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Control stick length

Chipper G

Well Known Member
On the 15” max control stick length for the front control, does that include the stick grip? And is the back seat the same?
 
You did not happen to mention the aircraft, but it probably does not matter. Generally the stick provided by Van’s is the right overall length and very little length can be added to it with the grip you chose without it hitting things it should not. I used the Infinity Aerospace grips on my RV10. I had to cut off most of the vertical part of the stick to keep it the same length.
 
The dimension is just guidance. What you will do is make the front stick as long as it can be but still have whatever stick grip you are using miss the bottom of the panel. For the infinity grip you will cut off a good chunk.

Remember that the connection control tube (front to back) also has a vertical adjustment. I get this tube pretty high - height determined by left to right clearance on the spar pass through hole. So, get this done before cutting the control stick.

Whatever you end up with for the front stick, make the rear stick a couple of inches shorter so the pilot has advantage - as in the rear passenger goes nuts with a death grip on the rear stick.

Note - I only leave the rear stick in for pilots or passengers that I have some confidence they will not do something stupid.

Carl
 
You did not happen to mention the aircraft, but it probably does not matter. Generally the stick provided by Van’s is the right overall length and very little length can be added to it with the grip you chose without it hitting things it should not. I used the Infinity Aerospace grips on my RV10. I had to cut off most of the vertical part of the stick to keep it the same length.

Can you tell me the actual length of the Infinity stick grip?
 
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I can't tell you off the top of my head, but I can tell you that you shouldn't make any cuts until you have the stick in hand, with the grip, and the pilot to passenger tube adjusted.
 
Stick Length with Infinity Grips

My RV8 is equipped with Infinity stick grips both front and rear seat. Here are my lengths.

Front Stick.
From the center of the pivot point to the end of the stick is 10 1/2 inches. The mounting hole centerline is at 10 inches from the pivot point. This allows the movement of the stick through its full range of motion with your thumb on top of the stick. When fabricating you need to clock the grip mounting to account for you hand coming in slightly off center from the stick. Play with it a bit before cutting and drilling.

Rear Stick.
My rear stick is shorter so it does not hit the back of the front seat. The rear stick is 7 3/4 quarter inches long from the pivot point to end with the mounting hole drilled at 7 1/4 quarter inches. Again the rear stick should be clocked for comfort.

If using other stick grips adjust length accordingly. Be sure that the front stick clears the panel with your thumb on top of it.
 
There's a fair amount in the archives on this, but limiting the front stick in an -8 to passing below the panel is not the best/only way to roll, literally. I have been through probably three stick iterations, first one was a short arrangement that cleared below the panel. Second, I tried bending the stick and you just can't get the offsets right with the stick diameter and available lengths. The best and current configuration I have is one with a mitered aft offset at the top of the stick. This allows for a much more comfortable and "normal" stick location. IMO.
 
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