I have been pondering some method of making the rear stick in my RV8 easily removable. I have Infinity grips front and rear with limited function on the rear stick. I would like to retain the functionality but also am trying to come up with some method of make the stick removable. Has anyone under taken this? The only function I have active on the rear stick are flaps, A/E trim and PTT.
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Removable Rear Stick
- Thread starter Berchmans
- Start date
removable rear stick
I made mine removable - I only have PTT in the rear, and I put it on the side panel, not the stick. Don't plan on having a lot of flying happening from the rear, which is why I want to be able to take the stick out.
If you want to keep those controls on the stick, you just need to wire it with a small connector. You can drill a hole in the stick and have the wire bundle come out so that then you can use a normal sized DB-9 or DB-15 connector - the wires don't need to stay in the stick all the way down.
I made mine removable - I only have PTT in the rear, and I put it on the side panel, not the stick. Don't plan on having a lot of flying happening from the rear, which is why I want to be able to take the stick out.
If you want to keep those controls on the stick, you just need to wire it with a small connector. You can drill a hole in the stick and have the wire bundle come out so that then you can use a normal sized DB-9 or DB-15 connector - the wires don't need to stay in the stick all the way down.
small connector
For what you have in there you need about 7 pins and I could not find a small enough connector - surely there is one, but I think the simplest solution would be to exit the wires at the bottom front and use a more standard connector. Or just leave the stick in all the time, with associated risks if you're giving a ride to a kid or someone else you don't want unexpectedly yanking on the stick. Or remove some of the function from the stick, like flaps. Or move PTT and flaps or even trim off the stick to the side panel.
Exactly what he said. I bet I use/have installed a rear stick 1-2% of my flight time. Mine installs with friction fit and no electrical connectivity. PTT mounted on the side fuse structure by the headphone jack. If you want all those functions, route along the front of the stick as Mickey said. Sounds like a stretch to actually get the connector to fit inside. I'd recommend considering placing the electrical functions on the left fuse side structure near the throttle.
Last edited:
Danny King
Well Known Member
Removable rear stick
I used Infinity stick grips in my RV-8. In the aft stick I wired the Trim, PTT, and Flaps functions. I removed all the bulky blue covering and shielding and all unused wires for unused switches. I rewired the the remaining active switches in the Infinity stick to use a single ground wire daisy chained from switch to switch then out with the other wires. Then the ground wire was run to the front cockpit to a switch that could either continue the rear ground wire to ground, or disconnect it from ground. That way the pilot could either activate or deactivate the aft stick controls. That switch is normally kept in the open position. Once you remove all the covering and shielding and unused wires and reduce the active switches to a single ground the remaining wires easily exit the aft stick through a small 1/4 inch hole drilled above the pivot point.
I used a 9 pin plug on the rear stick wires and can remove the rear stick by simply removing the bolt and unplugging the connector. It takes about a minute to remove the stick and about two minutes to put it back.
I used Infinity stick grips in my RV-8. In the aft stick I wired the Trim, PTT, and Flaps functions. I removed all the bulky blue covering and shielding and all unused wires for unused switches. I rewired the the remaining active switches in the Infinity stick to use a single ground wire daisy chained from switch to switch then out with the other wires. Then the ground wire was run to the front cockpit to a switch that could either continue the rear ground wire to ground, or disconnect it from ground. That way the pilot could either activate or deactivate the aft stick controls. That switch is normally kept in the open position. Once you remove all the covering and shielding and unused wires and reduce the active switches to a single ground the remaining wires easily exit the aft stick through a small 1/4 inch hole drilled above the pivot point.
I used a 9 pin plug on the rear stick wires and can remove the rear stick by simply removing the bolt and unplugging the connector. It takes about a minute to remove the stick and about two minutes to put it back.
meloosifah
Well Known Member
This is exactly what I did on the -8 I built. Never flew with it but worked great in theory. Once assembled, the 1/4? hole and wires are invisible. Conversely, in the -7 I just acquired, a connector was inside the removable stick on the right side. It is a NIGHTMARE. All pins don?t always engage. I am ripping it out and doing it the way I had it in the -8.
Thanks for help
Danny,
You and I have corresponded on the Infinity Grips before and I installed them just like you said. I installed the rear grip as you describe with a kill switch on the common grounds. Put in the functionality because my brother-in-law is an ex-F16 pilot and he does like to really fly it...but I ride up front. On the other hand my wife sometimes has our dog (Maltese) in her lap and the stick is just in the way...working on the best of both worlds here...just what I need another winter project...
Danny,
You and I have corresponded on the Infinity Grips before and I installed them just like you said. I installed the rear grip as you describe with a kill switch on the common grounds. Put in the functionality because my brother-in-law is an ex-F16 pilot and he does like to really fly it...but I ride up front. On the other hand my wife sometimes has our dog (Maltese) in her lap and the stick is just in the way...working on the best of both worlds here...just what I need another winter project...
