Chapter 16: Control Handles

Chapter 16: Control Handles

Control Handles

 

 

The Cozy control handles from Brock are supplied with 0.5-inch diameter stubs that are canted inward by 10 degrees.  They readily accept the Atari joysticks suggested by the plans.  Because the Atari grips are short and skinny, there is adequate room between your hand and the fuselage sidewall at full aileron deflection. 

 

I chose to purchase two Infinity Grips.  I wanted a high-quality grip with an ergonomic design to easily fit my hand.  These grips paid out in spades.  Although these grips certainly LOOK huge, they really are not.  In fact, I find them to be a perfect fit for my hands.   They definitely look snazzy in the plane.

 

The grips are made to fit a 1-inch diameter stub.  So, you must either make/buy spacers that slip over the standard stubs, or do what Bulent Aliev suggested -- whack the stubs off and weld on some new stubs.  That's what I did.  I used some 1-inch diameter tubing with 0.049 wall.   The plans call for a 10-degree cant angle for the stubs.  Since my control sticks are already turned inward by about 10 degrees (as a result of my aileron rigging), I didn't need any cant angle on the stubs in order to mathematically match the plans.  Some flyers suggested a larger cant angle in order to ensure more clearance between the stick and the sidewall.  I was surprised to note that my hand would be the first thing to have hit the fuselage sidewall, not the stick.  Anyway, I have adequate clearance between my hands and the fuselage.  The tops of my Infinity Grips are about 5/8th-inch away from the fuselage at full aileron deflection.  It helps to mount the stick to be as low on the stub as possible.  The base of my grips are mounted 3/4th-inches up on the stub.  Your mileage may vary.   

 

The grip's wire bundle is incredibly huge, so I drilled an exit hole at the base of the stub.  I chose to exit the wire bundle from the outboard side of the stub.  The cable will be be zip-tied to the handle, then routed aft a little bit along the torque tube before curving downward and being run forward with the rest of the cable bundles.  (Please note:  The picture below is one I took of the grip on the first installation.  It had the stub welded to a 15-degree cant angle, which places the stick way too far inboard.  I have since cut the stub off and rewelded it to a zero degree cant angle.  I'll update the picture soon.)

 

 

 

By the way, my Infinity switch assignments are as follows:

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