36-14: play in right hand stick

[TASEsq]

I’ve installed the control stick bases and elevator and aileron pushrods.

I installed the left stick with both bolts (temporary nuts) and it was a nice slip fit into the control stick base. Needed just slight back and forth twisting to get it to slide in.

The right hand side was quite loose - in fact, I put 2 wraps of masking tape on the tube so it didn’t wobble around when I match drilled the sticks.

Now they are installed, I followed instructions and only used the one top bolt on the right stick but the wobble in the stick was a lot! It was rotating around the top bolt. I added the second bolt and it helped somewhat, but you can definitely feel a ‘clunk’ as you move the stick from one side to the other (with 2 bolts).

The left stick is solid in the control column base but the right is a bit of a concern. There is no way I could use a single bolt - the movement is awful. The fact one stick is ok means the play is not in the pushrod between the sticks.

Is this a known thing? I was thinking a couple of wraps of electrical tape would sort this out - or do I have a bigger issue?

Full disclosure - these are the pre-wired tosten sticks. I have the original Van’s sticks and tried one of these in the right - it’s an even looser fit. So the issue is with the control column base I think.

Here is the video - my son is holding one stick on the stop and you can see the wobble - I removed the lower bolt to better show the wobble - with 2 bolts you can feel it but it’s hard to show on video:

 

[AlexC]

My pre-wired tosten sticks have some wobble (both sides); get it as good as you can and although the slight wobble is noticeable on the ground, you won't notice any slop in the controls when flying.

 

[Jjackh10]

Electrical tape makes a crappy shim. Might try cutting the top and bottom off a beer can and wrap the middle around the stick.

 

[Jetmart]

You can get different thicknesses of shim stock from Amazon. I helped a friend do his and I plan to do mine soon. It took a couple of tries but I believe we ended up using .005" shim wrapped around the stick. So took up .010" of slop.

 

[Condor]

I chopped up a couple of feeler gauges to use as a shim which worked ok.

 

[TASEsq]

You can get different thicknesses of shim stock from Amazon. I helped a friend do his and I plan to do mine soon. It took a couple of tries but I believe we ended up using .005" shim wrapped around the stick. So took up .010" of slop.

Did you just roll them around the stick? Or used a thin long piece vertical in the socket?

The other idea which was suggested to me was aluminium tape

 

[D-Dubya]

I would lean toward getting shim stock and rolling it around the stick, with the holes pre-drilled to help keep it in place and prevent it from shifting. I concur that electrical tape isn't a long-term fix.

In my previous industrial day job, we had shim stock of varying thicknesses (in 0.001" increments) to cut to size and place under the feet of rotating equipment to get them precision aligned. McMaster Carr or other similar industrial supply houses should have stock in flat sheets.

 

[Jetmart]

Did you just roll them around the stick? Or used a thin long piece vertical in the socket?

The other idea which was suggested to me was aluminium tape

We rolled it around the stick and drilled the two holes through the shim stock for the stick attachment.

 

[TASEsq]

I tried the aluminium tape - one layer (0.06” ish) was too thin and two layers (0.013”) was too thick. The tape just peeled back when I tried to insert the stick. No good.

Thought I’d try a soda can - these are incredibly thin - 0.003” - so also not great.

I’ll see if I can buy some shim stock. I measure the difference between the left and right control column bases as 0.013”

 

[TASEsq]

Update: Van’s support has elected to send me a new control stick base.

Not sure how that’s going to go given I match drilled the stick to the existing base - but we shall see I guess!