Hat switch - love it, or not so much?

[Bill Dicus]

It's a Tosten. Great device. I shortened the front stick in the -8 (? too much) so top of the grip is between my knees. In taxi I grip the stick from the top, sometimes inadvertently changing trim and have taken off with full nose up trim. Not a real problem but not a welcome situation either. Working on a second bent stick to get grip up and back where it can be gripped normally. Have loved the coolie hat in other aircraft. Think I'll love it with the new stick too...

[scrollF4]

I have the Infinity stick. Other than the 2-way toggle on top, this stick is almost identical to the stick of in the F-4, which I flew for 2069 hours. I love having the trim coolie there on top, right where it's supposed to be.

I installed the left hand stick on my side, and the copilot side has a right-hand stick. I tied all the right stick switches' ground wires to a guarded toggle ground switch. That way, I can deactivate the copilot stick switches if needed (aka the Grandfather Switch).

[brad walton]

Tosten with the hat switch works well and intuitive. I use the other two for flaps up and down

[Chkaharyer99]

I have a hat switch in front seat and back. It operates the elevator and aileron trims. Like it very much.

Grip also has starter button, AP button, flap toggle and comm button.

[vlittle]

I like the hat switch on the Infinity grip, however, in formation flight, I find that the slight hand motion required to move my thumb can lead to PIO.

I mounted a second pitch trim switch on my throttle grip to eliminate this problem, allowing me to keep my hand position fixed on the stick.

I could shorten the stick some to mitigate this but it my knees would then limit the stick travel or accidentally depress buttons on the stick.

[N941WR]

Regarding the AP disconnect on the right stick, I wouldn't do that. If you want a second button for the right seater, put one on the panel. The reason is that whomever is in the right seat probably isn't that familiar with the plane and will probably turn off the AP every other time they try to hit the PTT. Also, it makes it very easy to wire a quick disconnect. (I used RC battery connectors for the right stick's PTT and it has worked great in 650 hours.)

As for the trim, not that you care, I went with manual trim simply because I didn't want the complexity of all the wiring, relays, etc. I have had too many problems with electric trims in past planes that I didn't want to bother with them in my -9. That was just me.

[sblack]

Originally Posted by Bill Dicus

It's a Tosten. Great device. I shortened the front stick in the -8 (? too much) so top of the grip is between my knees. In taxi I grip the stick from the top, sometimes inadvertently changing trim and have taken off with full nose up trim. Not a real problem but not a welcome situation either. Working on a second bent stick to get grip up and back where it can be gripped normally. Have loved the coolie hat in other aircraft. Think I'll love it with the new stick too...

Why did you shorten the stick? Did you notice a change in the forces and control harmony?

[Ron B.]

If memory serves me correctly (seldom does) all the functions on the stick control their devises by making contact to ground. What I did on the RV-10's right stick was run a wire from the grounding side of all switches in the stick,to a switch on the panel labeled "co-pilot disconnect". With this switch in the open position grounding cannot be accomplished. If a pilot was sitting in the right seat simply moving the panel switch to the closed position gave the right pilot full function of his Infinity grip.
We really liked this function when carrying passengers that had no piloting skills.

[Toobuilder]

I have Infinity grips in the Rocket and the -8 and find the hat switch lacking in feel. I would like to remove the switch in favor of a higher quality "fore/aft" piece, as I have found aileron trim unnecessary on the tandems. I do find great utility for the trim on the stick however, but would never allow a passenger the same level of easy access - they have a toggle on the sidewall instead. The GIB needs to really make a conscious effort to use the trim, which is how I want it.

[Bob Redman]

G'day folks,

Most of my flying had been with a 'hat' trim switch on the stick. So a 'hat' switch with electric elevator & aileron trim was in our RV-7 build plan, along with dual throttle, prop & mixture quadrants (& IFR, 200hp, extended range, etc, etc).

I reconsidered when faced with the time, $ to build same, and 'needs' vs 'wants'. Then I compared my experience with manual and electronic trim in general aviation aircraft, and far preferred the manual trim - seemed to me more 'tactile'. So I opted for the standard Van's elevator trim cable & spring balance aileron trim.

Also I opted for standard Van's friction throttle, vernier prop & mixture cables, centre mounted below the panel.

As a final act of heresy, I placed the flap switch centrally on the spar box, just aft of the fuel valve, and protected it with a 'U' guard. I look at the flaps to check operation.

So far we are happy with a relatively light & simple VFR RV-7 and adapted easily & quickly to the lack of HOTAS etc (including during formation flight). Usually I fly from the right seat. I cut the left stick & replaced it with a right stick with shim, and secure it with the standard bolt, washer & nyloc. Therefore both sticks are quick & easy to remove.

Regards