I chose to deviate from the standard setup here. Whilst the stock setup allows for removing the tailplane halves it does require you to disconnect the elevator linkages as the servos are in the fuselage and the horn is (obviously) on the elevator. I decided to mount the servos in the tailplanes themselves.

I started by marking out the position of the stab tube, the control horn line and the took into account the servo control arm to give me the position of the hole I needed to cut. The hole was cut in the skin and the plywood support that would have gone inside the fuselage was glued inside the tailplane. I also drilled a hole in the root rib for the servo cable to exit.

The servo was screwed into place and found to sit about 1mm shy of the top skin. Finally, the elevator horn was aeropoxied into place and the control linkage made up as per the ailerons.

This process was repeated on the other half.

I found the recommended 6mm drill was not large enough for the pins supplied in my kit so a 6.5mm drill was used by hand to open up the indentations in the fuselage for the anti-rotation pins. The pins were quite a tight fit in the stab roots and when pushed in place I found they slid nicely into the holes in the fuselage with no slop at all. I ran thin cyano all round the to secure them and then mixed up an epoxy and micro balloons fillet to securely hold the pins in place.

The anti-rotation pins were then covered in vaseline and the stabs placed back on the fuselage. The plywood support discs were then drilled out to 6.5mm, coated with a thick layer of aeropoxy and placed over the pins and onto the fuselage walls. They are easily reached through the canopy opening. I left these overnight praying that the vaseline would work i.e. stop the pins getting glued into place. The next morning the aeropoxy had cured rock hard yet the stabs gently slid out - phew!!

Next up were the stab retaining bolts. First of all I placed the carbon tube in position in one of the stabs and marked the centre line to ensure I would drill in the correct place. I drilled a 2.5mm hole 105mm from the root through the skin, the plywood support, the glassfibre sleeve and the carbon tube itself. Without moving anything I tapped the hole with a 3mm tap. The hole was then enlarged with a 6mm drill my hand up to the plywood. This allows the bolt head to tighten up against the ply rather than squash the skin.

The tube's centre line was then marked on the other stab and the stabs mounted back onto the fuselage. With both halves firmly butted up against the fuse, I drilled a 2.5mm hole and followed the same procedure e.g. tapping and recessing for the bolt head.

The final task, and to ensure some security, was to offer the bolt something a little more substantial to screw into. I cut down a 3mm captive nut and placed it inside the stab tube, thoroughly greased the 3mm bolt and screwed it in so as to hold the captive nut in place. I then used a thick paste of epoxy and micro balloons to glue the captive nut in place. Once dry, the greased bolt was easily removed. Do not forget to grease the bolt!!!

I always leave the stab tube bolted in place into one of the stab halves. If you don't do this you will spend hours at the field each time trying to line the bolt holes up in both stabs. With it left in one, it is simply a case of sliding the other stab on and everything is aligned ready for the bolt to secure everything in place.

The stabs were now finished.

I followed exactly the same procedure I used for the stab anti-rotation pins which worked a treat. Just remember to grease the pins before gluing the plywood support discs in otherwise you'd end with a right problem!!

I started by scuffing up the phenolic rudder 'hinges' and pressing them into the balsa fin post. Next I tested their alignment by placing the rudder on them and sliding the metal hinge pin in place. This confirmed they were nicely aligned but highlighted a lack of movement. This was put down to the narrow slots in the leading edge of the rudder restricting the movement. These slots were elongated with a small file resulting in almost 60 degrees of movement! Happy with this, I cyano'd the phenolic hinges into the balsa post and the placed a fillet of aeropoxy around the base of each 'hinge'.

I placed the rudder horn in place in the rudder, making sure it was square and that the arms protruded the same distance from the hinge pin on both sides. I marked the horn both sides, top and bottom and when removed, scuffed it thoroughly for a better key for the glue. I aeropoxied the horn in place and allowed everything to dry overnight before continuing.

I built up the rudder tray and fitted a JR DS8411 servo with the SWB Mfg. 3" double arm. Don't forget the ply servo support underneath the tray to absorb the power of this servo and the forces it will generate in flight.

Next up I fitted the rudder/rudder post to the fuselage. I sanded the fuselage area where the rudder post was going and attached the rudder to the rudder post using the hinge wire. Next I attached a strip of 1mm ply to the top of the fin so as to get a nice square gap between the fin and rudder and mixed up a batch of epoxy and micro balloons. The fuselage and fin post were glued in place and everything taped and clamped in position until everything was dry.

Finally, I installed the pull-pull system. I used a 3" SWB Mfg metal arm and some of their neat pull-pull adjusters. These have a left and right hand thread that allows you to tighten up or slacken off the tension without having to undo any clevises - very handy! I have shown the positions of the pull-pull exit slots in case it helps you when you come to try and position yours. The final job was to glass the rudder tray in place which I did with the supplied cloth and some laminating resin. When cured, I shall snip off the excess/wayward strands to tidy it up.