control stick travel

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JimBob
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:09 pm
Location: Osceoal, IN

control stick travel

Post by JimBob »

Just finished the controls and test fit in the fuselage and I notice when the control (stick) is all the way to the left, the tube that connects the two control sticks hits the cutout in the back of the front seat. I can't really cut out the opening any because it will cut into the wood bracing. Everything is being made to the plans (long fuselage) and the dimensions are correct. The stick movement to the right is considerably more as the tube is not on that side. Am I to assume that the left throw (distance) is enough as is? If not, any suggestions on a fix?
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by taildrags »

JimBob; this has come up before and is not a new issue. My airplane has a half-round notch taken out of the side you're referring to, and I think others have done that as well. See pic.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
notch.jpg
Earl Brown
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2019 12:24 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by Earl Brown »

I moved the connecting rod to the right side of the sticks. My hand hits my knee before the rod hits the seat back.
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KenBickers
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 7:00 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by KenBickers »

My connecting rod is on the left, per plans. I've never noticed that I had less aileron turning left versus right. I will say that, at least in my Piet, aileron, not rudder, is the limiting factor in cross-wind landings. So maybe there is some slight difference that a better pilot than me might be able to detect. Cheers, Ken
Dana H
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:08 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by Dana H »

Jimbob;I crossed the for from front to back. Put the front on the right and the back on left. No notch needed.
Dana H
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2021 8:08 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by Dana H »

Jimbob;I crossed the rod from front to back. Put the front on the right and the back on left. No notch needed.
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by taildrags »

Dana: sometimes the solution is right in front of our eyes but we can't see it! Great idea.

-Oscar
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Richard Roller
Posts: 240
Joined: Mon May 22, 2017 11:14 am
Location: Olathe, Ks.

Re: control stick travel

Post by Richard Roller »

I looked at 34KP. It looks like Ken built it to the plans in reference to the seat cutout. I set in it and the stick hits my legs before it hits the cutout. There is no sign of the tube hitting the cutout.
JimBob
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 4:09 pm
Location: Osceoal, IN

Re: control stick travel

Post by JimBob »

So what I’m hearing is there is enough travel “between your knees “ that you don’t have to worry about the travel in the seat cutout.
tom kreiner
Posts: 71
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:49 am

Re: control stick travel

Post by tom kreiner »

In a series of emails with Oscar sometime ago together we determined that indeed the stick is stopped by your knees prior to touching the stops.

In other words, the design does not permit for full aileron travel unless you’re not sitting in the aircraft!

If Anyone reading this has a different bellcrank that provides full aileron deflection when in the airplane, I’d be very interested in seeing how this was achieved.
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by taildrags »

I'll have to go sit in the airplane and throw the stick fully across from side to side to refresh my recollection on this. I installed some small aluminum discs on the floor where the ends of the aileron bellcrank touch, so those would show some dimples if they've been tapped often enough.

I have put my airplane into some pretty steep slips when I've been practicing spot landings and approaches over an obstacle, and that's probably when I would have noticed if I had hit the stop. I probably wouldn't have noticed the stick pressing against the inside of my thigh since those are usually intense-focus moments in flight.

-Oscar
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: control stick travel

Post by taildrags »

Tom Kreiner saved me the trouble of making a run out to the airport to check the stick travel on 41CC. He pulled up an email from back in 2017 where I had already done that... sat in the plane and pushed the stick left and right as far as I could, and I surprised myself to find out that with my knees hard against the sides of the cockpit and the stick pushed firmly into the insides of my thighs, the aileron bellcrank never touched the floor on either side. So, apparently there isn't much need for heroic measures like carving a semicircle out of the front seat back support so the stick gets its full travel, because your legs become human aileron stops anyway! So now back to your regularly-scheduled Pietenpol building!

-Oscar
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