A

Allan Stern

Well Known Member
For my next project I am considering building an RV 8A. However, I am not too crazy about using my left hand for throttle control (too much use of right hand in my 6). Are these throttle quadrants reversible to right side of the aircraft? Or does someone sell a right hand throttle quadrant? Just curious.

Second question. Since Affordable Panels is not selling for the time being, who else sells RV instrument panels?

Allan Stern RV 6A My Girl
0-320 D1A c/s Hartzell
35 hours total - almost free to leave
the nest
 
Allan Stern said:
However, I am not too crazy about using my left hand for throttle control (too much use of right hand in my 6).
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a new one on me. Most people are trying to fit a quadrant on the left side of the -6 or -7, so they can use right hand on stick and left hand on throttle. To each his own, I guess.

To answer your question, I believe the friction lock would be the main issue with mounting the quadrant on the right side. The manufacturer is an RV builder, I would bet you could talk them into slightly modifying one for you... or if your really clever, you could probably do it yourself.

There are several downsides I can think of:

1. Market value. Most potential -8 pilots want a "fighter". That means right hand stick. It would take some time to find the right person to buy this RV.

2. Front baggage compartment. The control cables currently go under the front baggage compartment. If you move the throttle quadrant to the other side, the cables will now go thru the drop-down portion of the baggage compartment. This would normally require you to modify the baggage compartment to not drop down on the right side.

3. You would need to determine your own lengths of cables, cable routing, and firewall penetration points. You might have to modify or make new cable brackets, depending on the exact engine.

That's all I can think of right now. Good luck if you decide to do this. It will be unique.

Karl
 
I have seen one other RV-8 with a right-hand throttle. The builder said it kept all his friends from asking to fly it because it looked so weird to them. :)

In addition to the control cables, the throttle mount itself would have to be re-engineered or built from scratch, I think. DJM, who builds the aftermarket upgraded throttle quadrants, might be able to reverse one of their throttle quadrants for you.

To each his own, but as Karl pointed out, you will definitely shrink your resale market to near zero.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
 
I am building an 8a and I am also left-handed. I will be mouting the throttle quadrant on the right side of the cockpit. I will delete the right side baggage compartment drop down (I want the foot room to stretch out on long flights anyway). I have not inspected a DJM quadrant but it looks easily reversable. I guess I should contact them and ask about this now rather than later. I plan to make both side of the forward cockpit identical with the assumption that I would move the quadrant to the left side when I/if I sell the aircraft. I am currently immersed in pro-seal and have not yet studied the fuselage plans, however, in looking at other rv's this looks feasible. I welcome any input on this idea.

Thanks
Kerry Stevens
 
Thought I'm right handed (or maybe because of it) I've considered putting the throttle on the right side myself. The advantage would be that I could also put the radio stack on the right where I have finer motor control. Also think of how convenient it would be writing down clearances, frequencies, sqawk codes, etc if your dominant hand is your free hand.

One more point: I drive a manual transmission car, so it's natural for me to steer with the left and shift with my right. That muscle memory would be second nature on a right hand throttle setup.

Also, I'm not sure right hand throttle controls would be that off-putting to too many people, after all how many of you learned to fly on airplanes with the left handed throttles?
 
jmartinez443 said:
Thought I'm right handed (or maybe because of it) I've considered putting the throttle on the right side myself.
Click to expand...

I'm left handed, but have a hard time imagining a left handed stick on a "tandem". I'm sitting here writing this, while looking at a right hand stick, and left hand throttle for desk top flight simulation. :)

As I sit in the left seat of an RV, the left handed stick feels natural. But if I was once again to take aerobatic instruction in a Pitt's, then I'd want it just the way it is. Right hand stick & left throttle.

I believe that there are many pilots who don't feel it's difficult to switch back and forth. I've even read about them here... :D

L.Adamson
 
Guys....you're making WAYYYY to much of this. Believe me, your brain will correct itself within nano-seconds of flying.

Before my RV6, all I flew was Citabrias and Decathlons. I'm right handed as well. The transition was easy...took about 1/2 a second for my brain to work it all out and yours will to. It's pretty easy to get in and out of a 6, 4 and 8. Most of all, if you build it all screwy like that, you'll then not be able to take your friends airplanes up - and that's one of the most fun things about being an "RV'er"! You've now just created an RV that is WAYYYY nonstandard, and an RV pilot that is also non-standard, but hey...whatever floats your boat! :)

I wouldn't mess it up. Go fly one first, you'll see it works just fine. We do indeed wire up panels like that as people request, but it's not normal at all, and selling the airplane will be almost impossible - we've also RE-wired and rebuilt more than one panel after people did something weird like that just so they could sell it...nobody (market as a whole I'm saying) wants an airplane that appears to be non-standard.

Left or right handed, you'll find it easy to fly. Quit worrying about it and go build it - then fly it!

Just my 2 cents as usual.;)

Cheers,
Stein.
 
What Stein said....

While building my -6, I was planning to add a left hand throttle. A friend of mine said, "Go fly my Mustang II for a while. I think you'll change your mind." He was right.
After about 1 minute I was perfectly comfortable with the left hand stick.
 
Hi Allen,

There are a lot of valid points here regarding left or right hand throttle control, but ultimately, you have to feel comfortable with either hand. I've designed several throttle quadrants of late and flipping to the other side is fairly straight forward. I don't want to advertise here, so if you'd like to chat, you can google my website, fatboy throttle quadrants, or contact me offline.

Andy
 
minute2 said:
I will delete the right side baggage compartment drop down (I want the foot room to stretch out on long flights anyway).
Thanks
Kerry Stevens
Click to expand...

I think you will find once you try it that that space is not usable for stretching out on long flights. The left side is open, (with fuel pump and filter there, but otherwise open) and there is just no way to use that space for your feet.

On the other hand, you will, for sure, at some point, wish you had the baggage space. I love that drop-down compartment for heavy things that I don't want sliding around.

The other change that no one has mentioned is that the pre-punch holes on the right are different because the normal switch panel channel runs at an angle (which is pretty nice ergonomically). So, if you mount the throttle quadrant on the right, you will have a row of holes to fill. As a general observation, these are the sorts of small tweaks that end up adding a huge amount of build time.

But if you must....
 
SteinAir said:
Guys....you're making WAYYYY to much of this. Believe me, your brain will correct itself within nano-seconds of flying.

Stein.
Click to expand...


I fully agree. I make the jump between RH throttle (vernier) in the HB and LH throttle (lever) in the RV without a thought. It's no problem, really.
 
I agree with stein and the others, you will adjust without thinking about it.

I fly a champ, my RV8, a C-180, and occasionaly a cherokee. It is never even a thought, it is just natural when you get in.

I would leave it be, my .02
 
You must log in or register to reply here.