ORIGINAL: amjflyer
Congrats on your maiden c/f, and thx for the additional supporting info Tam.
Out of interest I had HiTec 5245MG servos available (left over from an F3J glider that they wouldnt fit in!) so i used these instead of the JR DS3421. However the specs are almost identical, they are very similar servos (I even wonder if underneath the case they are perhaps identical). Although given a choice I would generally feel more comfrotable with JR/Futaba servos in high performance models Ive found these HiTec digitals to be pretty good. Im using heavy ball links in the linkage for zero slop and will hookup as you say.
Incidentally the servo actually ius slightly wider at the back (like by 1-2mm!) than the servo bay can provide. This means the cover sits slightly proud of the stab halve. I was just going to modify the cover to fit this way anyone else had to overcome a similar problem. The alternative would be to use JR DS161 servos but im just not comfrotable that these would be man enough for the job.
Hitec 5245MG is O.K. I have flow with that servo and lock in over 100 of flights. But I do experience few of those servo are bad out of the box.
So I go with JR DS 3421. It cost little more. But more reliable.
As the cover. Yes it bigger by 1-2mm on the back of the cover. Shim the cover on the back to raise to clear the servo.
Do not use Jr DS168 on the elevators. It don't have enough power to hold the elevator.
Good luck.