Van's copilot stick comes as 2 pieces with the actual stick separate and removable which is nice because it is not in the co-pilot's way on a long flight. I like this removable feature and more importantly so does my wife. Van's has issued a service bulletin (or some such mandatory fix/ warning) some months ago in the wake of an accident caused by this stick coming out upon landing and now they say we're supposed to drill a hole through the whole she-bang and put a bolt in it.
I did this on my -7 but I think it might be applicable to all the side by sides and maybe even the -8's. Here's how I addressed Van's requirement to secure the co-pilot's control stick.
I drilled a hole from the front through one 2 layers of material (the stick and the WD-611)...
... and stole one of these "dealies" from some equipment at work. I replaced it with a bolt that will never need to be replaced. Desperate times call for desperate measures! I mean I looked everywhere and couldn't find one of these for sale. Not even sure what they are called. They are everywhere but nobody sells them. You can get plastic ones at the pool supply place but I never could find a metal one.
The "dealy" slips inside the stick and protrudes from the hole.
The stick goes into the WD-611...
and locks securely in place but is still removable.
I did this on my -7 but I think it might be applicable to all the side by sides and maybe even the -8's. Here's how I addressed Van's requirement to secure the co-pilot's control stick.
I drilled a hole from the front through one 2 layers of material (the stick and the WD-611)...
... and stole one of these "dealies" from some equipment at work. I replaced it with a bolt that will never need to be replaced. Desperate times call for desperate measures! I mean I looked everywhere and couldn't find one of these for sale. Not even sure what they are called. They are everywhere but nobody sells them. You can get plastic ones at the pool supply place but I never could find a metal one.
The "dealy" slips inside the stick and protrudes from the hole.
The stick goes into the WD-611...
and locks securely in place but is still removable.