Greg Covey

To create the elevator linkage, I used a thin carbon rod, a piece of the supplied solid wire, and some scrap wire insulation. My friend, Paul Weigand, showed me how to reshape the carbon rod without cutting. It is important to keep metal linkage away from the strong rare earth magnets in the actuator so I decided to make a right angle bend in the carbon rod to attach to the insert arm.

The carbon rod can be manipulated through heat, and, after it has cooled a bit, it can be strengthened via CA. I used a small tip soldering iron to directly press the rod and bend a right angle. You can also heat a razor knife blade and use it to apply heat to the carbon rod. After holding the right angle in place for a few seconds, I applied a small amount of thin CA to the joint, followed by a small dab of kicker. The result was a strong non-metalic right angle.

I then drilled a hole in the plane with a bit such that it allowed my carbon rod to enter from the front of the fuselage and stick through the hole on its way to the elevator.

The actuator was mounted on two small pieces of Depron foam so that it could sit level. I ran the thin wires through the fuselage hole previously made for the motor wires, attached the carbon rod to the swing arm, and slid the assembly back into place. Once the actuator was positioned properly, and I tested the carbon rod for a good swivel, I used a small amount of UHU Por glue to secure the actuator base to the fuselage inside. A "Z" bend is not required in the carbon rod at the actuator end because the travel of the rod inside the fuselage favors one side. You can simply connect the control to the actuator arm using the slight force of the rod direction to keep it attached.

Be sure to slide the assembly back enough so that the motor pod can be pressed into place.