Rudder linkage now set up and so are the stabs, the rudder cut-out will be re-positioned to give the best linkage geometry.

We are going to add a servo slot in the inner rib inside the stab so that should you wish to house the servo inside the stab itself there is an option to do this, although not finalised yet this may be a customer option on the kits. For me I am happier to mount them in the stab trough a cover, the MKS servo mounting plates fit spot in inside and make for an easy servicable method, the covers are only 0.4mm thick so once painted they will hardly be seen. I can also glue the stabs to the fuselage using this method rather than leaving them removable as would be the case with in-built servos.

I have a couple of comments on the MKS servos which are all positive so far, all work out of the box, the gear is tight and slop free, spare fitting hardware is also supplied which is a nice touch. I have found that the 2mm metal clevis connectors require the tiny metal arms to be skimmed a fraction to get them to fit as they should, a simple little job on the minature mill, or I am sure some sanding would do to. Splines are very fine so you can get nice arm locations and the arms fit very well, infact the metal arms take some work to get them off once screwed down!

We will be supplying a central spine former set, which will be fitted by the builder, this group of formers runs from the back face of the nose gear rear former back to the former fitted to the wing tube, it adds strength to the area underneath and also provides two bays for equipment, mounting plate for fuel tank or batteries depending on power system. I have opted to fit the powerbox switch to one side of the forward bays, so it can be accessed either through the canopy or up through the nose gear door when the gear is down. On the other side I have mounted a tiny 3kg torque MKS servo which I intend to drive the nose gear door with. Its an experiment currently but hope it will do the trick and keep things light and simple.

Once the new cnc'd base plate arrives I will glue this former set in.

Final item is the gear/brake and door controller which Rich has designed and today he finished off adding the components to it - measures 30mm x 35mm, weighs almost nothing and a few mm thick. It will allow user programming for gear sequencing, brake control (with pulse if required), door sequencing and a few other nice touches - a bank of 4 LEDS give indication of status, two push buttons select choices and a multi position switch selects the function. A user guide will be supplied.

marcs