Oct 27, 2004     Building the elevator trim tab was a challenge! - (20 hours)       Category: Empennage

The trm tab attached with a long hinge to the aft of the elevator was indeed a challenge. There was such little access space inside the tab that at times proved difficult to rivet properly. Note again the dark green "Navy" two-part epoxy primer paint. Although we don't intend our Sportsman to ever be on floats, we went ahead and primed inside and outside of all the three major components of the tail assembly (aka empennage).

  Aug 11, 2004     Building the elevator, a major part of the Tail Kit - (100 hours)       Category: Empennage

Riveting the elevator parts together was educational, to say the least! We had two manual rivet squeezers, but we also borrowed two pneumatic squeezers from Terry Simons who had an amazing array of tools to build his GlaStar. You'll note in these photos the two-part epoxy "Navy" primer we used by Sherwin-Williams. Great paint, but we realized, not the best color. In the future, if you try to look inside with a flashlight and mirrors to check on corrosion, or for any other reason, the dark green color greatly absorbs the light. It would have been wiser to pick a light color, maybe a light gray or even white. Therefore, we didn't use this primer anywhere else on the Sportsman.