It's all in the switch design
tonyjohnson said:
I like the idea of having the flap switch on the stick grip, but I have a concern. I am wondering if an unintended deployment of the flaps is more likely. It could ruin your day if you accidently nudged the switch at high speed.
If you have the flap switch on the panel, it would seem to be far less likely to unintentionally deploy the flaps.
Is it possible to arrange to have the flaps only deploy at airspeeds less than 100 mph? There must be some way to accomplish that.
Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tony Johnson
RV8A "badboy"
N12TJ reserved
Orlando
Tony,
I see what you're saying, but IMHO you'd be adding complexity that could come back to bite you -- adding failure points, etc.
You mentioned an accidental "nudge," which is conceivable I guess, but all a nudge is gonna do is deploy the flap a degree or two. That shouldn't really do diddly on these airplanes, even up near redline. I would worry about prolonged actuation, if you want to worry at all.
If you're concerned, I would think it would be much easier, more straightforward, cheaper, and more reliable simply to have a "switch guard" of sorts on the stick-mounted flap switch. I personally think switch design is where the solution lies, rather than complex (or simple to some people) electronic devices. If you use a toggle that sticks up, you're likely to bump it or catch it on something. But use a low-profile "slider" or coolie rocker style, and you're not likely to catch it.
I have my flap switch on the stick grip and have not ever inadvertently deployed flaps. I love having the flap switch there. Great for HOTAS during critical transitions. It is the flat rocker style...roll it forward and back. Nothing sticking up to get caught, and it takes a fair amount of thumb force to displace it.
Years ago, flying a Mooney, I folded a sectional and kind of flopped it down onto the yoke. Hm...what's that weird buffeting? Why is the plane slowing down and the S-tec is asking for up trim? Oh yeah, I smacked the speed brake deploy switch. The switch was a momentary pushbutton. Stupid design. It does happen, but switch design is the most important factor IMHO.
)_( Dan
RV-7 N714D
http://www.rvproject.com