Apologies everyone - an oversight on my part!
I thought I'd update you before anyone repeats my mistake of checking the
tailplane balance outside the aircraft.
Even with the errors induced by the control system friction - it is indeed
best to balance the tailplane in the fuselage rather than outside. The
reason for this is not because of the elevator pushrod and joystick, which
don't contribute to the static balance, but because of the trim pushrod and
cross tube assembly - which do, to a surprising extent.
Once the trim drive pushrod weight was added to the tab pins at the back, 58
of the 78 grams removed from the mass balance had to be added back to regain
balance.
I will definitely be doing a final balance re-check once everything is
re-assembled on the fuselage!
Best regards
Roger Mills
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