Hey guys!

After about a year of building 601 HDS, I decided to buy a completed one to get in the air faster. My "new' plane had flown a few hundred hours in Canada, was de-registered and trailered to the US (by the previous owner), where it has not yet been registered...let the paperwork begin!

Over the weekend, I was able to trailer the plane back home, and after a 7 hour drive, I only had one issue...a cracked skin on the elevator. I think something must have happened to the trim servo because the trim tab is able to deflect without any resistance. It seems as though the trim tab was probably flailing in the wind and the arm of the trim servo was smacking the top side of the elevator skin, causing the crack. The inspection cover to the trim servo is riveted on, or I would've inspected the servo already...but I digress. I've attached a photo of the damage, but the crack is about 2" long and propagates from near the trailing edge of the elevator. 

I read through an EAA article about crack repair on skins and it seams like the accepted method to fix a crack like this is pretty straightforward:

-stop drill the crack

-clean up the area and rivet a piece of aluminum over the crack.

Here's the EAA article:

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/homebu...

Does this seem like the best way to fix the problem?

Spam alert, the aforementioned 601 HDS project is about 70% done, and it's for sale! 

Thanks for your help!

Chad