For what it is worth, the issues you have had are a definite reminder of the Cessna I purchased a few years back. That is why I "INSISTED" they replace the entire airframe. I don't understand how it is that every piece of these arf's are built on an assembly line "in" jigs. And yet, so many parts of one will not fit any other airframe. I think that is why I appreciate Pilot RC planes so much. It doesn't matter if you take a "Crown Royal" Edge wing from a third run and install it on a first "X" run of an Olympic Scheme. They simply match. Thinking back when I rebuilt the entire front half of the Big Yak, Some of the parts were not "EXACT" location parts. In that for just one example, the rudder servo tray in the middle of the fuse was dropped into the belly of the fuse. Most of the parts were identical, some were slightly different. But....."BUT", everything lined up absolutely perfectly. Where the fuse halves met and joined was also a tad different. But again, perfect alignment. Someone was definitely doing some forward thinking when they revised the cad drawings. Anyway point is, you seriously have had some bad luck with this airframe. And the biggest pit fall is that you are as anal and meticulous as I am. The normal guy would probably just "slap" this thing together and fly it the way it was. From the looks of what is going on, I highly doubt an entire new airframe would be any better than what you have. But getting different "better" parts are certainly proving to work out better for you. If I were going to tackle the rudder issue Doug, I seriously would cut out "ALL" the hinges from the fuse and the new rudder. An old hot soldering iron works slick as snot for this. Then you can align it back up with the exact number of hinges you want and "boom", DONE. As for the hinges.... latest revision Pilot RC flat pin hinges are the way to go. And I'd bet Tony would get you hooked up in a heart beat. That is just the kind of guy he is.
Your servo set up on your ailerons looks awesome. Hangar 9 really does do a good job with at least this part of the assembly. The steps I make in tuning in Hitec servos: Just like you, set your E.P.A's. on each servo with your programmer first and foremost. With your radio tuned to give 150% travel. If using the same channel for both servos, then you simply tune "down" your "E.P.A's" in your radio I rarely if ever touch my "travel volumn". From this point you can "fine" tune each servo at the turnbuckle to remove any minor servo noise. If using separate channels for each aileron servo, (My ultimate favorite setup) you can adjust each servo individually and with a ton more precision. Same process as before except when you get to the programming in your radio, you can increase or decrease incrementally each setting that you want to change. Trim step is also a very nice feature. My A9X has adjustable "subtrim" step trim programming. Which means I can change the value of the "trim step" for each individual servo. Once the total throw of each aileron servo is set...(Works great for dual elevator servos and push/pull rudder servos as well) you simply go to your trim step and increase or decrease the value so that when you set your end point adjustments, the fine tuning of the trim step takes over and almost never do you have to keep turning turn buckles.
Hope this helps a little. Hang in there. I know you well enough from what I have seen that you are not going to be doing anything half assed. It will be perfect as possible, as you always do.
Rob
