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Jake's New Hand Controls

jeterjim

Member
I would like to introduce my son Jake. In 2000 he was in a diving accident resulting in a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Jake pushes a manual wheelchair; however, he is considered a quadriplegic because he has limited hand function. He was 17 years old, had soloed, and was on his way to getting his private pilot's license just before his accident.

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After a six month stay at the Shepherd Spinal Center Jake returned home and we started formulating a plan to get him back into the air. We picked out an ultralight kit we thought would be a good fit. After a one year build and some initial flying we encountered a problem installing hand controls. Because it was a tail dragger we were never able to overcome the rudder force on the controls while the aircraft was on the ground. It became obvious that Jake was not going to be able to solo the aircraft we had chosen. We chalked it up to a learning experience and sold the ultralight.

A short time later Jake was awarded an Ableflight scholarship to get his sport pilot's license. If you have not heard of Ableflight they are an outstanding organization whose mission is to help people with disabilities learn to fly. I truly cannot express how Ableflight was able to give Jacob back that feeling of accomplishment and pride in being able to fly by himself.

Ableflight uses the Sky Arrow 600 Sport as their training aircraft because it comes with factory installed hand controls. It is a great trainer; however, we took our time to find an aircraft that was a better fit.

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About this time Van's introduced the RV-12. Jake wanted an aircraft that his wheelchair would fit in and still carry bags and another passenger.

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Jake also wanted an aircraft he could get into on his own. It took him about two months to figure out how he could climb into the RV-12 by himself. Now he is able to transfer from his wheelchair into the cockpit in no time at all.

Jake biggest goal was to be able to fly by himself. Now it was my turn to figure out how to fabricate hand controls for the RV-12. I started with the brakes which turned out to be easier than I had thought. The brakes are in series so I came off the left pedals and ran brake lines to two additional cylinders mounted on the left floorboard. From there I ran lines from the back of the cylinders to the brakes. The big challenge turned out to be the position and design of the handles. Jake sits with his legs crossed in the aircraft and his knee was up against the break handles. After four sets of handle designs I finally got it right.

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After the brakes were finished I focused my attention on the rudders. The challenge was to be able to leave the rudders as is for me and provide hand controls for Jake. I knew Jake would easily fly with hand controls but this "old dog" didn't want to learn the new trick of using my hands instead of my feet. I came off the connection where the cables attach to the rudder pedals with 2 rods that attached to a bell crank.

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Then I attached a handle to the bottom of the floor board and reinforced it with a plate on the bottom side of the aircraft. I attached the handle using a push pull rod that attached to the bell crank from the opposite side.

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The design provides full throw of the rudders and just enough friction to help provide a little rudder trim while in level flight.

It took me three days of multiple touch-and-goes before I would learn to use the hand controls without my feet firmly on the rudder pedals. Jake mastered the hand controls in a couple of hours. All of the practice in the SkyArrow and 16 years of driving a car with hand controls helped make his transition easy. This is Jake taxiing out for his first solo with the new hand controls. He has since logged over 35 hours of flight time.

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Jake's next goal is to go on what he calls "Walkabout". He is planning on trips around the country by himself. If you see him at your local airport please say hello.

I really want to thank Van for this wonderful aircraft. Its' combination of light touch and stability have made it the perfect platform to meet our needs. Easy to build, maintain and fly while providing fun beyond belief. I would also like to thank Charlie Stites the founder of Ableflight for making Jakes dreams a reality. If you know of anyone with a disability who has an interest in flying please tell them about Ableflight. There is a lot of information at ableflight.org.

DISCLAIMER: This is what I did with an idea, some graph paper, and a band saw. I understand there are many different ways to develop these hand controls. After a lot of discussions and design modifications this was the best we felt we could come up with. I'm always open to suggestions on how to improve my design. Please feel free to share any suggestions.

The double RV grin.

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Building Stuff

I've built a lot of stuff in my life (although still building this #%*! airplane :rolleyes:) but I think that is probably the most worthwhile project I have ever seen. Good on both of you. Best of luck to your son on his journey!
 
That is just... freaking... awesome. Great job, and I hope Jake enjoys the airplane for many years to come.
 
Great story. Made my already good day better. As was mentioned above, it you get to the KEUL - Caldwell ID area, we have a place to stay and park your plane.

Best of luck on the fun ahead.
 
Just to see if I understand this right: Forward and back on the "skull" translates to left and right for rudder? So you can have brakes in left hand, stick in right, or stick in left hand, rudder in right?

The engineer in me wonders if there would be a way to get rudder and brakes on the same hand without needing to switch around like that... Then combine throttle somewhere (motorcycle twist grip?) so you could have full-time hands-on control of everything. But that's just me trying to optimize something that already seems to work just fine! :)

Nice work, and great to see your son in the air.
 
That is so cool!!! Congratulations to both of you for your attitudes and accomplishments!

Vic
 
The problem with duel controls on one stick is that Jake has limited hand function. He can't grip things the way we do. I'm sure the controls will evolve but I can't get him out of the plane long enough to work on further designs. I'm hoping the newness will wear off.

