Van's Air Force
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RV-8 Rear Stick Length
- Thread starter ten4teg
- Start date
G
Geoff
Very short
My advice would be to wait for the front seat and then cut the stick to fit. I thought I cut my stick correctly the first time, but I had to recut it later. I bought seats from Classic Aero Designs and the front seat came pre-made with an integral support structure. In addition, it had a pocket on the back side of it that interfered with the stick -- especially if I put something in the pocket. You also have to factor in what kind of button (if any) or grip you're going to put on top of the stick.
The rear stick ended up being so short that it's almost impractical to use, other than to let passengers fly the plane for brief periods of time.
I'll measure it today and report back tonight.
My advice would be to wait for the front seat and then cut the stick to fit. I thought I cut my stick correctly the first time, but I had to recut it later. I bought seats from Classic Aero Designs and the front seat came pre-made with an integral support structure. In addition, it had a pocket on the back side of it that interfered with the stick -- especially if I put something in the pocket. You also have to factor in what kind of button (if any) or grip you're going to put on top of the stick.
The rear stick ended up being so short that it's almost impractical to use, other than to let passengers fly the plane for brief periods of time.
I'll measure it today and report back tonight.
tonyjohnson
Well Known Member
stick bend?
Geoff,
I also have the aero classic auto style seats. I have not yet installed them so your post was the first that I have heard about the problem of interference with the aft stick.
Do you think it would help to put a bend in the stick?
Geoff,
I also have the aero classic auto style seats. I have not yet installed them so your post was the first that I have heard about the problem of interference with the aft stick.
Do you think it would help to put a bend in the stick?
G
Geoff
It's not a problem, per se, but the back of the seat with fabric and a pocket is definitely thicker than the stock seat back which is just a piece of metal.
A bend might help, but you also have to be careful with the aft seat bottom. If I put a spacer under the aft seat cushion to raise it up, the stick contacts the cushion when it's full aft and full deflection left or right.
The aft stick has to be cut down no matter what seats you install -- the question is how much to cut it.
All of these variables are what makes me say to forget about the aft stick until the plane's done. Heck, you don't even need the aft stick installed to fly the thing. It's very easy to install and remove with just one bolt holding it in. You can spend your time worrying about details forever and never get the plane in the air, or you can put off the stuff that is easily taken care of later and concentrate on bigger things.
Rick6a
Well Known Member
I'm facing the same problem right now. There are two complications that are immediately apparent mainly because my workspace does not have enough physical space to be able to install the tail group. #1. I am installing a second Infinity grip so the rear seat stick will have to be cut down somewhat to clear the back of the front seat. The grip's wire bundle must be run through the stick so putting off installing the grip till later will only make it much harder to retrofit, run, and hook up its wiring. #2. Without the tail group installed, it is difficult to determine exactly what is the limit of forward stick travel before the elevator stop is contacted.
I included this picture to show the forward limit of stick travel without the tail group installed. Right now, at full forward deflection the grip is pretty much directly underneath the spanwise brace that is located a few inches forward of the instrument panel. So my question is this: How far forward will the stick really travel before it contacts the elevator stop? Knowing the answer to that question will help me determine (to some ballpark extent) how much to cut down the rear seat stick.
G
Geoff
Stick travel
With full down elevator, the center of my forward stick ends up just underneath the aft-facing flange on that span-wise support beam.
My aft stick measures 9 inches from the top of the WD-412A weldment (thing the stick slides into) to the top of the stick grip (not the top of the stick itself -- the grip makes the stick longer). This gives about 1 inch of clearance between the stick and the front seat at full forward travel. If I put a fat book in the seat pocket, the stick would hit it.
I forgot to take the camera to the hangar today. If you need pictures, I'll take some later this week and post them.
With full down elevator, the center of my forward stick ends up just underneath the aft-facing flange on that span-wise support beam.
My aft stick measures 9 inches from the top of the WD-412A weldment (thing the stick slides into) to the top of the stick grip (not the top of the stick itself -- the grip makes the stick longer). This gives about 1 inch of clearance between the stick and the front seat at full forward travel. If I put a fat book in the seat pocket, the stick would hit it.
I forgot to take the camera to the hangar today. If you need pictures, I'll take some later this week and post them.
