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Three Questions I Need Help With

schaplerrh

Well Known Member
Sponsor
1. Do I need to paint the underside of my RV7? I polish the metal topsides but leave the bottom of undersides of the wings, fuselage and tail feathers as is. I’m planning on having topside trim painting done next year, and was thinking about having the underside painted “silver” that will closely match the polished surfaces. But lately I’ve been rethinking the need (and expense) of painting the undersides. I hanger the plane within the DC Metro area so humidity is always a consideration. Still, aside from appearances, is there any real reason to paint the undersides? Ivan, feel free to jump in here….

2. Has anyone reshaped the RV7 control stick to allow for my crotch room and to move the grip forward for better confront for us long-armed pilots? I’ve thought about just bending the stick some at the base, bending an arc akin to the 12, cutting and welding a zig-zag near the base, etc. I don’t want to tackle changing the way the stick currently mounts at the base so whatever I do will have to be to the stick itself. I should add that I doubt that I have the expertise and/or necessary equipment to do any of this so I’ll need to reach out to the community for help building/bending whatever way I decide to go, unless there is someone who already sells modified sticks.

3. This question relates somewhat to question 2, above. I just noticed that he pilot-side (left) stick is 1” OD however the passenger-side (right) stick is 7/8” OD. Is this standard?
 
1. I "lightly" (one pass with the orbital, one with the cyclo) polished the bottom of my wings only during the initial polish, it's been 8 years now with only wiping the bottom down once a year during condition inspection and I have no corrosion. I wouldn't think it would be an issue to just leave it.

2. I think one concern with your plan is clearance to the panel for full control movements. For reference: I'm 6'4" and refuse to wear any shirt that isn't "tall" for my long arms and have no issues with comfort with the straight stick.

3. I don't recall that, I know I have the same bicycle grip on each of my control sticks so I think they were the same size when I got them ~2008; or maybe the rubber just stretched to accommodate the extra 1/8.
 
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1" left and 7/8" right is standard.

The difference in stick diameter is because the left (1") is permanent welded to the control column while the right is inserted into a 1" 'socket' which is basically a very short stick......
 
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question 3

Motor cycle grips are often different sizes Lt to Rt like this also for mounting throttle controls.
Control stick grip manufactures usually offer adapters to accomodate these 2 diameters.
Decide on your stick grip FIRST before bending & cutting your control sticks as some manufactures offer a built in grip angle.
 
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