Methods and apparatus for maintaining pressure gain in a servovalve assembly

A servovalve assembly comprising:

• a housing defining a port;
• a sleeve assembly having:
• a sleeve coupled to the housing, the sleeve defining a bore, a first metering aperture, and a second metering aperture, the sleeve having a blocking element oriented between the first metering aperture and the second metering aperture, both the first metering aperture and the second metering aperture leading to the port defined by the housing, and
• a spool disposed within the bore defined by the sleeve, the spool having a first land and a second land, the first land and the second land defining a channel oriented between the first land and the second land;
• and
• a motor coupled to the housing and coupled to the spool, the motor configured to position the spool within the bore (i) in a substantially null position where the first land substantially covers the first metering aperture, the second land substantially covers the second metering aperture, and the blocking element substantially covers the channel to minimize flow of a fluid from the channel to the port and (ii) in a substantially open position where the first land and the second land allow flow of the fluid through the port.