The pilot side stick is one piece, but the copilot side has a two piece stick that allows it to be removed. Van's has a service bulletin about the copilot stick recommending that it be bolted in place (after someone didn't attach the stick in place at all and had an accident during landing when the stick popped out). I think that when Rose travels with me, she'll prefer no stick, so I really want to be able to remove it relatively easily. That's also the reason I've decided not to put any functions on the copilot grip - I don't want the complication of having to have connections for wiring, and having to be able to secure the wires away from the control mechanics when the stick is out. The stick is small enough that I can still just stow it in the plane when it's out, so grabbing and inserting it in an emergency is still possible.
Instead of using a bolt, I found a spring retainer pin (no sure what to call it) that is almost the exact size of the stick. The spring looks like it could pop off easily, but it's very tight and actually requires significant effort to undo.
The left side stick connects to the control column the same way as the right, with the only exception that the stick doesn't come apart. I attached it to the control column, but there was a decent amount of slop in the pitch motion (roll was fine). The stick rotates around a bushing that slides between the ears of the control column. The issue is that the sleeve that is welded to the stick and the bushing slides into is not a uniform size and allows the bushing to wobble a little. Apparently this is a common issue - when the stick setup is welded, the hole is warped. Van's runs a reamer through it, but in many cases that's not enough to fix the hole. I looked on the forums and people say don't even bother calling Van's about it. Van's says that all sticks are like that, so there's no reason to try swapping them with new parts. Some builders say the slight slop in pitch isn't noticeable in flight, and others say it drives them nuts. The slop on mine isn't awful, but I'd like to at least try to fix it.
The only real way for me to attempt to fix the slop is to ream the sleeve to a larger ID, then make a bushing that is slightly oversized from the existing one. If I only had a metal lathe...
It may be easier to see what I'm talking about with a picture: Not only does the bushing wobble in the stick mount's sleeve, but the bushing's ID is also a little bigger than it should be and allows the bolt to wobble inside it as well. Add those two together and you get enough slop at the top of the stick to be noticeable.
It may be easier to see what I'm talking about with a picture: Not only does the bushing wobble in the stick mount's sleeve, but the bushing's ID is also a little bigger than it should be and allows the bolt to wobble inside it as well. Add those two together and you get enough slop at the top of the stick to be noticeable.
