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Alternative to Van's rudder pedals

ERushing

ERushing

Well Known Member
Hi All,

I've got a call into Paul at Control Approach to see if he's anywhere closer to releasing a new RV10 rudder pedal system. Given that I'm almost to that step in the plans, I'm not very hopeful.

Has anyone heard of any alternatives on the horizon? I know the Van's pedals are perfectly serviceable (albeit mildly ugly - putting me in mind of a Caterpillar tractor and not the sleek, sexy beast I'm trying to build...)

Any ray of hope out there??

Thanks!
 
Hi Eric. My problem with the stock pedals are not the looks, but how hard it is to stay off the brakes when using them. You just sit so high that the geometry is wrong for your feet. I have trouble rotating my ankles up far enough to keep my toes of the brakes. I installed some pedal extensions that improve the situation a lot, but I wish they were even larger.

I considered moving the pedals back towards me a bit, but I like to sit close enough to the panel to reach all of the breakers and controls, and the seat belts somewhat restrict that.

~Marc
 
" but how hard it is to stay off the brakes when using them"

Here is where the builder needs to sit in position in the airframe at the same position as flight, and see how the pedals and the brakes match the angle of your leg/foot.

You're building the airplane.... you need to plan this out when you set up the pedals and brakes, or you will be adding extenders later.

Looking at many pictures of rudder pedals installed, the ones (very few) with the top of the brake pedals tilted quite a bit toward the firewall, and the rudder bars NOT set vertical, but tilted toward the pilot is the proper set.
 
Auburntsts said:
This what I installed on my 10 and they work just fine:

http://www.jdair.com/rudder-pedal-extensions-for-vans-rv-aircraft-rv-4-rv-6-rv-7-rv-9-rv-10/
Click to expand...

Those are the ones I use too, but I would like them to be even larger to get my foot at the proper angle. The problem is, you sit so high above the pedals that it's difficult to rotate your foot up enough to stay off the brakes. I tend to use a trick I learned years ago when flying a Great Lakes biplane with heal brakes: I move my foot down and use my toes on the bottom of the rudder pedals. I would love to change to a different pedal that corrects the foot angle so it's more natural.

regards

-Marc
 
gasman said:
" but how hard it is to stay off the brakes when using them"

Here is where the builder needs to sit in position in the airframe at the same position as flight, and see how the pedals and the brakes match the angle of your leg/foot.

You're building the airplane.... you need to plan this out when you set up the pedals and brakes, or you will be adding extenders later.

Looking at many pictures of rudder pedals installed, the ones (very few) with the top of the brake pedals tilted quite a bit toward the firewall, and the rudder bars NOT set vertical, but tilted toward the pilot is the proper set.
Click to expand...

This is true for all the RV's. Many builders simply drill the pedals so they are vertical and that is a mistake. They need to be canted forward so that when sitting in the plane your feet are not pressing forward when at rest. They need to be drilled so you have to point your toes to activate the brakes.
 
Plummit said:
Those are the ones I use too, but I would like them to be even larger to get my foot at the proper angle. The problem is, you sit so high above the pedals that it's difficult to rotate your foot up enough to stay off the brakes. I tend to use a trick I learned years ago when flying a Great Lakes biplane with heal brakes: I move my foot down and use my toes on the bottom of the rudder pedals. I would love to change to a different pedal that corrects the foot angle so it's more natural.
Click to expand...

It's not a case of a different pedal, It's in the setup..... look here... http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showpost.php?p=1087597&postcount=4
 
i just ordered my fuse kit and I'm really not wanting to install the factory pedals. I really like the control approach ones. But my most recent inquiry to Paul a few months ago didn't really give me much hope that he was going to build them again.
 
Marc, there two ways you can tilt the brake pedal that is installed and too vertical....

1. You can file the bottom master cyl. bolt hole down to tilt the pedal forward. The bottom of the hole takes all of the applied pressure.

2. You can link the top master cyl. connection up. Looks like a chain link and lifts the top of the cyl arm up a given amount and causes the pedal to tilt forward. The link bolts to the weldment and the cyl bolts to the top of the link.

