Tip: Infinity Grip installation

[jmitchell]

Standard Kit ? RV8 but should apply to most other models:

It took me a while (way too long actually) to realize I needed to remove the powder coating on the end of the Vans front control stick in order to get the Infinity grip to close nice and tight.

I assumed I was just pinching a wire when closing the two halves.

See my build log entry for more details.

http://mykitlog.com/users/display_lo...g=103818&row=1

Hope this saves someone the time I wasted on it.

[flickroll]

Infinity grips are really really, nice, but what a pain to install. Particularly since the PTT switch (and to a lesser degree the trim switch) are free hanging before the 2 halves are paired. Between that, pinched wires, etc. it can take a while to get the 2 halves together. Here's another tip: don't worry about having the PTT trigger in place while putting the halves together. Once the halves are married up, you can ever so slightly open up the top end and insert the trigger.

[Vmax]

I would appreciate any tips on installing an Infinity stick grip on an RV-7. I'm particularly interested in how the wiring was routed out of the stick and into the panel

Thanks
Vmax

[Bevan]

A little hot glue or sticky-tac may be enough to hold the switches in place before the two halves come together.

I drilled a hole below the the pivot point to route the wires out. Fish the wires down the tube and through the hole. Then put a rubber gromit over the ends of the wire and work it into the hole in the stick. This is easier than trying to pull the wires through a gromit already installed.

Bevan

[clam]

Having install troubles... standard 1" dia stick for RV-8... Read above posts and removed powder coating. No joy. I have ~1/16" gap in grip halves when closed around stick. Grip closes completely at base and at top end, but area around the boss, where there is internal support around stick appears not to be 1" dia and causes a gap. See photo... will call infinity this week, but any ideas/solutions out there?

[Paul Tuttle]

I routed the wires for the infinity grip the same way.

I was looking around on some of the threads after the fact and found that it's not recommended to drill a hole in the stick close to the pivot point.
I contacted Van's and they were quite adamant that no holes should be drilled in the stick at all as it compromises the strength.
The idea of the stick breaking off in flight was more then I wanted to chance, so I ordered a replacement.

I reduced the size of the wire bundle from the grip by removing the heavy shield and drilled a much smaller hole just below the grip.
The smaller wire bundle now runs externally down the front of the stick. I wrapped the stick and bundle with a couple of layers of vinyl to secure it.
I added a wire tie just below the grip and another at the bottom to ensure it doesn't move. The wire is not visible, especially with the stick boot installed

My logic is, if the stick breaks just below the grip there should still be enough left to fly home with.

[clam]

...I too routed wire bundle exiting at the top of the stick to avoid the exit hole near the pivot. However, my problem is with the grip closure as shown in the photo in previous post. There are no pinched wires, so I'm assuming that the grip is under sized. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this?

[RV7Ron]

Originally Posted by clam

...I too routed wire bundle exiting at the top of the stick to avoid the exit hole near the pivot. However, my problem is with the grip closure as shown in the photo in previous post. There are no pinched wires, so I'm assuming that the grip is under sized. Just wondering if anyone else has seen this?

Working on this right now...had exactly the same issue...which resulted in plenty of head scratching since I couldnt see any pinched wires. What I did...was open up just ONE of the holes in the stick with a rotary file in my dremel tool. I think what was happening was the hole wasnt drilled perfectly centered resulting in it not closing properly. It seemed to work, but full disclosure, I am not done yet so results are somewhat inconclusive right now.

And I agree with previous posts...these are a pain...also agree with a little hot glue to keep components and wires in place definitely helps.

[RVbySDI]

Originally Posted by Paul Tuttle

I routed the wires for the infinity grip the same way.

I was looking around on some of the threads after the fact and found that it's not recommended to drill a hole in the stick close to the pivot point.
I contacted Van's and they were quite adamant that no holes should be drilled in the stick at all as it compromises the strength.
The idea of the stick breaking off in flight was more then I wanted to chance, so I ordered a replacement.

I reduced the size of the wire bundle from the grip by removing the heavy shield and drilled a much smaller hole just below the grip.
The smaller wire bundle now runs externally down the front of the stick. I wrapped the stick and bundle with a couple of layers of vinyl to secure it.
I added a wire tie just below the grip and another at the bottom to ensure it doesn't move. The wire is not visible, especially with the stick boot installed

My logic is, if the stick breaks just below the grip there should still be enough left to fly home with.

Not quite sure why everyone is drilling holes into their stick to get the Infinity wires out. The stick already comes with a very nice hole on the bottom that is more than adequate to run the wire through. There is no drilling, no risk and easy to do. Just run the wire out the bottom of the stick, provide a service loop secure it all and run it out to the panel or where ever else you need it to go. My wires are running directly out the bottom of the stick in just such a fashion. I have 235 hours flying time now with no chafing, no problems and no worries that some day the stick will break off in my hand.

[Capflyer]

I had no issues with the two Infinity sticks I put into my RV7 with the two halves coming together and I routed the wires from both out the bottom. On my RV4 I wasn't so lucky. IIRC I shaved out some of the molding inside to get it to fit, I had taken my stick down to bare metal so it was not the powder coat. There was not enough room to run the wires out the bottom so I had to drill a hole in the lower part of the stick. I can't imagine the stick breaking, there is just not enough force being put on the shortened stick to cause it to have a catastrophic failure but of course I am not an engineer.

Has anyone done a test to see how much force needs to be applied to the stick to get it to snap or even bend from a small hole drilled in it? If so I would like to see how much it took.