L

Laser

Member
Anyone know of a mod that is available to lengthen the front stick in the RV8 a few inches? The stick is pretty short due to the fact that it has to fit under the instrument panel. I was thinking that a stick with an S bend would be a good solution. Does anyone already make these mods?

Brett Glaeser
 
fly it first

Hi,

There used to be a guy that made bent sticks in batches, but he doesn't do it anymore. He did post a PDF of his bend design. A lot of folks of medium stature seem to find that the RV-8 stick is a bit too far away, and the bend moves the grip aft an inch or so.

If you search on 'stick bend', you will find at least one thread with lots of ideas of how to bend one yourself, as well as a link to the bend drawing from RVWOODY, the guy that used to do the bent sticks. You can also contact Russ McCutcheon (forgive the spelling) who does most of the RV weldments, and he will weld up a bent stick in segments for you if you send him a pattern.

It does not solve the length issue though; even with the bend, it still will hit the panel at full forward stick if it is not shortened.

BUT....

I would recommend you put it together and fly it first. I find that the length is just fine when trimmed to just clear the panel. I left a 1/2" clearance so if I happen to have my thumb on top of the stick, it won't hit the panel if I push all the way forward.

As for fore-and-aft location, I have a Tosten grip which angles forward comfortably fitting the natural angle of your wrist, on a straight stick, and after I flew it, I decided that position was perfect, so no S-bend for me, and the length feels perfect in flight, even though it seems kind of short on first look. I'm just over 6'.

Hope that helps,
 
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Yes, search the board for information. There are many discussions.

I've done all three - short & straight, bent and mitered. The best solution is the mitered (cut and weld) z-bend stick. The offset is just below the grip. This geometry will allow you to make the stick long enough to be comfortable, have full travel and not interfere with the lower face of the panel.
 
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Bending the stick is not the solution to the problem you seem to be asking about. Bending will definitely bring it back toward you a bit, which will decrease the long reach and possibly make it more comfortable.

If i am understanding your question correctly - you want a TALLER stick - bending will not allow you to Lengthen the stick in a manner that will make it "taller". As you noticed, the stick still has to pass under the panel to achieve full forward and aft motion. Lengthing it, even when severly bent, will have it smacking into the panel, limiting throw. Bending it in a way that would allow you to make it taller would mean you would limit aft throw as well, as your body would be in the way.

About the only thing that might work is decreasing the depth of the panel from top to bottom, in the center bottom area where the stick must pass. This comes with its own set of compromises. I actually thought about cutting a 10" long by 3" high section out of the bottom center of the panel (think of a cross section of an inverted pie plate to visualize the cut), which could work, but not sure its worth the effort.
 
Going to fly it first.

Thanks for all the info guys. The original owner flew it like this for the past 200hrs and had no issues so I'm going to just fly it first and see how it goes. It if really bugs me, I might make a slightly longer stick with a curve in it that doesn't hit the panel at full forward and isn't lmited at full aft either.
 
A lot of guys put an S-bend into their stick, which will bring it aft to a more confortable position. The only thing you can not do is increase the height. I've got about 80 hours on mine so far with the standard stick and its not bad. After a few hours you do not even notice. Main thing to watch for when changing grips or the bend, is the clearance between the panel bottom and the top of the stick. Its REAL easy to pinch your thumb if you are transmitting on the ground (assuming a PTT on top). So if replacing the stick with a bent one, just double check the hight before committing to the final length cut.
 
It's probably fine

My RV-6 is so sensitive that I fly with my forearm on my thigh and a light finger tip grip half way up the stick. I think most people do the same.

Jim Sharkey
RV-6
 
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