RE: A-36 Apache Dive Brakes
Apparently I lied. I didn't intend to, but I did. My dive brakes are not functional, as of yesterday. When I tried to instal them and get all the linkages connected, I ran into a problem with clearance. One of the rods linking the top and bottom brake was interefering with the servos driving the brakes. End result, I couldn't get the top brake to close tightly. I was very nervous about that top brake being blow open by the wind, so I decided to abandon the idea of functioning brakes and screwed them down. I did take some pics before I locked them down to give you an idea of what my set-up looked like. Maybe they will help you avoid the problems I ran into.
By the way, Tom's "Boxing Parrot" was the emblem for the Eagles Squadron; the RAF's squadron of volunteer US pilots prior to the US entering WWII. What a cool emblem to have as a personal logo. The bird can stay, just paint the plane O.D. over gray.