The rudder translates to forward for right rudder and back for left rudder. If you have the control in your right hand and look to your left to turn left the natural motion is to push on the stick which translates to left rudder. The opposite is true while turning right, where the natural movement is to pull. It seems to work.

We looked at putting a throttle on the rudder handle but that went way past my simple mind. The SkyArrow had both on their rudder; however, after talking with Jake he said he didn't use it in the SkyArrow because it felt awkward.
 
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What a great reminder that our circumstances don't define us, it's what we do with those circumstances that make us who we are! Inspiring example from both you and Jake about what can be done with a healthy dose of tenacity, persistence and love. Thank you both for sharing and reminding us all what's truly important!
 
That is just... freaking... awesome. Great job, and I hope Jake enjoys the airplane for many years to come.

I Second this!!

Awesome in every way, Awesome young man, Awesome Dad, and Awesome ingenuity!! It is an understatement to say you guys have reflected proudly on your LA brethren (Lower Alabama).
 
Bravo!

This is a classic example that the old adage ?necessity is the mother of invention? still rings true.

Hats off to the two of you ? especially you Jim for overcoming the obstacle of Jake?s limited movement and exhibiting the vision, creativity and dedication that allows Jake to fly the RV-12. Hoping Jake has many hours of pleasure in the RV-12 traveling to new destinations and creating many new friendships. Bravo!!
 
Congratulations!!

Wow, congrats to both of you.

Methinks this is one of the best choices for a front page story I have ever seen.

Doug--------
 
Visit North Alabama!

Awesome and inspiring guys! Understand not being able to get your hands on the plane <grin>. We finished our -12 in September and have gotten airborne at EVERY opportunity.

Come up to Moontown Airport (3M5) when you can. 3rd Saturdays are especially good with Fly-in Breakfast and visitors from around the Southeast.

Look forward to seeing you anytime.
 
Inspiring, wonderful story. If Jake ends up in the Sacramento area, my plane is at KLHM . He has a house to enjoy, hot meal to eat and warm bed to sleep. We have plenty of extra room for guests. I don't however, have a car with hand controls but would be happy to chauffeur. We can even go for a flight in my -9A.
 
Great Story. Made my day better for sure. Please let us know if you make it to Texas. Would love to say hello.
 
WOW! Determination and Dedication! Inspiring for sure! A great team! I've had the pleasure and honor of meeting Jim and Jake as my wife and I travel to Orange Beach in our RV8 fairly often. They are even more impressive in person! Hope we can fly some formation in the future; would love to be your wingman anytime! Fly Safe, Johnny (Rascal) White
 
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Well done! I am also quadriplegic and flying a -7 with hand controls. Enjoy your plane and fly! If I manage I'll post some pics of my cockpit and of HC.
 
Impressive! If you are ever in South Central Indiana (OVO, BAK) I would love for you to meet "my kids." I teach aircraft construction at two schools here, and we really love for significant people to stop by. I try to teach out-of-the-box thinking while they build RV-12s, and you obviously live that philosophy.

Also, if you are at Oshkosh, I will have students there from several states, and would love for you to join us for an evening.

Bob
 
What a great story and well done mods to allow your son to fly it on his own!

I hope to see him here in the Carolinas!
 
What a great example of innovation and the ability to modify an experimental plane for a specific purpose. Really impressive work
 
I love the engineering

Ditto
I love the engineering
The hand break is like what we used in drag racing
Great Job

Joe Dallas


What a great example of innovation and the ability to modify an experimental plane for a specific purpose. Really impressive work
 
For those who haven't been exposed to hand brakes, it's very easy to get into the mindset that hand brakes must be terribly difficult to use. Our "flying" aircraft has a single handbrake lever controlling both wheel brakes. When we purchased it, that hand brake was the top item on my "must be replaced immediately" list. A person much wiser than I suggested I just live with the hand brake setup for a while before investing in making changes. Well, more than a decade later that hand brake is still in place and now I wouldn't think of changing it. It just works - simple, light, easy to use.

One of my questions is whether or not there is a hydraulic parking brake valve used in this installation. That's a huge upgrade for a handbrake-equipped aircraft, freeing the hands for engine run-up tasks.

I'll second Mike S's comment - this is a totally obvious choice for the front page. I would even suggest a new category in the forums for "Deeply Motivating Stories", with this story taking first place.
 
WOW, good job and great story of a fathers love for his son is all I have to say.
 
Awesome! Thanks for posting. If your son swings though the Seattle area he's got a place to stay at S43.
 
Parking Brake

Canadian JOY, thanks for suggesting a parking brake. I have noticed Jake has to struggle a little when doing the engine run up. I will talk to Jake and start looking into installing a parking brake. Thanks
 
The Matco hydraulic parking brake is a very simple, very effective choice for this purpose. It's activated via a Bowden cable. Apply parking brake pressure with the brake levers, pull the parking brake Bowden cable, and the brake pressure is locked in place. When the engine run-up is complete, simply push the Bowden cable and the brakes release.
 
James, Check your email. I sent a msg on behalf of my brother inlaw whose an amputee. Thanks.
Scott Lane
 
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