Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  2-20-2009
Number of Hours:  3.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Rear Stick Installation & Wiring - Part 1

Today I installed the rear stick and stick grip. The rear stick comes too long and you have to cut it down to the right length so that it doesn't interfere with the back of the pilot's seat. To measure this, however, you really have to have the stick grip installed. But, you can't install the stick grip until you have the stick cut to the right length. Catch-22 for sure. The other aspect of installing the stick grip is making sure the angle is correct so that the passenger's wrist isn't twisted in some odd way. So, I had to put all of the floor boards and cushions in so that I could sit in the back seat and trial fit the stick height and set the necessary twist.

The stick grip comes with this huge, blue composite cable that has wires for all the various switches. Its a bit unruly, but it will certainly be durable in the long run. I wanted to make sure that the rear stick was relatively easy to remove for long cross-countries. The meant that there had to be a connector pair some where near the stick. But, it had to not interfere with the stick movement in any way, yet had to be accessible.

I settled on a sweet setup where in I used the DB25 chassis punch again and mounted connector towards the panel in the fuselage bottom bulkhead with the golden back shell. On the stick side, there is a standard thumb-screw shell that can easily be removed by simply unscrewing the screws. The whole stick can be removed by 1) removing the DB25 connector, 2) cutting the two cable ties, and 3) removing the #3 bolt and nut. Simple and quick.
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Stick Cut & Notched

Stick Cut & Notched

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Grip Installed & Wire Exit Drilled

Grip Installed & Wire Exit Drilled

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Two DB25 Connectors Installed

Two DB25 Connectors Installed

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