wiring tosten grip

[simatos]

Putting in Tosten grip, need to run wires through the stick and looks like i need a hole to thread the wires out of the stick near the pivot point. Wonder what others may have done placing a wire exit hole keeping in mind dont want to weaken the structure of the stick-pivot. Looks like also need to shorten the stick quite a bit also. Look forward to hearing ideas and approaches other have used.
Cheers Gary

[BobTurner]

I ran my wires outside, down the aft side of the stick, cable tied. You can cover the whole assembly with a leather or cloth jacket if you want it to look pretty.
I had to cut nearly the entire top 'handle' of the stick off to get the assembly the right length.

[rzbill]

Start by cutting the length of the Tosten grip off the metal stick provided by Vans.That will get you close unless you are customising the panel height. You may have to cut it again after checking for interference with all controls in all positions. I had to nip off another half inch after finding an interferance with the throttle control. BTW, your stick boot may cover the entire metal portion. Mine does.

I am not a fan of cutting holes in the stick anywhere near the pivot. In my case, I ran my Tosten wires all the way out the bottom of the stick and looped them back towards the pivot and on to their destination. In my case the wire bundle may have been smaller than some since I did not choose the control my espresso machine from the grip.

[simatos]

Cool, two approaches I didn't consider, thanks you guys!! G

[Louavul]

There used to be a fellow on here, that will remain nameless, that documented his work very well.

He says he spoke with Tom (Green?) at Van's and received a no objection answer on drilling a hole as long as it was no larger the 3/8.

[woodmanrog]

Vans has a new stick to replace the one that came with the kit. It is bent at a different angle and doesn't need to be cut. I believe that it is predrilled for the wires. Check with Van's or Tosten. We ran the wires through the hole with no problems. I give the credit to Nathan Rigaud of 2 Bums Aircraft.

[simatos]

Thank you guys, while we are talking Tosten grip, my plan now is pitch trim and PTT. The grip has power and ground wires and there is also a relay also asking for power and ground. So is it correct that both will need power and ground if I just have these 2 functions. I guess I'm wondering since relay is doing the work, why power the grip?

Also relay asks for trim in and trim out. I'm thinking trim in is from grip.? And trim out is to the autopilot servo end of things? Sound reasonable?

Thx G

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by simatos

Thank you guys,

Also relay asks for trim in and trim out. I'm thinking trim in is from grip.? And trim out is to the autopilot servo end of things? Sound reasonable?

Thx G

I cannot comment without seeing a schematic, but this does not sound right. Since you can have trim up, trim down, or trim off, it's hard to handle all three with just one relay. If you have a box with multiple relays I'd look for a pair of trim inputs from the autopilot, an up and a down input from each stick, and a pair of outputs to the trim motor.

[DanH]

Originally Posted by Louavul

He says he spoke with Tom (Green?) at Van's and received a no objection answer on drilling a hole as long as it was no larger the 3/8.

As a rule-o-thumb, a hole is a 3x stress concentration, so when you add an unfilled hole, you're betting the original design had more than three times the necessary strength in that location. True or not would depend greatly on the stick arrangement and location of the hole.

If you want to drill a hole in the stick, and don't have a specific approval from someone who can do the load analysis, the conservative approach is to weld on a small reinforcement patch:

[BillL]

Originally Posted by Louavul

There used to be a fellow on here, that will remain nameless, that documented his work very well.

He says he spoke with Tom (Green?) at Van's and received a no objection answer on drilling a hole as long as it was no larger the 3/8.

Note that this hole is below the elevator attachment, and is on the neutral axis for tensile stresses for the aileron forces. This is where I out mine too. then spent a lot of time locating the wire attachment points to ensure that during full range of stick motion the bending of the wires are minimized, and does not rub. Adel on one end and taped to the stick. Like DanH says, it is your decision, so gather your data from the most direct sources.