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Regarding aileron and elevator gaps - one thing to keep in mind is that you might change the control forces by tailoring the amount of gap near full deflection. This could be good or bad depending upon what you want.

The latest Pitts aircraft use a narrowing aileron gap near full deflection to reduce the effort required by the pilot to get full deflection. I believe it has something to do with the forward edge of the aileron deflecting above (or below) the wing contour and experiencing a suction from the airflow. Carefully tailoring the wing/aileron gap allows the aileron forces to be reduced. This replaces the spades that you often see on the bottom side of ailerons on many aerobatic competition ships.

Paul Klusman

LML website:   http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html
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Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com.