TuffWing 

Airframe Assembly Manual

Got Questions? 830-446-1500 Talk or Text 

TuffWing LLC 

Boerne, Texas USA 

www.tuffwing.com 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 1

Kit contents 

1. EPP wing set 

2. 1/8” ply motor mount set 

3. 1/8" ply servo mount plate 

4. 1/8" ply airspeed sensor mount with zip ties 

5. Control horns (2) 

6. Coroplast center wing panel wrap top and 

bottom pieces 

7. Coroplast hatch 

8. Coroplast winglets 

9. Coroplast servo covers for wing bottom 

10. Coroplast wing cut fillers (2) 

11. 4mm Coroplast center wing ribs 

12. Coroplast accessory mounts (2) 

13. 10mm x 30.75” carbon fiber tube - center 

wing spar (1) 

14. 10mm x 25.9” carbon fiber tube – leading 

edge wing spars (2) 

15. 4 mm x 19.5” carbon fiber tube – elevon 

spars (2) 

16. Control rod with Z bend (2) 

17. Control rod quick connect (2) 

18. Velcro set 

19. 3mm x 8mm motor mount screws (4) 

20. Servo extensions, 12” 

21. Assembly manual 

Building materials - Not included 

• Medium CA. Foam safe NOT required. 

• CA accelerator. 

Electronics – Not included 

• Brushless outrunner motor-Turnigy SK3-

3530-1340KV. 

• 40 plus amp brushless speed control with 

3.5mm female bullet connectors. (Turnigy 

Plush 40) 

• Connector for battery and speed control. 

• APC 9x4.5E electric propeller. 

• Spektrum A5040 servos (2). 

• PixHawk autopilot with airspeed sensor and 

telemetry radios. 

• Spektrum transmitter with Elevon/Delta 

mixing and satellite receiver. (Taranis or 

Futaba with S.Bus are fine) 

• 6000 mAh 3S LiPo battery 

• LiPo battery charger 

• CHDK compatible Canon Powershot 

camera. (Powershot 115) 

• Pixhawk to Canon camera trigger cable. 

(tuffwing.com) 

Install the Spars 

1. Fit the black Coroplast center cut filler into the 

cut on the EPP center wing. 

2. Align the parts by sliding the 10mm x 30.75” 

carbon fiber spar through the parts. 

3. Apply CA to both sides of the coroplast center 

cut filler. Avoid getting CA on the center spar. It’s 

just there for alignment. Press the parts together 

and spray CA accelerator on joint. 

4. Use sandpaper to scuff both sides of the 4mm 

Coroplast center wing ribs. 

5. Apply medium CA to coroplast center rib side 

facing the foam. Do not glue spars. 

6. Spray CA accelerator on the foam. 

7. Align rib using leading edge and center spars, 

then press pieces together. 

8. install both center wing ribs. Do not glue spars. 

9. Slide a wing half onto the center spar. Leave a 1” 

gap. 

10. Apply CA to foam. 

11. Spray CA accelerator on the Coroplast center 

rib. 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 2

1. Slide in the 10mm x 25.9" leading edge spar 

flush with wing root, then push wing root 

flush with center rib. Align pieces by pushing 

leading edge spar all the way into the center 

section. 

2. Press pieces together tightly until CA cures. 

Do both wings. 

3. Liberally drip medium CA into leading edge 

and center spar grooves. Spray with CA 

accelerator. 

Glue the Elevon Spar 

1. Slide the 4mm x 19.5" elevon spars into the 

elevon spar groove. 

2. Liberally drip medium CA onto the tip side of 

the elevon spar then spray with CA 

accelerator. 

3. Drip CA onto the root side of the elevon 

spar. 

4. Squeeze the cut gap to 1/16" then spray CA 

accelerator on spar groove. 

5. Do other wing. 

Glue Coroplast to center section 

Note camera lens opening right of center while 

plane is upside down. 

1. Test fit the Coroplast main center section so the 

camera circle is offset right when looking at the 

bottom of the plane – see photo. 

2. Lay the wing upside down. 

3. Liberally apply medium CA to the foam center 

section. 

4. Spray Coroplast center wing panel wrap with CA 

accelerator. 

5. Carefully and quickly align Coroplast center 

wing panel wrap with motor mount opening and 

Coroplast center wing ribs. 

6. Press very firmly until the CA cures. 

7. Test fold the Coroplast center wing panel wrap. 

Carefully warming the Coroplast with a heat gun 

will make it more malleable. 

8. Liberally apply medium CA to the top foam 

center section. 

9. Spray Coroplast center wing panel wrap with CA 

accelerator. 

10. Carefully and quickly push over and align the 

Coroplast center wing panel wrap with motor 

mount opening and Coroplast center wing ribs. 

11. Press very firmly until CA cures. 

12. Liberally apply medium CA to the rear top foam 

center section. 

13. Spray Coroplast top center wing panel wrap with

CA accelerator. 

14. Carefully and quickly align the Coroplast top 

center wing panel with motor mount opening 

and Coroplast center wing ribs. Press very 

firmly until CA cures. 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 3

15. Test fit accessory Coroplast panels on wing. 

Panel with hole goes on right wing. 

