I began mounting the elevators today. First, I installed the remaining two elevator pushrods through the aft fuselage. Attaching the small (forward) one to the bellcrank requires a lot of ingenuity and squirming around in tight quarters, but I got it done without drawing any blood, or cussing too much. I noted that one of the pushrods makes contact with the bottom of one of the bulkhead holes, so I'll have to enlarge the hole slightly (see photo #3 below).
Next, I bolted the elevators to the horizontal stabilizers and clamped them in the neutral position. I centered the sticks in the vertical position, and noted the position of the aft end of the large elevator pushrod against the elevator horns. It looks like things will work out very well here. I'll need to do some trimming of the sides of the aft fuselage deck so the horns clear.
I also took some initial measurements of the elevator up/down travel. Right now, with no adjustments, I get 20 degrees up and 25 degrees down.
Elevators mounted and clamped in neutral position.
The elevator pushrods, installed for the first time.
The small elevator pushrod rubs on the bottom of this bulkhead hole. The hole will be enlarged.
