Fuselage Final Install: Control Stick Assembly

I final-installed the torque tube, elevator push-pull tube and control sticks. The torque tube is mounted on three pillow blocks, which are bolted to the frame. It takes a little effort to get the friction out and I had to shim the front and middle pillow blocks to get things to work. They're basically like glorified clamps which have to be loosened and lubricated to function without friction. Two aluminum stop rings are riveted to prevent torque tube from moving forward and aft. Here is the front pillow block:

Here is the middle pillow block. The bearing area was masked so paint would not contaminate.

Here is the aft pillow block. There are two black plastic bushings installed inside the torque tube that the push-pull tube goes through. The forward bushing was a son-of-a-gun to install, as the ID of the tube was out of round due to welding distortion. Took alot of sanding to get bushing to fit and was reminiscent of gear leg fitup--a fair amount of cursing aimed at the manufacturer.

Here is one of the two control sticks bolted through a series of bushings.

The front control stick will be wired with three switches, including: push-to-talk, radio frequency toggle, and elevator trim up and down. Here is me wiring up the switches. First time I have attempted any degree of soldering and was a little nerous. After a few practice runs, I got the hang of it. Key is to heat up wire and tabs with the gun and apply solder there and not directly to the gun. Looking for a glassy and not frosty looking bead.

Attached to the rear stick are two linkages which transfer elevator push pull tube actuation to the front and rear sticks.

In this pic, you can see the seven wires existing the base of the control stick.

The overall goal was to obtain a friction-free setup. I retained enough friction, however, that the control sticks won't flop over in any direction without pilot input.