16. Line up V-notch on panel with V-notch cut on 

root end of wing. See red circle in photo above. 

17. Scuff bottom side of Coroplast with fine 

sandpaper. 

18. Liberally apply CA to bottom side of coroplast.

Spray CA accelerator on foam. Align and firmly 

press Coroplast to wing. 

1. Poke hole in foam through hole in right 

Coroplast panel. The hole lines up with the 

servo wire groove below. 

2. Feed Pixhawk arm switch wire through hole and 

into the main bay. 

Glue control horn 

1. Drip medium CA into the control horn gap. 

2. Quickly press the control horn into the gap. 

3. Spray with CA accelerator. 

4. Do both sides. 

Glue wing cut filler 

1. Drip medium CA into the servo cutout gap. 

2. Orient a Coroplast wing cut filler as shown 

above, then quickly press it down flush with 

the top of the wing and line up with the 

elevon hinge on the bottom of the wing. 

3. Spray with CA accelerator. 

4. Do both sides 

Glue servo base cover 

1. Apply medium CA on the foam wing 1/2" 

wide around the perimeter of the servo 

cutout hole. 

2. Spray CA accelerator on the servo cover. 

3. Leave a 1/4" gap between the two cut outs 

to allow the servo lead to pass through. 

4. Do both sides 

Install the Servo Plate 

1. Apply medium CA to the bottom of the servo 

mount plate. 

2. Spray CA Accelerator on the wing top. 

3. Line up the servo mount plate and press firmly. 

4. Do both sides. 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 4

Install the Quick Connect 

1. Insert the pushrod quick connect on the tip side

of the wing as shown. Press the black nylon 

washer on with pliers. 

Install the Servos 

1. Install a Spektrum A5040 servo in each servo 

mount plate as shown. 

2. Widen the outermost hole on the servo arm with 

a 1/16" drill bit so the push rod will fit. 

3. Important! Use thread lock on the servo arm 

screw after you have centered it. 

4. Connect servo extension. 

5. Tuck servo extension into groove on wing 

bottom. 

6. Push wire through opening into electronics bay. 

7. Tack servo extension to servo groove with hot 

glue. Do not use CA as it will be too permanent. 

Glue the Winglets 

1. Scuff surface of winglet with fine sandpaper that 

will be glued to the wing tip. 

2. Apply medium CA to a wing tip. 

3. Spray winglet with CA accelerator. 

4. Align front and bottom edges, then firmly press 

together until CA cures. Do both sides. 

Build the motor mount 

1. Glue the sides on with medium CA 

2. Glue the top and bottom with medium CA 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 5

3. Test fit the motor mount in the cut out in the rear 

of the plane. 

4. Apply medium CA to the motor mount where it 

will contact the plane. Do not us CA accelerator. 

5. Quickly and firmly push the mount in place. Do 

not hesitate as the CA may grab before the 

mount is properly set. 

Install the motor 

1. Install the X mount and prop adapter. Included 

with the Turnigy SK3-3530-1340KV. 

2. Trim the shaft from the back of the motor as 

seen in the photo. 

3. Mount the motor to the motor mount with the 

four 3mmx8mm screws. 

Build the airspeed pitot mount 

1. Strap the airspeed pitot to the 1/8" ply mount 

with zip ties. 

Install Velcro 

Note: Install Velcro hooks on the plane and Velcro 

loops on the components. That way you can easily 

swap damaged components or airframe. 

1. Electronics hatch 

2. Airspeed pitot 

3. Camera 

4. Telemetry 

5. GPS/Compass 

6. Spektrum satellite 

7. Pixhawk 

8. Buzzer 

9. ESC 

10. Airspeed sensor 

11. 12C hub 
© 2015. TuffWing LLC. All rights reserved. 6

Build the camera mount 

1. Glue the Coroplast spacer in the gap in the 

foam. 

2. Glue the 2mm Coroplast peice to one side of the 

foam, and the 4mm Coroplast peice to the other. 

Scuff the side of the Coroplast that will be glued 

and use liberal amounts of CA. 

3. Stick the velcro ring to the Lexan lens cover. 

4. Match the velcro circle diameters to the 

Coroplast and apply them. 

5. Stick the loop velcro to the Canon Powershot 

face 

Install autopilot (Pixhawk) 

1. Stick loop Velcro to bottom of components. 

2. Stick components to as shown in previous 

drawing. 

3. Setup the Pixhawk as described at 

http://plane.ardupilot.com. 

Center of Gravity 

There is balance hole on the bottom of the Coroplast 

hatch. As long as the plane balances or falls forward 

you’re good. Tail heavy will be nearly impossible to 

fly. Nose heavy is fine. Add nose weight for first 

flights without camera. 

Set the control throws 

• 5/8“ up 

• 5/8“ down

• Move stick right: Right elevon up, left elevon 

down 

• Move stick left: Left elevon up, right elevon 

down 

• Move stick forward: Both elevons down 

• Move stick back: Both elevons up 

Notes 

Use -30% Exponential for smoother flying with your 

Spektrum transmitter.