Reclocking Infinity stick grip

The Infinity grip was already installed on top of a bent stick when I got my RV-8. The bend of the stick tube is great for flying with my right hand in a very natural distance to the stick- basically right in my lap. Unfortunately the grip was mounted dead straight instead of clocking it about 20-30 degrees left to fit the natural hand position.

I would like to reclock the grip for more comfort but since I didn’t install it I am a bit hesitant. I looked at the one page instruction sheet on the Infinity website but I’m not sure if I have to take the grip completely off or just loosen the bottom screw that looks like it goes into the tube then rotate and retap for the lower mounting screw. Unlike the picture on the website my grip has 2 screws vertical along the right side holding the two half’s together. I expect these two screws hold the grip together and the bottom screw is tapped into the tube to keep it in place.

Any suggestions how to reclock the grip?

The stick grip needs a thru transverse hole in the stick near the top for the LH and RH internal bosses and also a .4 to .5" wide slot at 90 degrees to that hole for the wire/cable clearance. I suggest buying a new stick from Vans and drilling the thru hole and slot to suit. I don't think you can re-clock the current stick. There are two long discussion threads regarding running the cable on the RV-8 stick and the effects of drilling an exit hole on the strength of the stick.

https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=39351&highlight=stick+grip+wire+routing

https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=39696&highlight=fix+putting+hole

Yep - you need to buy a new stick. When you take the grip off the old stick you will see what you need to do for the through hole. You will also need to decide on how high you want the stick. I have it so the grip top hat just clears the bottom of the panel.

For what it’s worth, I flew a buddy’s 8 with a bent stick. Did not like it so replaced with a new stock stick from Van’s. Have a straight stick in the 8A and the new 8.

Carl

Thanks guys, I saw a picture of a stick that had the slot and the holes you’re talking about but Infinity’s instructions had no pictures of those. I have a new bent stick and a new Vans straight stick and am going to experiment with both. I’m going to get a Tosten Military stick with engraved lettering and try on both sticks. My hangar neighbor has this setup and it is a much better design and comes fully assembled. You can also easily reorient it any number of degrees with ease after installation.

The mounting of the grip isn't that difficult. The most difficult part for me was determining the stick length. The problem when you want to clock the grip is to position the grip and then mark the stick. What I did was determine the clocking with the grip slid down on the stick as far as it would go. It won't go all the way down into its final position since there is a boss that passes through the stick. I then rotated it into position and marked the stick. I think I used the rear joint line as the reference if I remember correctly. Once you have the rotation mark you can extend the line down the stick. Then you need to decide where to put the hole in the stick. The hole is 90 degrees from the reference line. It's best to do the hole before you make the slot.

The slot is for clearance of the cable bundle as it goes around the boss. You don't need to make it exactly as shown in the installation instructions, but I think mine was pretty close. If you use the rear joint line as your reference you can just extend a line to the end of the stick and then mark some offset lines for the width of the slot. I actually did a lot of rewiring of my stick and cleaned up the wire bundle. Before that it was difficult to get the wires exactly where I wanted them and it was difficult to get the grip installed without some of the wires getting in the way. At a minimum I would suggest some lacing or cable ties on the wires to keep them in position.

Grip

Ray,

Thanks for the info, looks like the stick will need to be removed and modified on the workbench. I did see the reference on the instruction sheet for the slot on the back at the correct position for the orientation desired. I think I will leave this one alone rather than modify it by cutting another slot. Fly it as is and get the new stick ready then swap them out. I’ve flown my buddy’s RV-8 with a straight stick a number of times and never really noticed any issues with a curved vs bent stick. Some pilots like the straight clocking of the stick grip but when I had my -4 I scrounged a military B-8 grip and clocked it so I guess I got spoiled with the setup.

Thanks everyone for great feedback. I’ll see how the Tosten feels on a straight & bent stick stick and go from there. I’ll keep mine intact so down the road maybe someone can use this one as is. It’s still a great combination and I like flying with the Infinity.

Stick Grip Pivoting Spacer

This is made by Infinity for the Infinity grip. I'm not sure if it can be retrofitted to your situation but worth a look.

https://infinityaerospace.com/product/featured/stick-grip-pivoting-spacer/