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Engine control spacing : Throttle - Mixture - Prop

petehowell

Well Known Member
Laying out my sub-panel. What is typical spacing for Throttle, Prop, mixture and carb heat controls?

Thanks,

Pete
 
Pete,

I don't have the drawings in front of me as I am at work, but I know that the plans give you dimensions for throttle, mixture, and prop control spacing. I don't remember off hand, but I'm pretty sure it is around 2".

Ron
RV-9A
 
As best I can remember, there is a note in the instructions to wait until you have your engine mounted to drill the cable holes to allow for variation.

Derrell
 
Control space pitch

2" pitch is on the tight side, at least for me, the control knobs have a diameter around 1.3" to 1.5", so the daylight between would be only 0.5". Depending on your hands that might be real tight.

The "stock" center-to-center pitch of the engine controls is 2.5-2.75". That is too much for me; I like the pitch to be around +/-2.25" to 2.375", but than I like them closer together so I can put my hand over two controls at one time. I will mock it up one more time when I get closer and play around before I drill the final holes. It is personal preference and practical considerations. The Joy of building your own plane is making a custom fit. :D
George
 
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Anyone near a Cessna 182? I'm curious what center to center distance they used for vernier style throttle, prop, mixture.

2.5" seems a good distance, but I'm curious to see what some highly paid ergonomic consultant decided for Cessna.

:)
 
2.75 on my -9A

dhall_Polo,

2.75" separation works fine for this underpaid experimental design consultant......... vernier prop and mix, friction lock throttle

Just one data point.
 
how far apart

my 182 measures 2.75 inch between throttle and prop controls and 2.5 inch between prop and mixture
 
Space between control cables

Hi All,
I will drill the control cable holes in the subpanel soon, I'm looking for ideal space between the different control cables. My configuration is (from left to right) : Carb heat - Throttle - Mixture - Cabin heat.
I would like to keep all the controls concentrated, but comfortable to use.
Thanks in advance for your comments
 
Laying out my sub-panel. What is typical spacing for Throttle, Prop, mixture and carb heat controls?

Thanks,

Pete

I would like to bring this thread back into focus as I am looking for quick input on your engine controls spacing. I understand this is ultimately personal preference, but VAF seems to always offer greater knowledge surrounding any questions posted.

Thanks
 
I measured a local Cessna 172 for the spacing. I placed the throttle exactly in the center of the instrument panel with the prop and mixture to the right spaced as the C-172. Looks good and feels perfect. You do have to be aware that the RHS stick must clear the prop and mixture controls through all movements of the stick.
 
I have a side mount 3 lever quadrant in my RV4. Throttle, Mixture, Carb Heat.

I really like the quadrant but do not like having my Mixture and Carb Heat controls right next to each other. The potential risk of selecting idle cutoff instead of carb heat on is too great. It hasn't happened yet and I verify and confirm before using my carb heat but it introduces needles risk IMHO. I would rather have a 2 lever quadrant and put the Carb Heat in a totally different location.
 
Mixture/carb heat on the 3 lever no bueno

My advise is no no no. I'm not NSTB, but I'm 99.9% sure I have one less RV-4 pilot friend based on the position of the levers at the crash site. Not getting into details. I have a -4 with 2 levers, mixture and throttle, my carb heat is a push pull knob directly in front of the throttle. It can be pushed forward with a finger when advancing throttle in a go-around .No chance of pulling the mixture. I , as many, find my head out side the cockpit in the pattern, and I tried to make things stupid proof. I once owned a Taylorcraft BC-12 (they came from production with fuel shut-off and carb heat beside each other. An AD put a little free swinging device over the fuel shut-off for this reason.
 
I made my spacing 2.6". What I did was to take a piece of scrap and drill the holes on the spacing I was thinking about and then give it a try. I have a fixed pitch prop so I only have the two controls. I used the same approach when I decided I was going to add a TO/GA switch near my throttle control to confirm that spacing would work. A small adjustment to the spacing can make a big difference in my opinion.
 
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