DISTRICT 7
California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah
Hinges: you need to be sure your hinge lines are centered. This means that NO PART of a moveable surface (rudder, elevator, aileron) will stick up above the surface where the hinges are cut. Why? it will cause drag and the plane will yaw and it will cause air turbulence over the surface - which will all need to be trimmed later - just fix it now. Over the years I have done my best to install hinges in the center of a surface, only to have to shim the hinge on final installation because it was not centered. Be critical here.. don't let any surface protrude above the surface it's mating to. Once you are satisified with your hinges, seal the hinge gap so no air can get through. I typically use monokote of the same color, but flexible tape will work as well, and hold it in place with a small ruller while I monokote it in place.

Surfaces: Almost nothing bothers me more than a moveable surface that is not flat! The picture shows an elevator half that is not sanded flat, you can see how the left side has a gap between the straight edge and the elevator. Put a straight edge on your movable surfaces and see if they were sanded straight / level. I have not found many planes where this is the case.. if you think yours is 'good', check it again as I bet it's not. There are a few ways to correct any problems - 1) sand the surface so it's straight - you may have to remove covering if you have an ARF, but the time will be worth it in the long run. 2) You can build up the surface using tape or monokote. I have done this several times in the past with good results.

Alignment: I typically use the planes fixed vertical fin as the reference. If your fix is not fixed, and you have to glue it in place, try to get it as square to the fuselage as possible.. all other measurements will be referenced to this vertical fin. With the fin in place, set the stab in position, measure from a center point somewhere up the fuselage, perhaps by the canopy or near the engine area. Get as close as you can to the center of the fuselage, within 1/32" is fine. Don't necessarily rely on the seam to be the center line. Measure to each side of the stab, several times. This will set the fore-aft position of the stab. Now measure to the top of the fin to each side of the stab.. this will set the 90 degree portion. Always eyeball just to be sure. When you have this done, glue the stab in place. Your wing will reference off the stab now, so be sure you are very close to perfect. Put the wing in the saddle and check for parallel with the stab. I've always had to shim my wing a little to get it perfectly parallel. Once you are parallel, make measurements to the stab ends and get each side dead on. Do this MANY times to be sure before you set the wing in place. I have always used what I will call a 'floating alignment'. I will enlarge (drill out) any wing mounting screw holes and place a perfectly fit screw/bearing in this enlarged hole. Put the wing in place, adjust per the above, then when perfect, w/o removing the wing, glue down the bearing part.. when dry, remove the screws and remove the wing. Now finish gluing the wing bearings in place, adding epoxy as necessary. Now you are assured of a wing that will always be aligned.