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Old 11-08-2009 | 07:20 PM
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ro347
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Default Elevator alignment repair

OK, Ive asked this question before but not sure if what I was asking was clear. so here goes - one more shot:

Ive got a Showtime 50. Ive recently changed the prop and made a couple of other changes and have renewed my interest in flying it more.

At one point, I had broken a hinge on one half of the elevator(they are split) so I repaired it the best I could at the time (2 years ago). I cut new slots next to the old hinges and installed new CA hinges. Well now that I really understand the planes alot better and am really starting to get into 3D more and more, Ive noticed that the elevator halves are not on the same verticle plane (see pic - not as noticeable in pic though). I would think that this is part of the reason for some of the times when my plane snaps to one side at high rate. When trying harriers, plane will turn to the left; yeah i could compensate but I want a good mechanical setup. I would like to use the full amount of throws available so would like to rectify the problem as Im currently trying to electronically compensate for the difference by limiting throws.

Question: Being that the entire length of the elevator half has been hinged and CA'd over its life, How would I go about repairing/re-hinging this? Ive tried using an exacto blade in areas that previously had CA hinges in place and its proven to be an extreme challenge to get everything to cut straight. Could I replace with Robart hinges? If so, would it be easy to drill through the balsa with old CA hinges and CA? Would I need to replace the trailing edges of the stab and leading edge of the elevator? What would be best here?

Sure i could move on and get another plane being that it must have hundreds of flights on it, but ive really taken this plane on as a challenge lately to get it to fly the way I always wanted it to. It was limited by the pilot at one point, but no more. I would really appreciate and help, details etc that you guys could offer.

Thank you.

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