After a little more vacation and way too much other work interference, I got back to it for a short while. I know I won't have more time for a few weeks so fitting in a little RV work today seemed important.

First, I marked out the HS-603PP flange for a cutout to allow the elevator horns to clear. You have to do this to get the 20 to 25 degrees of down travel called for in the spec. Let's see, not enough down travel, how ya gonna recover from those spins!?

Even though I don't like the thing and didn't want to get one to begin with, I continue to find the nibbler the solution to lots of problems. Here, I was able to get in under the horn and relieve the flange area without removing the left elevator. The advantage? You can keep checking the travel as you remove material until you have removed just enough. For me that was just what I needed for 25 degrees down plus a sixteenth.

When both notches were about the right size for horn clearance, I cleaned them up with a small Scotchbrite wheel, being careful to get a little radius at the corners.

Since the notching was done quicker than I expected, I did a final install on the left elevator counterweight. That took some time. I drilled the lead weight and found it next to impossible to get out. After 30 minutes of playing with it, I got it out, countersunk the holes, cleaned it up with a file and slipped it back in. When the weight was reinstalled, I deburred and dimpled the aluminum and cut a little extra countersink into it to make sure the screw heads were slightly below level. I want to be able to make this area absolutely smooth, so I will fill over the screw heads. No, I don't intend to ever remove them. If I have to remove the screws, it will be because I am replacing the whole assembly and I won't care about the screws.

So, know I'm in the groove and ready to really get to work on this thing, but I have an appointment that I'm already late for. Ugh! Time, time, time...

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