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RV8 Bent Stick

Scott Hersha

Well Known Member
OK, I’m trying the google photo sharing instruction on this site to see if I can get it to work. I have the app on my iPad because my son in law, who is an excellent photographer, uses google to post pics of my grandchildren in a shared album. The instructions say something about right clicking on the photo, which of course you can’t do on an iPad, so I’m experimenting. My link looks too short to be right, but I won’t know until I try to post it.

This is a pic of my modified bent (welded) front stick on my new RV8 that I’m building.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cA0KnZCs7M4PgTrD2

Wow!! It looks like it works! The stick is offset 2 inches and the offset clears the front edge of the seat pan. Some of the top of the stick will be removed when I install my infinity grip, but there’s still plenty of room for it to clear the bottom of the IP and in the full forward position it doesn’t reach the gear tower cross brace. Cut angle is 65 degrees - 2 cuts 2.3 inches apart. That cut off piece makes the offset piece - rotated making the upper and lower parts parallel.
 
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nice welding jig ...
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Not Scott, but this is on top of my list of things to get done. I'm not tall and my arms aren't long, so when I'm hand flying the plane, I have my right arm extended in a way that is not conducive to a long session. What this would do for me is allow me to rest my arm on my leg and fly the plane with my fingers instead of having my arm stuck straight out.
 
OK Scott, I gotta ask----What does this bent stick do for you? Would I want one?:cool:

I've been trying to work this out for myself and answer the question:

Presently the stick I have in my -8 is too short. Because of this the web between my thumb and forefinger will hit the Flaps Down button if I'm not careful. Also when I grip the stick my forefinger will occasionally hit the PTT.
my little finger never touches the stick as my arm is at a decided down angle.

I have about 1.75" of clearance between the underside of the instrument panel and the top of the present stick. So I could add a little less than that much to the stick height.

If that 1.75" is not enough to alleviate the grip issue then there's no recourse except to bend the stick. But bending the stick 2 inches will make no difference at all because it will still go under the panel. By making a PCV mock up I concluded that I need to bend the stick back 4" in order to raise the stick height above the bottom edge of the panel and prevent it from hitting the panel.

So I'm not certain what bending the stick 2" back does.

Van's makes curved sticks for other planes - will one of those fit in an -8?
 
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I have a stick exactly like that and it works great. Way more comfortable for me to fly with and when flying inverted it?s an easy push. I too am blessed with arms shorter than an orangutan.
 
I have a stick exactly like that and it works great. Way more comfortable for me to fly with and when flying inverted it’s an easy push. I too am blessed with arms shorter than an orangutan.

Ah ok so the main benefit of the 2" adjustment seems to be to place the stick in a comfy position when at/near neutral. I understand that now.
 
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I'm really impressed with how the welding could be accomplished without damaging the paint...... ;)
Cold fusion.

As for the -8 stick, after 3 tries, I have a good config that's high enough and set back enough to be comfortable. But as Scott shows, it has to be cut and welded. Bending won't get it there.

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Cold fusion.

As for the -8 stick, after 3 tries, I have a good config that's high enough and set back enough to be comfortable. But as Scott shows, it has to be cut and welded. Bending won't get it there.

CbnxhMgNgVdHxANJe4b8c2ayJu-yt5zjWJG694ja8tGNXXCtio-tPlG60AmvRtyNEfwjVyeGnP08na9C6kyxKOhghFi_F7ojWFEq0ydOT9LU3A9fHd4ITvvJpqvwMoEKXY8RmZjl_BdCizsVDailHUvW-EHyL7sSOkckZ1TlD-4G-1D8SyXmi4jJrzgOEtm9Wc9pRjGVhZPSD2ybtVPEskUcBUipQVynPqVbJ0S_H20vyvDW6SeeQ9Vf4T7sZ_q4V8FEecvHqZDz0DNT0-4LXvYljjiZBGLR_nEYmoDbdZ-8_GJKNtAWgVfJLmBPr_xcRPxogX8dmRkSNnX2fBMFra0nHEoyDbMTCdRWccKmlM_OOLVbBaD7iIn7ksGkR5u4tqQKB_bczqOcnAorYjfZGDv443V-0Vi5vRgmMEgPoX7ca1Av0K429gcOHPwpRiyIxj71gO8llJYLTW4c2FbdLsesh68lR9ZXLdTYeJP9t5OV5Xjn24Qm7e6MQowqa8-8pcWy1vI7aB60N8OgCPKTE0Aqo4eyHz7ozFa97a7cMgq1irqFUNMIeSbzPVTHnKpl_9BqiNVsG4CxCsik9eSkfEpTN8XWLlrx5IxxVsaNJ_dy_MCZHQgT8RmZ1Zz0t1eYHQQTTxuLzqZ5ipVJqISxzQBQdrPfOYXQ1Rg=w525-h443-no


Hi Brian,

What is the setback distance of your stick? The distance between the lines of the two vertical parts?

Thanks.
 
Hi Brian,

What is the setback distance of your stick? The distance between the lines of the two vertical parts?

Thanks.
Vertical rise from pivot to centerline of joint, ~10.5" and the run from first joint aft is ~5.5". The angle is probably ~15 degrees off perpindicular.
 
