RV-8A Front Stick Length with Infinity Grip

[pvalovich]

-8A. Can't believe I missed this, but I did.

Wired the front stick with an Infinity grip. A huge bunch of wires that seem to be connected where intended and the stick firmly and properly in place. HOWEVER, I did the above while the panel was being cut and wired at Stark. Clecoed the panel in today and found gross interference with forward stick movement. Looks like I need to cut about 5 1/2 inches off to get it to clear the panel. So all the wiring is undone, the cable pulled out and the stick disassembled. Bummer.

But enought whining - removing nearly half a foot of stick seems pretty drastic. Am I missing something? What did you other -8/8A Infinity users do?

[Ironflight]

It's not just the Infinity grip - it is not much taller than any of the other "fancy" grips - you just have a lot of stick to remove to get it to clear the bottom of the panel! Many of us had the stick bent with an S-curve to move it back a bit, but that doesn't really change having to cut it off.

[rv6rick]

Well....it's too late for you but for the next guy or gal.......you could have just cut your stick in place without removing all the wires. I ran into a similar scenario (RV8 front stick and RV10 both sticks) and I did the following:

- remove the Infinity grip screws and let the grip hang 'out of the way'
- tape the stick in the area to be cut (don't want to scratch the paint)
- mark the stick and cut with a pipe cutter
- CAREFULLY (so you don't cut any wires) slit the cut-off section vertically with your dremel and a good cutoff wheel...you'll need to cut it on both sides as it's a little stiff to slit one side and pry it open. You can slide a piece of 'whatever' into the tube as you cut the wires to protect them.
- CAREFULLY drill the hole (move wires to the side as before)
- remove the tape and reinstall the grip.

If it takes you more than 15 minutes you did something wrong. For me...this was a LOT easier than removing the wire connector/plug at the bottom of the stick to pull the wires out. BTW....you can do this 'in the plane' or just unplug your wires and do it on the bench.

[AntiGravity]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

Many of us had the stick bent with an S-curve to move it back a bit, but that doesn't really change having to cut it off.

Since "rvwoody" is not doing bent sticks anymore, does anyone know who else is?

[Bevan]

If you cut the stick with the infinity wires still running down the center, and then slit the to be discarded piece as descirbed, how do you drill the almost half inch hole through the stick for the through bolt without damaging the wires? I did this on the drill press with a stepping bit.

I just removed the Infinity grip to shorten it. I had initially cut my stick to length, but it was still a little too long. NOTE. Once you cut the stick to length and drill that through-bolt hole, you can't just shorten it a 1/4" or so because you can't move the hole. You're committed to shortening it in increments of at least 3/4" at a time as the 1/2" hole is centered about 1/2" from the end of the stick.

Personally I wouldn't want to do excessive "slitting" either with a dremel or simliar tool in such close proximity to electrical switches because of possible contamination with fine conductive dust. YMMV

Bevan
The Infinity grip is very nice though and a very good value.

Originally Posted by rv6rick

Well....it's too late for you but for the next guy or gal.......you could have just cut your stick in place without removing all the wires. I ran into a similar scenario (RV8 front stick and RV10 both sticks) and I did the following:

- remove the Infinity grip screws and let the grip hang 'out of the way'
- tape the stick in the area to be cut (don't want to scratch the paint)
- mark the stick and cut with a pipe cutter
- CAREFULLY (so you don't cut any wires) slit the cut-off section vertically with your dremel and a good cutoff wheel...you'll need to cut it on both sides as it's a little stiff to slit one side and pry it open. You can slide a piece of 'whatever' into the tube as you cut the wires to protect them.
- remove the tape and reinstall the grip.

If it takes you more than 15 minutes you did something wrong. For me...this was a LOT easier than removing the wire connector/plug at the bottom of the stick to pull the wires out. BTW....you can do this 'in the plane' or just unplug your wires and do it on the bench.

[rv6rick]

Uh oh...I left that step off of my 'procedure'......edited same....thanks for pointing it out . You just move all the wires away from where you're drilling. The wires go around the plastic 'lug' of the grip so there is plenty of room to drill. Not a big deal and was a lot quicker for me. You can blow out any 'dust' with an air hose (AYK). As you say....YMMV.

Originally Posted by Bevan

If you cut the stick with the infinity wires still running down the center, and then slit the to be discarded piece as descirbed, how do you drill the almost half inch hole through the stick for the through bolt without damaging the wires? I did this on the drill press with a stepping bit.

Personally I wouldn't want to do excessive "slitting" either with a dremel or simliar tool in such close proximity to electrical switches because of possible contamination with fine conductive dust. YMMV

Bevan
The Infinity grip is very nice though and a very good value.

[chesaning]

Where did you come out the bottom of your stick with the wires for best movement?

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by pvalovich

......removing nearly half a foot of stick seems pretty drastic. Am I missing something?.....

To answer your specific question: While it is certainly true you do have to cut the stick down several inches to accomodate the Infinity grip, the installed grip itself will restore about 4 inches of that removed length. I sized the joystick length so that my thumb resting on the flap toggle switch will just clear the bottom of the instrument panel as I move the stick fully forward and aft.

[tonyjohnson]

Originally Posted by pvalovich

Looks like I need to cut about 5 1/2 inches off to get it to clear the panel.

How much of the stick did you end up cutting off in order to clear the bottom of the panel?