Yellow Aircraft Intl. CAP 232

Model Airplane News, Oct 2001 by Post, Roger Jr

In recent years, the ARF aerobatics market has really taken off; the number of Extra, Sukhoi, Edge, Giles, CAP and other aerobats now available is mind-boggling. The 20-percent CAP 232 from Yellow Aircraft Intl. fits into this category, and its quality is a cut above the rest.

Inside the box, I found a solidly built, light balsa and ply airframe that was expertly covered. A check of the wing and tail surfaces revealed no warps or twists, and the fuselage was as straight as an arrow. The firewall is "keyed" into the fuselage sides and bottom to ensure that it stays connected to the front of the plane, and all of the exposed wooden parts have been fuel-proofed. The fiberglass cowl and the wheel pants are beautifully painted, and the vacuum-formed canopy's trim color is painted as well. The hardware package is complete; it includes a heavy-duty tailwheel bracket, engine mounts and landing gear of wire and aircraft-grade aluminum. All you need to complete the CAN is a 4-channel radio with five servos, an engine, a propeller, two server extension wires and the necessary tools and adhesives.

WING ASSEMBLY

Start by mounting the servos and trial-- fitting the servo hatch covers into the wing halves. I found the openings too small for standard-size servos, so for the aileron servos, I substituted two JR 9011s, which fit perfectly. Snake the aileron extension wires through their guide tubes, and screw the servo hatches into place; join the wing halves per the instructions.

ENGINE AND COWL

Follow the instructions for attaching the engine mounts to the firewall and for drilling the engine bolt holes; temporarily glue the engine to the mounts to make the process easier. After you have trimmed the cowl to fit over the engine and muffler, mount it on the fuselage. Do not drill the bottom two holes (one per side) as they appear in the illustration; as drawn, their locations would interfere with the wing. When the wing's epoxy has cured, attach the wing to the fuselage; you may have to trim the wooden "key" in the wing's forward hold-down area. Mark a position for the remaining two cowl holes, remove the wing, and finish mounting the cowl.

Now, reattach the wing; note the lack of space between its center section's trailing edge (TE) and the fuselage's corresponding area. When you apply the wing-joint fiberglass tape, do not wrap it around the TE.

I recommend that you assemble the fuel tank but do not install it right away. You need to work with the landing-gear blind nuts inside the fuel-tank area before you permanently affix the fuel tank. Also, the forward servo rail inhibits fuel-tank placement, so you will have to remove it carefully prior to installing the tank.

HINGES

I used Great Planes' thick CA hinges instead of the ones supplied. Trial-fit the aileron hinges into place and check them for smooth motion before you glue them. Also, it is wise to install the aileron control horns before permanently attaching the ailerons to the TE.

Attaching the wing to the fuselage is very simple and straightforward. Carefully measure to ensure that the wing is in the correct position, drill the holes with the required bit size and then enlarge the wing's bolt holes with a 34-inch drill bit. After you glue the wing-bolt plates into place, the wing assembly is complete.

STABILIZER AND GEAR

There is nothing difficult here; just make sure that the two surfaces are properly aligned before the epoxy cures. While you wait for this, assemble the main landing gear and the tail gear; make sure that the wheel-pant angles match. After you have drilled the mounting holes in the wheel pant's lite-ply pieces, epoxy the pieces into place and remount the wheel pants to the gear using the provided hardware. This will clamp the lite-ply to the inside of the wheel pants as the epoxy cures. After it has cured, remove the wheel pants and reinstall them with the wheels and recommended washers. Do not install the gear to the fuselage at this time.

After you have trial-fit and then installed the control horns, you can permanently hinge the rudder and elevators in place, leaving a 1/32-inch clearance gap between the counterbalance and the stabs. I noticed that the elevator halves did not conform to the taper of the aft fuselage, although this won't affect the model's flight characteristics.

After you have drilled the four holes for the main gear, take a short piece of tape and wrap it around your index finger, sticky side out. Stick a blind nut on the tape right over your fingerprint and slide your finger inside the tank area. Position the landing gear, slip a bolt through the hole, and start threading the bolt into the blind nut. Repeat this three times, and then tighten the bolts to pull the blind nuts into the wood.

Install the tail gear according to the instructions with the two supplied screws, and connect the tail-gear horn to the rudder horns with the springs. Tape the rudder into its center position before you attempt to install the springs. Cut off any excess wire that sticks out.