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Throttles on RV-8

chrisi456

Member
How many of you have used non-standard (Van's) throttles? I like the look of the old WWII balls and I'm building an RV-8 but not sure why I don't see more of these. Do they not fit well? Are they too tall to be used easily?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.... Chris
 
Throttle

I felt the exact same way. I prefer the tall lever with a wood ball as used on the WWII trainers. I found an early DJM quadrant that was just what I was looking for. I scratch built a new F-864-B and a new F-864-A so the quadrant fits correctly. I also machined some new spacers for the quadrant as these early quadrants are much narrower than current models. This allowed me to cheat the sides outward and create a little extra real estate for the cables. I have a few extra balls and might experiment with adding a T and an M on the appropriate balls.

I had noticed the 864 A&B part as received seem to mount the quadrants low. Based upon pictures I have seen of the stock parts, this area needs some work if you want a good fit, regardless of the quadrant you use.

Here is what I ended up with.

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I used Van's 2 lever front and back. I find myself using the lower part of the throttle lever on the front rather than the ball, seems more natural.

From the back, space is rather restricted, it would be better if the throttle ball was lower.

I substituted smaller diameter steel connecting rods to reduce the bulkhead cutout sizes. I've seen a/c with a third connecting rod inboard of the bulkheads, covered with a Z profiled guard.

Other than that they work fine...



 
I have the balls for my Rocket, but I had to straighten the control arms to give me more room for my left thigh.

This moved the throttle ball too far outboard for my comfort, so I replaced it with... get this... a long 3/8 socket from my socket set. It captures an AN365 nut perfectly (of course) and the 1/4" square drive is ideal to pass the AN3 bolt through it.

No pic yet, but the shaft extends out over top the prop/mixture controls and is more conveniently placed for comfortable operation. If I put some heat shrink on it, it will disguise the fact that it came from my toolbox.

In conclusion, two balls and a shaft extension make for comfortable single-handed control.

V
 
Temtation

I too, looked at this question for some time, before going with the stock "Van's" throttle. I got in and out of 5 or 6 friends aircraft with both the upgrade leavers and the standard ones. I was tempted gust like most to have the cool looking ones. But the feel and fit of the old standard levers won out. I can close my eyes put my hand on the quod. and instantly get that feel between the fingers, that leads me to a good confident control input every time. That is what swayed me to stay with the standard unit. Something I could grab in total darkness and instantly have no questions. I thinks blind fold drills are a good tool to keep you sharp and give you better confidents. Now the kicker, having said all this I did take the standard unit all apart and redid a little of the shimming and the stops to give me a little bit more throw on both ends of the travel. Conclusion, sometimes the old strait forward way should not be passed up. Keep it simple, robust, light, it will pay you back and then some down the road. Hope this helps, Yours as always R.E.A. III # 80888
 
Use whatever you like that looks or feel good!

I personally find that in just about every airplane I fly, I don't hang on to the knob or handle anyway - I just grab the lever itself, with the heel of my hand resting on whatever console is there. The exception to this is in our RV-3, where we have a pistol-grip handle mounted at a 45 degree angle with essentially no "stalk" at all - this is the most comfortable throttle I've ever used. It requires short mixture and prop levers and a curved top (we use the DJM quadrant).

But in general, the tops don't matter much, and it is nice to have the different-shaped knobs for prop and mixture so you can tell by feel what you are grabbing.
 
I have the balls for my Rocket, but I had to straighten the control arms to give me more room for my left thigh.

This moved the throttle ball too far outboard for my comfort, so I replaced it with... get this... a long 3/8 socket from my socket set. It captures an AN365 nut perfectly (of course) and the 1/4" square drive is ideal to pass the AN3 bolt through it.

No pic yet, but the shaft extends out over top the prop/mixture controls and is more conveniently placed for comfortable operation. If I put some heat shrink on it, it will disguise the fact that it came from my toolbox.

In conclusion, two balls and a shaft extension make for comfortable single-handed control.

V

Vern, I have to say that is brilliant. What an elegant solution.
 
GIB throttle

In back I have just throttle (fixed pitch) so I cut the bend out of the stock lever. I too just push and pull from the lower vertical lever section, so no need for the bend in back. This keeps GIB knees less likely to bump the smash.
 
Have posted this in the main forum also...

Anyone know what has happened to Fatboy? I really liked their grips and quadrants and was waiting until my kit needed them. It now does, but I can't find a trace of them and emails get bounced back.

Anyone??
 
I got a reply and he mentioned he is focusing on his radial rocket build and has decided to close the doors for now. Hopefully he will return to business after the build.
 
Something different...

I used a standard quadrant for about 1000 hours and never really liked the way the friction worked. (If the mixture or prop control friction was correct then the throttle lever was too tight, or the other way around.)

This setup is what you will find in most all aerobatic aircraft. Setting prop and mixture gives me fine control of both and the throttle has it's own friction lever, independent of the others.

I won't go back.

 
My RV-8 Throttle

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I chose to do it this way also . Independent control of the Throttle , Mixture and Prop , Maybe not as cool to look at but very functional . ;)
 
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