After that, if you still need more, you could then add the spacer to the rudder bar. Some have used split heater hose.... even two layers held on with hose clamps.. to see what the results would be.

The nice thing about experimental is you can make your RV PERFECT.
 
I really like my aftermarket pedals by Effectus Aeroproducts. They are a direct replacement of the Van's pedal.

FP16112010A000N3.jpg


Unfortunately, they are no longer being manufactured. I don't think David sold enough to keep the product going.

It solves a lot of the issues with keeping your toes off the brakes until needed.

bob
 
Those are a lot nicer than the Van's pedals, Bob.

David, if you're still around, might you have a set sitting on a shelf gathering dust??

If not, I guess I'll chalk them up to "very nice but you can't have them!" :) Similar to the control approach pedal situation!
 
Eric, you can wait a long time before the pedals go in. No need to have to do them now - they wont do anything until its time to fly anyway. I know a particular builder (who just moved from Tigard to Idaho) who still doesnt have rudder pedals and he is about ready for final assembly. Admittedly he gave Paul his Control approach pedals back again for him to use for another purpose. But it does illustrate you have some time to figure things out.
 
Thanks Mark! Your guidance is, as always, appreciated. The good news is that I heard back from Paul and he is working on something. Since I probably won't head to the hangar until maybe next Summer at the earliest, I can't be patient!
 
pedals

If you hear that he came up with something, please pass it on. I have been interested in that "something" for several years but it never materialized...:(
 
I got an email from Paul today after inquiring. He has a new retrofit kit that should be coming shortly...

"Thanks for checking with us. Working on parts to assemble a new lighter weight custom system. Price and time frame TBD.
Nearly complete with a new retrofit kit that will fit the rv6, 7, 9 10 & 14. I have a dozen in production now. Almost ready to build the first set. Price for the retrofit kit still TBD."

So it looks like things are in progress, we just need to be patient.
 
Same Answer 2 years ago

Just an FYI. I looked through my emails, and I got the exact same answer in June 2014. I finally gave up in Feb 2015. Paul makes some cool stuff, but it's obviously a side gig for him. One of these days when they are actually for sale I'll probably pick up a set, but until that actually happens I wouldn't plan around them.
Maybe they are being made in the same mythical location as the 6 Cyl P-Mag thing. :D
 
Same

I also received the same email, same time frame. Still have the emails on the pmags and also the delta hawk diesel...

They are all made of unobtainium...
 
I installed these back in 2008. They are very similar to the ones Todd has in his airplane. I consider them to be maybe the best aftermarket additions I did on the airplane. I would consider them a "must have" product if I was building again. Completely takes care of the problem and discomfort of keeping your feet off the brakes while taxiing.
 
I plan on going with a set of Pauls pedals at some point. The good/bad news (Depending on how you take it) is I've been crazy busy with work so that's affected my building time. So it might still be a bit before I get to pedals... or I guess I could jump to the top and what not while I wait.
 
I'm a friend of Paul's and I have it on good authority that he is getting close to a production run. I've been impatiently waiting and I do flip him BS every few weeks about it. I wouldn't call it "unobtainium" like 6cyl pmags but life happens in between design, engineering, testing and production.
 
bwestfall said:
I'm a friend of Paul's and I have it on good authority that he is getting close to a production run. I've been impatiently waiting and I do flip him BS every few weeks about it. I wouldn't call it "unobtainium" like 6cyl pmags but life happens in between design, engineering, testing and production.
Click to expand...

And like many, Aviation does not pay the rent. But if you want to remodel your home, Paul is also an exceptional craftsman there! :)
 
and...

"...I'm a friend of Paul's and I have it on good authority that he is getting close to a production run. I've been impatiently waiting and I do flip him BS every few weeks about it. I wouldn't call it "unobtainium" like 6cyl pmags but life happens in between design, engineering, testing and production..."

I certainly hope you are right. I wanted to use his pedals but they were no longer available. I also have been impatiently waiting for the production run that is just around the corner. I hope it does happen and I am sure that they will be high on my mod list...until then, they are filed with the pmags and the delta hawk diesel...
 
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