Author Archives: Michael Carter

About Michael Carter

Programmer, Pilot/Builder and Amateur Radio enthusiast living in the Bay Area of California.

Riveting hstab rear spar

Posted on 01/03/2021 by Michael Carter

After sorting out the rear spar elevator notches, we started riveting using the NEW pneumatic riveter! It took a while to get here, but I’m really glad we spent the money for it. It made quick work of riveting the … Continue reading →

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Dreaded notches!

Posted on 01/02/2021 by Michael Carter

Early on in the process, I noticed this note on the plans, which calls for trimming a couple notches out of the rear spars in order to give the elevator horns enough room to move to their bottom stops. This … Continue reading →

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Finally got some painting done!

Posted on 12/27/2020 by Michael Carter

Finally! FINALLY!! We finally got to a point in the project where the next step was, “Prime, if desired…” I’ve been a bit apprehensive about spray painting. First off, I’ve never done it before. Secondly, I’m using a particularly toxic … Continue reading →

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Primer prepping

Posted on 12/14/2020 by Michael Carter

It’s been kind of slow these past couple weeks. The weather is getting cooler, and weather is starting to become an issue. This past weekend I had planned to prime the parts we’ve been working on, but it turned out … Continue reading →

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Primer has arrived!

Posted on 12/02/2020 by Michael Carter

The primer’s here! I ordered the AKZO military-green primer for the internal parts, which I intend on spraying on. I’ve been considering different options, but the AKZO primer has won out. Fortunately there are a lot of YouTube videos out … Continue reading →

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New Dimpler

Posted on 12/02/2020 by Michael Carter

So last weekend we started dimpling the horizontal stabilizer skins with the Whack-a-Mole dimpler (C-frame dimpler). To be honest, I wasn’t happy with the results. To use it, you place the hole in the skin atop the male dimple die, … Continue reading →

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Hand squeezing at home

Posted on 11/27/2020 by Michael Carter

We brought home all the pieces of the horizontal stabilizer that needed to be dimpled so that we could do it from the comfort of the couch! Dimpling is the process of forming dimples in the metal so that they … Continue reading →

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Prime Time

Posted on 11/25/2020 by Michael Carter

It’s getting close to priming! We’re about done with the first part of the horizontal stabilizer, and the instructions are calling for priming. Exciting! Well, in a gut-wrenching, nervous kinda way. So, I’ve never spray painted anything before, unless you … Continue reading →

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It’s getting nippy!

Posted on 11/25/2020 by Michael Carter

It’s a chilly Thanksgiving eve, at least by California standards. Our hangar is constructed of single-wall metal panels, with lots of seams, gaps and holes. It’s basically a sieve. Since we plan on working through winter, in order to keep … Continue reading →

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Let the deburring begin!

Posted on 11/25/2020 by Michael Carter

Now that we’ve disassembled the horizontal stab parts, it’s time to prep them for riveting! WOOHOO! Unfortunately, this is one of the most tedious and time consuming parts of the project…and one that will be repeated a LOT… 1) deburr, … Continue reading →

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