Tonight I finished making a fitting to hold a d-sub connector, which will allow the right hand control stick to be easily removed. The fitting is made of three sheets of aluminum, and slips over the existing steel fitting for the molex connector. It’s held in place with rivets and is very solid.
On the left stick, since I don’t plan to remove it, I’m going to skip the d-sun connector and just use insulated d-sun pins held together with heat-shrink.
Tonight I finished the left hand control stick. I still need to install connectors on both wiring harnesses, and plan to use d-sub connectors, vs the standard molex from Vans.
Having already done the right stick, the left stick was faster. I cut and fit the sleeve, installed the grip, routed the wires and checked the buttons to ensure they were working as specified.
My concern with both sticks is the possibility of chaffing on the wiring where it exits the tube. To counter the possibility, I covered the wire bundle with mesh, used (electrical grade) silicone around the hole, and will zip-tie the wire bundle to minimize movement. I wish there was more I could do, but I’m out of ideas. I may need to research this more…
Tonight I finished setting up the right hand control stick, by installing the stick grip. I still need to wire up the molex connector, but it’s great to see how it looks installed in the plane. The stick grip feels very comfortable, solid, and easy to manipulate.
The most time consuming part was cutting a slot in the control stick tube, and then drilling holes through the stick. However, the sleeve made for an easy guide and I was able to get it nicely finished. I primed the sleeve and then carefully routed the wiring down the tube and out the hole at the base of the stick tube. I had to enlarge the wiring hole with the step drill, then give it a slightly oblong shape to allow the wiring to pass through without difficulty. I used some mesh to serve as an anti-chaffing layer, and secured it with some shrink seal.
I had been trying to decide what to do in terms of control sticks for the airplane, and finally decided to go with infinity stick grips. They offer a huge array of button options, but I decided to just get the standard configuration, without flaps.
The other option I was considering was Tosten sticks from Vans, which are ready-made and wired. I think the Infinity sticks look a bit better, and that was the deciding factor for me.
I might regret not getting flaps on the stick, but I feel more comfortable with the flap switch on the panel. The situation I was thinking about was a go-around. A last-minute go around involves applying a lot of nose-down trim, while also raising the flaps, and applying full power. I couldn’t imagine how my left thumb would be able to manage flaps and trim, simultaneously. Made more sense to me to have left hand doing pitch, and right hand doing power and flaps. Anyway, I can always make a change if I learn something that changes my mind.
So I started the work by stripping off powder coat on the top 2 inches of the stick, so the sleeve can fit over the stick tube. Then I drilled holes and cut a slot in the back of the stick tube. It is kinda tricky centering the holes, and I’m still working on final sizing the holes.
Yesterday I primed the various cockpit covers and panels, and today I painted a finish coat. The finish coat came out looking good; I didn’t have any runs in the paint, and the finish is even and “wet” looking. It’s still drying, but I’m pleased with how it came out. Much easier to paint on the bench vs. inside the cockpit.
Tonight I spent time deburring parts for the cockpit. These are all the covers and plates that fit into the cockpit and make up the seats, center console cover, flap motor cover, and various panels in the baggage compartment. My plan is to get these primed tomorrow, and then finish chapter 42, and final paint them in the coming weeks. Then I’ll be back to the canopy, or maybe work on both chapters in parallel. I’ve found it’s good to have a couple of mini projects running concurrently, so I can switch between them if I need to pause one, or just need a change of scenery.
