Tonight I riveted together the servo and the cover plate. The cover plate screws into the bottom of the left elevator, attaching to the plate nuts on the reinforcement plate. The servo is attached to the cover by two C channels, which sit on either side of the servo and orient it correctly. This was a quick and easy step, except for the countersinking of the plate. I spent some time enduring I had my countersink set correctly, because the plate is right at the minimum thickness for countersinking. I’m fairly happy with the way it came out, although one of the rivets is sitting very slightly proud of the plate. I’m not sure why that happened, but it’s not an issue.
With that done, I went ahead and removed the backing on the elevator trailing edges, and set weighted boards on each. Letting this bind overnight will help ensure the edge stays straight. I’m using a shelving support C channel from Home Depot to keep the edges straight. This channel has holes that are perfect for clecoing, and allow you to keep a very straight edge, while the tape’s glue sets overnight. I also added a weighted board to hold it down flat.
