Max stick travel (side to side)??

[Pilottonny]

Hello fellow builders, I have some special questions this time.

Being inspired by seeing some airliner cockpits, I am going to install a ? retractable ?in-instrument panel-tray-table? . Well,?...actually it is going to be a replacement for a knee-pad. It will be approx. 6? W X 10? L, when pulled out. When not in use it will slide under/inside the instrument panel. It should allow me to clip A5 size ?Bottlang Airport Manuals?, flight plans, etc. to it and even write on it. To hold the paper, I will steel a spring-clamp from an ordinary clipboard.

It will be installed in the center of the instrument panel, under the Throttle/Prop/Mixture- controls (I do not have a sub-panel). For easy viewing and writing and extra clearance from the T/P/M-controls, it will be slightly tilted downwards and therefore be lower than the top of the stick (stick is still in original length). So obviously I have to be careful about stick-clearance.

Now to the questions:

• What is the stick side-to-side movement when the ailerons are connected. i.e: when the pilot stick is moved to the right, how far is the top of the stick from the centerline of the instrument panel, when the ailerons hit the stops. (and what is the length of your stick, from seat pan to top of the stick grip !).
• Did you shorten your stick?, by how much? and do you still feel you have good control?
• The T/P/M- controls will be above the tray-table and their cables might interfere with the tray-table when it is in the fore ward position. Are the push-pull cables flexible enough to be routed slightly upward and than downward, to clear the tray table?

If any of the above causes a problem, I could move it more to the passenger side and only use it with the passenger stick removed, but I only want to do that if everything else fails.

Thanks in advance for the input on this.

Kind regards, PilotTonny

 

[tc1234c]

Tonny,

Next time (Thursday) when I go to the airport I will measure my stick length and post it for you. Here is a picture of my sticks and it will give you some idea as how short they are.

I flew with the original length stick for almost a year. After cutting them short, I don't feel any more difficult to control during landing. Enroute I usually put my left hand on my lap and hold the stick just below the grip. Even a 9, RV takes very little control input.

Control cables are flexible enough. Unfortunately, they are not long enough (the ones from Van). My throttle cable is pretty stretched as it is. Mixture is about the same. Also, will the table interfere with fuel valve or trim knob (if you have manual trim) operations? I built a removable arm rest. I made it quite high and I have been using it to write on. I store charts, fire extinguisher, oxygen cannulas, etc. in it.

 

[Pilottonny]

Nice!

Ted,

Very nice looking interior!

Although I am not a “big” guy (72 kg), I do not fancy the centre arm-rest/console because it will give a more closed in feeling (less ventilation around the hips/upper legs, so more sweating?) I am building this plane for longer flights through Europe and need to be able to move about a bit on the longer flights. I am sure it is comfortable and is great for storing stuff, as you mention.

It looks like your sticks are very short and would not even interfere if they move past the centre of the instrument panel. I have electric trim so that is no issue. The fuel valve is operated ones per half hour, so that means I slide the tray back in, turn the valve and slide the tray back out (if I need it at all at that time). Maybe I may even be able to operate the valve with the tray table extended, I will have to check that.
What you are saying about the control cables intrigues me, they are pretty short as they are? I will have to ask Vans if they are able to supply them some inches longer than standard, I guess?

Thanks for the reply, PilotTonny

 

[tc1234c]

Tonny,

I am 5'10" and 175 lb (79kg). Actually it is nice to have an armrest for the long distance flight. Otherwise what do you do with your right arm? So far I have not made real long distance flight yet. However, I have made more than fifteen 2 hr+ cross country flights. It is quite comfortable in a 9A.

As for the control cable (throttle and mixture) you may want to order from other sources than Van. A few weeks ago there was a thread on VAF about the throw of throttle cable. The throw is too short for the full movement of throttle on my carburetor (even in the inner most hole on the throttle arm). In order to set the idle at 550 rpm (so my FP 9A will not float too far), I can not get full power. Since 160 hp is pretty good for 9 and it is too much trouble to change out the cable, I have not made the change yet. I will suggest that you order a slightly longer cable with more throw. Following is the thread. There are several suggestions on the cable source.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=20442&highlight=throw

It will solve two problems at the same time.

 

[tc1234c]

Just measured my stick length. It is 12" from the floor to the top of the grip.

 

[scard]

Just measured my stick length. It is 12" from the floor to the top of the grip.

That is a seriously short 9A stick. I sure wouldn't recommend anyone start out that short until taking it around the patch a time or two. I chopped mine down too, but nowhere near that short. I wouldn't want mine too much shorter. I obviously don't know exactly how long mine are. Maybe I'll measure them tomorrow for comparison.
It just goes to show how different people like things setup differently.

 

[tc1234c]

I flew the full length stick for 7 months. Cut three inches off so the top of the grip would be at the same height as the stick without grip and flew another two months. Since I was still holding below the grip, I finally cut it again. Sure, I will not suggest anyone to cut the stick down before their first flight or as a matter of fact, before Phase II. Now I have flew with the short stick for five months, I have not found anytime that I feel the need of longer stick. Try to fly holding below the grip and slide your hand up and down until you find a position that is comfortable and manageable. I actually could have cut a little more.