Re: Throttle Quadrant

[aegerter@dataway.ch (Simon Aegerter)]

>Simon, you'all got me so confused on panel removal, I better move onto
>something else.

Sorry I started it in the first place. I misunderstood the term "drop-in-panel".

>Like, right-seat quadrants.  I've heard other Velocity builders mention
>this; is there a simple way to explain how you did it?

No. But I'll try to make it as simple as possible:

I have a 3/4" Al torque tube behind the panel as low as possible so that it
clears the top of the keel. On the left side I have a lever mouted to it
that has a rather complicated shape: From the hub there is a belcrank
sticking out about horizontally forward. The throttle cable is mounted to
its end. On the other side of the hub there is a lever going up about
vertically about 5". Then that lever turns 90 deg into an arc that goes
through the panel and on for about 60 deg. At the end of the arc it goes in
the radial direction again for about 2" and ends in a handle. Think of it
as a 7" long lever that is offset by 60 deg at the 5" mark.

The situation I have described is the idle position. When I push the handle
up, the bellcrank goes down and pushes the throttle cable. The same lever,
minus the bellcrank, is mounted to the right side of the torque tube. The
geometry is slightly different to account for the fact that the panel is
canted.

A third lever with essentially the same shape as the first one sits loosely
on the torque tube on the pilot's side. That one operates the mixture
cable. There is no mixture for the co pilot.

I'll try to find pictures and send them to Brian for publication. If there
is enough interest for this contraption, I could also send something to
Rick Lavoie.

First experiences are satisfying. I find the quadrant/lever situation more
intuitive than the knob/cable. - And it just looks so much better!  The
friction in the cables is just enough to keep the levers in place or
almost. I may think of a way to have a variable friction lock. The Al
torque tube is not quite stiff enough. There is a little bit of slack in
the copilot's control. I may have to replace it with stainless steel.

Questions?

Best
Simon

Simon Aegerter, Winterthur, Switzerland