-Ice's A-10 pit - first time pit builder

Photos for reference if you like, tube is 1.75" diameter, .070" wall thickness.

Flight Stick (1 of 3) by KLaFaille, on Flickr

Flight Stick (2 of 3) by KLaFaille, on Flickr

Flight Stick (3 of 3) by KLaFaille, on Flickr

You are doing a great job Ice. I see you are using Dimebug's cockpit stencils. I am trying to replicate his sttick extension and I need detailed picures of the joint in order to do it. Would you mind taking some pictures of the pieces used and a quick explanation of the assembly process?

I hope you can help me!

KLaFaille, thanks for the reference pics! Unfortunately, like I said, I am using a car seat which means I needed a different extension layout. I am curious though, how did you get those pictures? Do you have access to the actual stick? On the third pic, there seems to be a "joint" before the stick handle, does it move?

Is there any way to calculate the angle of the curves/bends on the extender?

danipelos, even though I used Dimebug's plans, the seat and seat assembly are my own and I am using a car seat instead of an ACES replica so my stick extension are as per the pictures in my post above.

Hi -Ice,

I took the stick off my shelf to take the pictures.

In the third picture there what you see is an insert that goes into the top of the tube that angles the grip up and sets the rotation of the amphenol connector. The two holes you see in the side of the tube are rivets that hold the insert in place.

I'm not home right now, but if you have access to any sort of imaging software that you can draw lines and measure angles with you could take measurements of the first picture I provided. I guess you could print it and do it with ruler and protractor too. ;)

K

The angle is right around 20 degrees and the bend is about a four inch radius.

K

Excellent, thanks! I did not want to measure the pic because I wasn't sure if it was taken "square on" with reference to the stick extender. I was just wondering though, what "bend" are you talking about?

The stick only has the one bend in it with the 20 degree angle. The connector and grip are attached to the insert you see in pic three. The angle for those is set by the insert and they are parallel to the bottom of the stick.

Keith, I'm pretty sure it is, but is that the TM stick on the column? It looks scarily clean compared to the rest!

EDIT: Duh, it is, didn't even notice the paddle switch :P The NWS button also sticks out further than the real thing.

Thank Keith for the pictures, it can help me to improve the arm drawings

Sure thing.

Yeah its the TM Warthog, but I removed all the cheap TM pushbuttons and replaced them with the proper Otto switches as used in the real grip, apart from the color that is.

Very nice input, much appreciated!

Current problem I'm noticing with my stick is that with the extender, it is too "top-heavy" which takes a little getting used to. I'm sure the real thing has stiffer springs/hydraulics to compensate, but the TM Warthog springs can't seem to handle the stick being too far out. I'm thinking of raising the stick base off from the "floor" of the front console assembly, then going back to the 4-inch extender I was using earlier.

This was exactly the reason I didn't build an extension. I was having the same ideas about building a short one too, maybe 3-4". This would just give a bit more stroke, resulting in more precise input, but balancing out with the spring strength.

- Ice,

can you tell where you got those car seats?

Thanks

avlolga, I just got them through eBay. Nothing special, just some bucket seats. Make sure you get one that reclines and that it comes with the sliders/runners.

Ragtop, I've been playing most of my DCS with metalnwood's aluminum extensions. It's about 4 inches long, but just straight, no bends/curves. I was hoping that a curved extension will allow me to put the base where it is, but the stick ends up closer to my body. At the moment, this seems impossible without either having to make an ACES replica or dealing with a wobbly stick assembly.

I have tried a number of extension lengths and I use ~ 80mm (~3.25").

The other day I tried a friends stick without one and it was very 'wristy' using it, I didn't like it much at all for a center mounting. On the other hand lengths over 4" seem too long.

I think my length is perfect for the amount of travel you get for a better feeling and more precision but you have to mount the base at the correct height.

I remember some people wanting 8" extenders but the spring barely kept the stick centered, not sure that it did if you left it to the side.

Anyway, the pit is coming along nicely :)

Ice, another idea for you as this is what I do for the car seat in leu of not having the gap in the seat for the stick to come through.

I made a base that lifts the stick just over the top front of the seat, thats the first picture. you can see that it is the positioned between your legs like the aces 2.

The extension then makes it slightly too high so I got the dense foam and put it on the seat with a cutout at the front. When the sewing machine is running I will create a nice cover so it will look more like an aces 2 around the stick. This makes my 80mm extension perfect.

If your seat is on rails you can roll it back to get out and roll it full forward to bring the stick in the correct place.

If I was to do anything differently I would make the top plate of my base have the stick go farther in to the seat by another 20mm or so.

I had the same idea, metalnwood, but at the moment I am using the 4" extender you sent and I feel it gives a nice balance of more throw but still accurate. A shorter one would just feel too... short.

My car seat is on rails and the top of the warthog joystick base is about level with the top part of the front edge of the seat, so raising it the height of the base (about 2.5inches)...

I'll give it a go though. Main problem I'm gonna have is finding a metal worker that can do that "holder" for me.