I realized that yesterday I had dimpled the aft spar for the elevator instead of counter sinking. The upper portion of the spar is where the skin and the inboard hinge for the elevator trim tab attach to the spar. The instructions say to disassembly, debur, dimple, etc and then three lines later mention you need to countersink the spar. Dimpling does not allow the hinge to lay flush against the spar for maximum strength. I could blame Vans, but I just need to read the manual. So, I ordered another. I continued with whatever construction could be completed. I countersunk the forward spar so the elevator yoke would be able to lay flat against the spar and I countersunk the counter weight so the bolt heads would have room. Then I went to work on the electric elevator trim. Unfortunately, the motor mount is just a little bigger than the opening in the bottom of the elevator. You can see it is only about 1/16th of an inch on both sides. First I thought there was some mistake. You can not lower the motor into the elevator even if you turn it slightly on its side. What is not shown is the cover plate that prevents you from tilting the motor very far. I checked several websites and this does not seem to be an issue. I am going to use my Dremel tool and shave a little off each edge of the elevator. Just enough to let the motor be tilted and lowered into the elevator. NOTE added 4/4/09 I have decided to call Vans before taking cutting any material away. It delays me a few days, but worth waiting to make sure it is done correctly.
