Aileron and Flap Covering

[Mark Dickens]

I've seen some who appear to have covered the ailerons and flaps before fitting to the wings and some apparently do them at the very end of the wing build sequence. I started to begin mounting the hinge brackets to the ailerons per the plans with the intention of covering them and then stopped when I realized that this might not be appropriate until the end of the wing build. Can it be done correctly before the wing build or should I wait?

[alaskabearhawk]

You can adjust the trailing edge of the control surfaces to optically match other parts of the wing/other surfaces before they are covered.

[svyolo]

If you cover the control surfaces first, you cannot access the back side of the surface spars to fit/mount the nutplates after drilling the hinge plates. I suppose you could make access panels to have permanent access, but I don't think that is how most builders do it.

[Mark Dickens]

Thanks all...I'll wait and do it with the wings.

[robcaldwell]

Flaps and ailerons were the last two pieces that I covered.

[Mark Dickens]

That's my plan now.

[davzLSA]

As a rule of thumb I have found it is always best to fit things together that need to go together in assembly for the best results. That usually take longer to get things together but it usually makes for a better fitting assembly. And anything you do that prevents this just prolongs the process.