First step was to remove the 5-min epoxy from the elevators that was used to hold the bottom surface of the elevators flat on the bench while the top skin was being applied.
Using a dremel sanding wheel, this was done in a few minutes...
The left elevator (sitting upside down on my bench) had the original (per Roncz plans) torque tube. Since I am installing the Cozy Girls elevator offsets, the left elevator torque tube needs to be cut flush with the inboard surface (equal to the right elevator). I believe the Cozy Girls instructions say to "hold on to this piece and use it as your center spool piece"... however, I noticed that if I did that, the piece leftover would not be long enough. Which is odd given that my fuselage is built per plans.
You can see in this picture the Cozy Girls offsets with a new center spool piece... and the original "per plans" elevator torque tube. It is clear to see that I wouldn't be able to use the original as my center spool piece.
Any who, moving forward... I brought the left elevator to my bandsaw... and cut the torque tube flush with the inboard face...
It is import to note that while the left and right elevators are now cut to the same lengths, they are not equal... as the spacing between the NC2 inserts must align with the hard-points located inside the canard. So I labeled them "left" and "right" to make sure I wouldn't get the two elevators mixed up.
Next I needed to mill out the fiberglass covering the NC2 insert pockets... one of the benefits of using Aeropoxy as my resin is that it cures pretty transparent... allowing me to see where the pockets were...
Just to make it clearer, I used a pencil to mark the pocket perimeter...
I used a dremel to notch out the bulk of the pocket...
And a metal file to sand the edges flush with the NC2 pocket...
Taaaa-daaaa! Pocket complete! I then repeated this for all remaining pockets...
I then focused on the elevator outboard ends.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I didn't take pictures of this step, but it is important to bring the elevators up against the canard and align the NC2 inserts in the elevator with the hard-points embedded inside the canard. Once I was happy with the alignment, I trimmed the elevator outboard ends so that I would have 0.1" clearance between the elevator outboard end and the canard end (what will eventually be the canard tips).
With the elevator outboard ends trimmed to proper length... I squared up the ends with a sanding block...
I then prepped the outboard ends for a flox corner all around...
One ply bid at 45 ready to go...
Even though the plans don't specify this, I added a layer of grease around the inside of the torque tube.. I figured a bit of epoxy is sure to ooze down the torque tube during this layup... might as well protect it from adhering to the torque tube walls.. I should have also created a "plug" with a paper towel just in case epoxy dropped down to one of the NC2 inserts. Luckily this didn't happen to me but something I thought about while this layup cured...
Applied flox to the flox corner...
At this point, I realized it would be a lot easier to stand the elevators vertical and let gravity be my friend...
Notice the clamps on the worktable making sure the elevators do not slide off...
Top view... showing the simple 1-ply BID layup...
After cure, I used a razor blade to trim around the perimeter...
And then sanded it flush...
It was now time to trim the outboard end torque tube hole...
I used a dremel...
And then a blade to scrape the epoxy off the walls... the grease was a great idea and made this step super easy!
Here I am test fitting NC6 to make sure I scraped all the epoxy off the walls...
And there you have it! The elevator outboard ends are ready to receive their NC6 inserts!
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