Vertical rise from pivot to centerline of joint, ~10.5" and the run from first joint aft is ~5.5". The angle is probably ~15 degrees off perpindicular.

Thanks Brian. Very helpful. Corroborates my own measurements.

My plan is to build a stick out of PVC without bends so that it passes underneath the lower edge of the panel and see if that gives me the height increase I need. If it does, I'll cut the new stick for that height and replace the old one.

If the height increase is not enough, then I'll play the cut and weld game.
 
Ah ok so the main benefit of the 2" adjustment seems to be to place the stick in a comfy position when at/near neutral. I understand that now.


I agree with you Saville about making the stick taller, mainly for better leverage as my -8 is nose heavy and aft for more comfort. I have never cared for the -8's stick ergonomics when compared to my -4, but I have learned to live with it.:mad:
 
FYI, Just keep in mind everything is a tradeoff. I tried the bent stick solution and while yes it makes straight and level very comfortable (for all the reasons mentioned) I found it ruined aerobatics and messed with my 3 point landings. Something about the position of my arm being further back reduced the leverage I got on the stick when pulling hard.

I ended up going back to the standard stick. But you can test it yourself once you are flying. (realizing that some do like it, as Jerry and others are flying with it moved back successfully).
 
Sam -
Hah! I used a cool welding technique!

The paint I used to repaint was Ford tractor paint from Tractor Supply, which I thought was supposed to be the same color as Vans powder color - clearly it isn't, but so what.

The offset stick position is more comfortable to me (and most people I think), and allows the stick to remain as tall as possible. In some RV8's, depending on how it's rigged, the full forward position of the stick will contact the gear tower cross brace, even though it clears the bottom of the IP, so it would need to be shorter usually. My stick with grip will clear the bottom of the panel by 1/2" (top of cooley hat) and not reach the cross brace. If I didn't have the offset, it would interfere with the cross brace at that length.

On my first RV8 I did this same thing and it was perfect for me. On that airplane, I built arm rests that were in a normal arm rest position, unlike the orangutan designed position that is standard on the side walls, and it was perfectly comfortable for me. I could fly with my arm on the arm rest and move the stick all the way through a full stall three point landing with my wrist. It was never in the way. You should design your airplane with what works for you. This works for me - and the guy who bought my first RV8.

I am 6'1" with a 34" sleeve length, and a short stick way down between my knees isn't comfortable. If I gain 100 pounds, all in my belly, I may have a problem.
 
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Two questions:
  1. Does anyone know, off the top of their head, what the wall thickness is of the front stick tube?
  2. Does this kind of modification, while increasing comfort, make it harder to get full aileron travel?
Thanks,
Andy
 
Two questions:
  1. Does anyone know, off the top of their head, what the wall thickness is of the front stick tube?
  2. Does this kind of modification, while increasing comfort, make it harder to get full aileron travel?
Thanks,
Andy

1. Don't know
2. Nope
 
RV-8 S Bent Stick PIREP

The original front control stick I put in my RV-8 was a stock Vans stick, with no bends and a Tosten grip. The overall height of this configuration was 13.75" from the center of the pivot mount bolt to the top of the grip. This provided approximately 3/4" clearance between the top of the stick and instrument panel and 1/2" at the gear tower cross over brace. The Tosten grip is excellent and in no way do I want to say that it is a bad design, but I will admit I did a poor job of incorporating it into my initial stick configuration. The Tosten grip requires the stick to be cut off fairly low in order for it to plug into the 1" diameter hole in the top of the stick. The Tosten grip also has a very ergonomic forward cant, however this also has the affect of moving the grip point of the grip forward vs a more vertical grip. I contacted Mike Cingari (who used to offer RV-8 stick bending services, now it is Karlo Gatdula) and had him make an "S" bent stick for me. The stick I got back had some wrinkles in the bends and I was concerned about loosing strength due to the wrinkles. Before installation, I load tested the S bent stick with 100 lbs in four directions to see if the S bent stick would fail due to the bends or wrinkles, it didn't budge at all. I figure if I have to pull more than 100 lbs while in flight, I will have other problems. The Tosten grip can no longer used since the S bent stick would have to be cut off right at the top of the bend, so I had to use a slip over type grip. I chose a 1" diameter polished wood grip form Acft Sp that had a PTT hole already drilled. I cut the S bent stick to 13.80" and this allows the slip over grip to just barely bottom out before the bottom of the grip reaches the top of the bend. In this configuration, the overall height of the stick is 14.18" tall, which clears the instrument panel by approximately 3/8", with the PTT rubber button being the highest point. Since the S bent stick moves the vertical axis of the stick about 1.75" aft, the grip doesn't come close to the gear tower cross over brace. Ergonomically, the S bent stick is much more comfortable, it allowed my to remove a seat back cushion and allows for what I think is "normal" hand / arm positioning during flight instead of a forward hunched position. A side affect was that the stick is not slightly longer and the stick forces feel a bit lighter, plus the muscle memory is different, making for a slightly odd feeling during the first test flight and acro. The combination of a 1.75" aft S bend, a more vertical grip axis and being slightly taller, all add up to a much better configuration for my RV-8. Overall, I would recommend the S bent stick to any RV-8 pilot / builder as a safe and ergonomic improvement to great design.
 
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