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I have Infinity grips front & back with switches as shown on the cockpit placards below.
Also have an enable/disable switch on the side console to kill the back stick. I ended up completely disconnecting the flap switch from the rear stick so no one could "accidentally" drop the flaps when the rear stick was enabled. Probably the only really useful switch in the back is the PTT in case the pilot becomes incapacitated and possibly the trim if the rear seater is flying & controlling the throttle. The grip looks cool though. I like the boost pump on the stick especially on approach as I don't have to take my hand off the stick or throttle. Same with the flap switch on roll out and approach. With the flap switch so close to the trim though you have to be careful not to hit the flap switch down when trimming nose up by mistake or brain fart. Doing this gets your attention pretty quick though - ask me how I know. I've never used the comm repeat yet - a frequency flip/flop or some other future function would be more useful here. |
Do you really need extra controls on the stick top??
Just to be a little contrary..... when I wanted to put extra controls on my Infinity stick top, my advisors - all ex-Air Force pilots fell around laughing and shouted ?wannabe...? at me.
Their attitude was that HOTAS was for time critical functions. Important on a bombing run, maybe not for a burger run. So - starter? Very bad idea. With a n enable/kill switch - complexity, wiring, and anyway why?? Flaps? Bad idea. Inadvertent activation - one of my advisors had found himself inadvertently deploying flaps mid-spin. AP disconnect, radio flip flop, fuel pump? Well ok but again, it?s wiring and complexity. Smoke well just about, given the moments you might want it on. So now, I have only trim and PTT. Everything else is on the left, flaps and fuel pump just ahead of the throttle, radio and transponder also on the left so I never need to take my right hand off the stick. I know we all wanted to fly F-16s -15-s etc etc, and some of us do or did. So I?m curious to know - how many former Air Force or navy pilots here have extra stick top functions and feel that they are critical or even necessary for easy and safe operation? Just my thoughts. Chris |
Roll trim
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I fail to understand concerns about a start button on the grip. Yes, it needs to be wired through a separate start arming switch. It is trivial to wire the arming circuit so it flashes a big red LED on the panel; only blind pilots would fly around with the system armed. I'm not worried about bystanders arming the system, because first they would have to turn on the master switch, then find the arm switch. It's hidden, which is also a minor theft deterrent.
Obvious benefit is that I always start with the stick full back. |
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As an example, Piper put the gear up warning horn and light on some models of Arrows (and perhaps others, not sure)...and still people manage to land them gear up. You start the plane ONCE per flight (in theory)...why complicate things and introduce needless risk? |
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The big red light is "Gear Unsafe". It illuminates when the gear is in transit during normal operations. Put another way, the system teaches the pilot to ignore the light, as it lights with every cycle of the gear, up or down. Meanwhile, the real warning light is down by the throttle. It is amber, and is intended to remind the pilot that he locked out the automatic gear extension system. Again, we have a "teach to ignore", as a pilot flies with the light flashing for extended periods during a checkout, or while doing practice airwork. Can't do a gear up stall or emergency glide any other way, including the classic training power chop on downwind. You know what happens next. Contrast with a start arm light. The system is only activated on the ground. There is no reason for it to be armed after start. You have an opportunity to catch it at the runup pad, in a visual scan or on a checklist. Last, there is no critical failure. Worst case is a ruined ring gear. Where is the risk? In return, all starts are stick back...fuel injected 390 in a tailwheel 8. Plenty of pilots do a crappy hot start two-handed, throttle WOT, mixture in ICO, with the stick sorta held between their knees. |
Dan, can you elaborate on the importance of holding the still full back? I don't have much experience in a tail wheel aircraft aside from my spin training in a Decathlon. I don't remember that being part of the start sequence. The majority of my time was in 172's and Warriors with a smattering of Mooney and Cirrus.
Is this something specific for a tail dragger? |
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Anybody can do what they want, and far from me to argue about it with them. I just think there's a better way. I also have an injected engine, and I have zero problems with hot starts *without* going WOT. It's a -7A, though, so, you know... :) Just my .02. |
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