Wow, that was quick guys! Thanks for the support and advice. I will be making most advised mods this evening. Since I used no blades for trimming the covering from the horizontal stab (I used a Weller WCC-100 adjustable temp. soldering iron with a sharp tip) and therefore could not have scored the balsa, I think I'll do a little fillet of epoxy when it's set and leave the tail alone (no tail wires) and do the beef up on the landing gear area first.
I am still chewing on the concept of the "gjeffers" method of drilling/epoxying the 4-40 rod. I am in the middle of final horizontal stab fixing and need to keep the wings on for reference until I have a stab line that's even with them. Unfortunately my slot is a bit off, it sits a little low on one side and after sanding the opening on one side to compensate, the tight fight is gone and will have to babysit while the epoxy sets up. Think I'll pass on the 6-minute epoxy I used everywhere else in lieu of some more working time time to get it right. Once done and I can take the wing off, I am sure that the concept will show itself to me. I gather though, that the rod will attach the L.G. block to the exhaust port ply? And, RAIDERON, in your post: "drill a hole(2)", does this mean I do this twice, one on each side? Not sure what the "(2)" is for, could you clear me up on that before I do the mod, please?
As for the 2-3 degree right thrust, since that is not a permanent mod, I'm not sure if I should fly the plane "as is" first and see if I need to worry about that one. I do plan to hover but might want to try both ways. Does the added right thrust effect the flight characteristics other than in hover mode? Is this an additional 2-3 degrees right thrust added to the thrust line already designed into the plane or is this the final angle of thrust? I assume that I use shims to set that up? Also, if I do that, will I have to move the mount to keep the spinner centered. I noticed during trial fit in spacing the rear spinner plate 5" from firewall, that the engine mount is at it's lateral limit already. I suppose I could rework (open up) the mount holes in the engine mount for more lateral adjustability.
And finally, RTN9105, what is the best method on this plane for sealing hinge lines. I have read about doing this with covering material but with all the colors in the scheme, how do you do that without totally wrecking the graphics in the covering? This is a step I really am sure is needed, since I just saw the video of an Extra 300s that fluttered the tail right off of the plane during a fly-by and it rocketed to the earth a mere seconds later. I have seen first hand what failure to seal hinge lines can do.
Lastly, I've seen a few UCD's with a black canopy. I really like the look of it! I assume this is merely a coat of paint sprayed on the inside . Is there a chance that this could cause damage in the form of warpage from direct sunlight? I've seen much thicker black plastic melt! (remember back when we listened to casette tapes and happened to leave one on the dash?)
Well, I got what I asked for so far, great advice from people who obviously know what they're doing! You all have my deepest gratitude and respect! I can't wait to tell you about the maiden! Don't hold your breath though, as you can see, I have a LOT of patience! 2 years this thing has sat in the box in my den waiting for the right time to come out and play. I won't be doing anything before it's time to do so. I know I'll have more fun knowing I did everything in my power to get it right.
Thanks again all!
Rob AKA "Blisster" (which by the way is from my favorite quote: ~"If ignorance were Bliss, I'd be a Blisster!"~
P.S. I also noticed that my above link to Brandon Chitty's web site has a " ) " on the end that shouldn't be there and will cause a "server not found" error. Sorry 'bout that! Let's try it again...
www.chitty3d.com