cables cross once inside the fuselage to form an X shape. It is perfectly fine for the cables to lightly rub

against each other. Use the adjustors to set the cable tension. We only want the cables tight enough not

to sag. Any tighter and this will cause drag on the servo and rob servo power.

Install the tailwheel support bracket onto the fuselage with 2 small wood screws and install the tail wheel

and collar as shown. Be careful to make sure that the bracket does not cause drag on the rudder and

rudder servo. If necessary, you can open the hole in the bracket larger.

Locate the carbon wing spar tube and the horizontal stabilizer. Insert both into the fuselage. To help
align the horizontal stabilizer to the wing spar tube, it can be helpful to support the fuselage on equal-

height supports. In this case, we have used steel paint cans as shown.

Measure the position of the horizontal stabilizer, front-to-back relative to the wing spar tube and also side-

to-side. The horizontal stabilizer should also be pushed forward tightly into its slot in the fuselage.

When you are satisfied that the stabilizer is straight, use thin CA glue as shown to attach it. NOTE: We

do not remove any covering on the stabilizer. CA glue bonds to covering material very well.

Install the elevator half with the elevator joiner rod. Slide the elevator into the stabilizer, make sure it
flexes easily at least 45 degrees up and down, and glue with 2 large drops of thin CA on each hinge.

Without using glue, slide the other elevator onto the joiner rod and into the stabilizer. Check the

alignment of the elevators. If there is a misalignment of the elevator tips, you can sand the joiner slot as

necessary to correct, but if you have access to a heat gun, a quicker way is to complete the installation of

the elevators, then twist the elevators to correct any misalignment, and shrink out any resulting wrinkles in

the covering – this locks the elevators permanently into the new orientation. Also, a small to moderate

misalignment of the elevators will not affect flight performance.

Place several large drops of thick CA glue into the joiner slot in the second elevator half as shown, then

install onto the horizontal stabilizer, gluing with two large drops of thin CA on each hinge.

Install a control horn into the elevator as shown using a generous amount of thick CA glue. Assemble the

elevator pushrod by screwing a ball link onto the threaded end of the longest metal pushrod in the kit.

Use a Phillips screw, washer, and nut to attach the pushrod to the elevator horn as shown. Use thick CA

glue to lock the nut.

Attach a 12” inch / 300mm servo extension to the elevator servo. Use heat-shrink tubing or a servo-plug
lock on this connection. Install the elevator servo into the fuselage as shown. Install the pushrod adjustor
onto the servo arm. As before, do not fully tighten this nut, the adjustor must be able to rotate. Use thick
CA glue to lock this nut. After installation, the pushrod may be trimmed to length.

NOTE: Again, if you are unsure of the exact length of servo arm necessary, you can leave the adjustor
screw unlocked until after you have made sure your servo arm length is correct. Details of this will be
covered in the control setup section of the manual.

Mount your brushless motor to the firewall using the 4 long black allen head 3mm screws. 6mm long
spacers are included in the kit, use if necessary for proper cowl fit. Loctite these screws.

Install your ESC, attach it to the side of the motor box. Install the self-adhesive velcro and velcro strap
into the fuselage as shown. For very heavy lipo packs, multiple velcro straps may be necessary for
extreme tumbling maneuvers.

The cowl is installed with 4 small wood screws which screw into 4 small square plywood pads at the

extreme front of the fuselage. Use small pieces of tape or paper as indicators to show the position of

these plywood pads after the cowl is on.

Install the canopy hatch

(if the canopy hatch is not installed when you fit the cowl, it may be

impossible to fit the canopy hatch after the cowl is installed!).

You can use a 1/16” or smaller drill bit to drill these holes in the cowling, but the preferred method is to
spin a sharp hobby knife blade to make these holes as shown. This gives precise control of the size of
the holes and does not open the holes in the plywood pads too large.

Remove the cowl, use a drop of thin CA to harden the hole in each plywood cowl-mounting pad, and re-

install the cowl with 4 small wood screws.

Hinge the ailerons onto the wings using 2 large drops of thin CA on each hinge.

Remove the covering over the aileron servo locations and the aileron control horn slots as shown.

Install aileron horns into the ailerons using a generous amount of thick CA glue. Assemble the aileron

pushrods as you did the elevator pushrod. Attach a 6-8” (200mm) servo extension to each aileron servo.

Use heat shrink tubing of a servo plug lock on this connection. Use the included string to pull the servo

wire through the wing and install the servo, servo arm, adjustor and pushrod just as you did on the

elevator. After installation, the pushrod may be trimmed to length.

Again, if you are not sure of the servo arm length you need, delay locking the adjustor nut so that you can

move the adjustor on the arm if necessary.

VELOX VR-1 ONLY

- Install the SFGs onto the wing tips as shown using 2 large wood screws each.

Place the SFG spacers in between the SFGs and the wingtips to space the SFG away from the aileron to

avoid interference. Use a hobby knife to open the screws holes in the covering on the wingtips. Be

careful inserting the screws through the SFGs into the wingtips, make sure they are centered to avoid

damaging the wingtip internal structure.

Mounting the receiver: In your kit is a rectangular piece of lightweight balsa wood marked “Rx”. You can

attach your receiver to this plate with double-sided tape, velcro, or glue and mount the plate in any

convenient location inside the fuselage.

EDGE 540 ONLY

- Use thick CA glue or tape to attach the landing gear cover plate as shown:

SETUP INFORMATION

Center of Gravity -

Velox VR-1 98 mm

from leading edge of wing at wing root (at fuselage)

Edge 540 93 mm

from leading edge of wing at wing root (at fuselage)

These are starting, aerobatic center-of-gravity locations. After several flights, you can and should adjust
in small increments to find your perfect, personal CG location.

Control throws, high and low rate –

Low/Precision Rates (in degrees and inches) and Corresponding Exponential

Aileron 15

degrees

.75”

30%

Expo

Elevator

13 degrees 1.25” 30% Expo

Rudder

45 degrees 3.5”

75% Expo

High/3D Rates (in degrees and inches) and Corresponding Exponential

Aileron 28

degrees

1.25”

75%

Expo

Elevator

degrees

3”

85%

Expo

Rudder 45

degrees

3.5”

75%

Expo

The above throw measurements are taken at the aft edge of the ailerons and elevator,
and from the bottom aft edge of the rudder. Note that Hitec and Futaba radios require
NEGATIVE exponential, while JR and Spektrum use POSITIVE exponential.

Servo arm length:

Most servo arms have multiple locations which you can install your pushrod adjustors into, giving different
effective servo arm lengths. The method to determine the correct hole is as follows:

Set your high-rate throws as indicated above using the endpoint adjustment for each channel in your
transmitter. If your endpoint adjustment is near maximum (a value of 140-150 on most transmitters) then
you are using the correct hole. However, if your endpoint adjustment is much lower, under 125 for
example, you may need to use a hole that gives a shorter effective arm length. If your endpoint
adjustment for correct high-rate throws is excessively low, you will notice very poor servo performance.
To put it simply, use the shortest arm length that still allows proper high rate throws.

Once you are certain of the correct arm length, be sure to use thick CA to lock all of your adjustor nuts on
all servo arms.

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