Why are side sticks unpopular in sailplanes

On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 08:02:38 -0800, Tango Eight wrote:

On Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 9:59:27 AM UTC-5, Martin Gregorie wrote:
On Sun, 19 Feb 2017 05:08:07 -0800, Tango Eight wrote:

Had a side stick for a decade. Center stick is just better.

Can you expand a bit, please?

Sure. I think the irreducible issue is simply one of leverage and
limited motion options. There's only one way to grip the stick, there's
only one way to interact with it.

All of the side stick designs I've seen for direct mechanical actuation
of controls require a sliding fore/aft motion for elevator (elbow +
shoulder) and a rolling motion of the wrist for aileron. Blending those
motions with finesse is just more work (more fatigue) than a
conventional gimballed stick. I landed out a couple of times in my side
stick glider simply because I got tired and sloppy after 4+ hours and
couldn't climb well. Coordination never became unconscious in that
ship.

The other things that I don't like about side stick equipped gliders
tend to be the *reasons* designers opted for side sticks, not the sticks
themselves: supine seating position, lousy forward visibility, tiny
instrument pods, cockpits with no extra space for anything.

That said, I have always had a desire to fly (but not own!) a Diana2,
just because the thing was so radical.

Thanks for the additional detail. Like you I'd like to check out a Diana
2 for comfort and forward visibility and wonder if cricked necks could be
a problem. I entirely understand your point about about panel space.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |