Rad Dog,
I used the stock hinges and sealed the gap both sides. I think it was alittle overkill but surfaces are secure and don't bind.

My plane is done but hasn't flown yet. Here's some weight and balance info:

CG is 6-5/8 back from LE at root with 2200 mah 6v battery right against the firewall. Next to it is a Hitec HS81MG throttle servo. Pull-pull rudder servo, HS5475HB, is in stock position (above wing TE) using stock pull-pull hardware. HS5645MG elevator servo aft with 4-40 SS rods and bolt-style horns/clevises. Futaba R319DPS Rx is just in front of rudder servo with switch harness, volt-magic in the cockpit. Aft end of stock tank is over the CG. HS5645MG Aileron servos also with 4-40 hardware. A bit oversized, agreed. OS120AX with stock muffler, TrueTurn 2.5 and 17-6 APC. Stock gear, no pants, considerable glass and ply reinforement in front. Antennae in nyrod-tube all the way back. Canopy full forward. No added weight. Sorry, I don't know all-up weight. Moving the elevator to the back shifts the CG about 3/4" - this will be the next change if I want to move it back.

I did not reglue the cross-piece on the bulkhead. Instead, I made longitudonal stiffeners (about 3/8x10") from 1/8 light ply, running the length of the wing saddle to the front bulkhead. Slotted the aft bulkheads with a cut-off saw to receive it and tabbed it into the side doublers. It was a convenient "rail" for drilling holes for cable ties to hold wires, tank, rx etc. and stiffens the sides of the fuse considerably when you take out the cross piece.

Has anyone applied the decals? ARe the blank sheets supposed to laminate over the individual characters once applied??

For what it's worth, I would consider reworking the belly pan in the area of the leading edge. The dowls have to be very short to allow the pan to drop in along the curvature of the wing, and engage the holes in the firewall. I think it would be better if that front corner of the pan along the wing joint was built into the wing, so the pan could slide more directly into the holes.