Aircraft Control Stick - Present day practice relies more on the use of push-pull tubes and rods than cables for controlling both the elevators and the ailerons. This combination of cables and push-pull tubes results in a very light efficient installation, especially in low wing aircraft.
In making a banked turn to the right, for example, the aileron on the right wing is deflected up. Unfortunately, the left aileron is deflected down the same amount creating a lot of drag on that side.
Aircraft Control Stick
This tends to skew the nose of the aircraft to the left. . . opposite to the direction you intend to turn to. The next result is that you have to punch in extra right rudder to keep that banked airplane turning to the right.
Use The Correct Hardware A separated control connection in flight can result in frightening if not disastrous consequences. Having controllable trim tabs but lacking the skill and luck needed to effect some control with them, in such an emergency, may only prolong the inevitable.
Such an arrangement effectively negates the need for the use of extra rudder pressure in a turn. With properly designed aileron bell cranks you can make coordinated turns with the control stick alone. . . and that is the way to go.
Differential Aileron Travel The older lightplanes were often called "rudder airplanes" because so much rudder input was needed in maneuvering the aircraft. The reason for this can be attributed to the way the ailerons were operated.
That is, the degree of aileron travel provided was the same "up" as it was "down." Unfortunately, this results in an odd and most noticeable flight reaction when you try to make a simple banked turn.
Let me explain. Electric flaps are slow acting and cannot be dumped quickly after landing. About the only positive electric flaps feature, as I see it, is the infinite number of possible flap settings. . .
but who needs that? By contrast, manual flaps are usually limited to two or three settings, say, 10, 20, 30 degrees and full flaps. If you only install control stops at the flight control surfaces you may, during some exciting moment, apply so much pressure to the rudder pedals or control stick that you might overstress and fail the linkage or one of the control surfaces.
Controls Too Sensitive? Many a builder is dismayed to learn how sensitive the controls are in his homebuilt. The embarrassing consequence being that the pilot over-controls in spite of himself and causes the airplane to behave more like a porpoise than an arrow in flight.
Please note, Aircraft Spruce's personnel are not certified aircraft mechanics and can only provide general support and ideas, which should not be relied upon or implemented in lieu of consulting an A&P or other qualified technician.
Aircraft Spruce assumes no responsibility or liability for any issue or problem which may arise from any repair, modification or other work done from this knowledge base. Any product eligibility information provided here is based on general application guides and we recommend always referring to your specific aircraft parts manual, the parts manufacturer or consulting with a qualified mechanic.
For example, some aircraft may have a very limited up-travel for the elevator. The idea being to minimize the risk of inadvertent stalls and spins. Obviously, if you are building an aerobatic machine, such a limited "up" travel would be unthinkable.
The best way to ensure a high degree of control system reliability, before that all important test flight, is by implementing traditional control system standards for its installation, operation, inspection and maintenance. Control System Options In homebuilts, control surfaces are usually operated by cables, or by a combination of cables and push-pull tubes.
Yes, it can be done. The PTT button has bare wires hanging out the bottom of the grip, so the builder or avionics shop would need to hook the bare wires up to the PTT switch wires on the Icom radio.
This would be a custom installation. There are no adapters to go straight from the grip to the Icom handheld. The grip that you refer to slips onto the control stick. There is a hole on the side for securing the grip to the control stick and it would require drilling into the stick to fasten the screw.
The PTT switch can be replaced. 1. Yes, the wires will come out of the bore hole in the bottom of the grip. 2. Yes, the PTT button can be pushed in with the thumb on the models that include the PTT switch.
3. Yes, the PTT button is the only button protruding from the stick on the models with PTT switch. The Falco I built had one of the longest control sticks (sort of like a brake lever on a buckboard) ever to grace a homebuilt.
. . consequently, there never was any risk in my overcontrolling that beauty. Even so, there were some folks who thought it was too sensitive. Maybe so, compared to a sedate Wichita "Chug-a-long," but not compared to most any high performance homebuilt.
Final Control System Check Move each control through its entire range of movement from one stop to the other. Verify once more that each control surface moves in the correct direction. All controls must move smoothly to their limits without binding.
Toll Free: 877-477-7823 Customer Service: 800-861-3192 Fax: 800-329-3020 It is more difficult to install a push-pull type control system without any play in it, than it is to install a cable operated one. Therefore, take extra care in drilling all bolt holes to ensure a snug fit at each control connection.
Differential aileron travel is one means used to eliminate this type of primitive control reaction. It is mechanically simple to provide the ailerons with more up travel than down travel. This greatly reduces the adverse drag created by the down aileron.
Don't make the mistake of shortening your control stick. . . at least not until you have flown the airplane. The shorter the stick the more sensitive (quicker) the airplane response to even the slightest movement of the control.
About Those Flaps The beneficial gain in lift coefficient realized with the deployment of flaps appears to peak when flaps are lowered as much as 40 degrees. A maximum flap travel of 45 degrees, therefore, should be the set limit for full flaps because flap drag increases rapidly beyond that recommended 40 degree deflection.
In my opinion, the mechanical means used (cables, push-pull tubes, or a combination) to operate the controls is not nearly as important as the way the system is installed. Both control system options are reliable when correctly installed and the control surfaces are properly rigged.
military aircraft control stick, stick grips for experimental aircraft, aircraft control stick for sale, jet fighter control stick, aircraft stick grips, airplane control stick, aircraft control stick grips, aircraft control stick design