I met Fred Jiran around 1966 when he made the rounds of U.S. owners modifying the early Diamants for Swiss manufacturer FFA. Among the details he fixed for my father's 15M HBV was the actuator horn on the elevator. After we put the big horizontal tail on the first time, we couldn't remove it. It wouldn't come off for weeks. Made for interesting trailering on a converted open 1-26 trailer with the tail hiked up in the air. With instructions from the factory, we were finally able to use a piece of string held by one person to pull the actuator aft while a second person gently wiggled the stab just so until it released. But Fred ground off a bit of metal and eliminated the need for the string. I don't know what else had to be done but in retrospect, it was a great idea to dispatch an expert repair person around the country (world) to make needed mods. I heard Fred decided to stay and saw that he eventually set up shop out West.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.