I started my build with the tail plane, the idea being I can get my eye in and if I lunch it, a recut would be less of a bent to the wallet than a set of wing ribs and skin!
Stb ruddervator 1st off the plan, followed by the Port one. Eye mostly in.
Bit of doubling ready for the hinges - This was my 1st moment of insecurity: allowing for the skin, the LE and TE were still higher than where the skin would end up. Eventually I worked up the courage to assume it would need to be sanded back to profile, hence the doublers look way taller than needed in the pic.
Skinning was a non event, but the next step had its own set of nerves. The TE is a combination of stock TE and additional stock to fill in a narrow wedge as the chord increases towards the fuse / root. In the end, some odd bin stock was glued and with the aid of some packing tape (to protect the TE that didn't yet need adjustment) and a (Messrs. Heath, Robinson patented) flat sanding sheet did the job.
A quick trace of the plan, cut to a template and then attacked with the bandsaw resulted in the desired plan form control surface. This was marked and then fettled with a block plane borrowed from the other side of the workshop to get the root to tip taper correct, with suitable graduation along the profile.
Meanwhile the balance tabs were formed from two cross grain thicker balsa sheet offcuts. (Looks like the LE had seen some profile work by this point too!) The tabs were rebated to match the bevelled profile of the TE and to offer a larger surface area for the joint.
Next up, the balance tabs* were blended to the control surface / TE profile in the same packing tape masked / sanded way. Then the LE / body of the tab was profiled to match its ruddervator. (Here's a before and after)
1st side done, boundary between the ruddervator and the balance tab was faced with 0.4mm ply
And its pair.
Hand aligned, I'm happy with the two faces, they will be straight and close by the time the hinges get involved.
A pair of ruddervators.
The servo hatches have also been cut on the rear. Servos will be HiTech HS-125MGs all round unless anyone else has any thoughts?
*Balance tabs - not sure what the name of the bit ahead of the hinge is called on a "horn balanced" surface (I've never heard it called a horn!) and balance tabs tend to be on the TE...
n.b. happy to shift to a sep. thread to avoid hijack if the powers that be prefer?
Marc.