So…not a ton of detail to provide tonight, despite this being a solid two-hour work session. Basically, what I did was install the control column + sticks into the fuselage, and then rig up the pushrods all the way back to the elevators. Seems straightforward, but there was definitely some tedium to be found here. In general, it was annoying working leaning over the side of the fuselage (really makes me miss being able to roll the fuselage with the rotisserie), and in addition to that, there are some interesting limited access spots, oh, and it’s just dealing with things designed to move around.
In the end, while I got everything hooked up, there’s a lot of slop in the system, because I didn’t go to the trouble of installing all the proper spacer washers on rod ends, or of torquing down any of those connecting bolts – I just threaded them through and put a nut on to keep anything from falling out. Since the point of all this rigging is to get the pushrods adjusted properly, and to set up the elevator up/down stops, I think I need to do all this the right way…even though it’s going to be highly annoying.
I did reward myself after all this was done bye installing the forward seat floor and front seat, then throwing in a lawn chair cushion so I could climb in and make airplane noises:
And I figured a short video of the sticks moving the elevators was worth capturing: