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Control Bar / Basetube Height or Position
There are considerable variations in bar height depending on pilots body, overall height of mast / pylon, Geometry of control bar, and seat bottom position.
I have my preferences for the control bar to be at rib cage / sternum height, but have flown trikes that the bar was practically in my lap, or the other “ape hanger” extreme being at shoulder height. The higher bar position does reinforce the “elbows down” and “leaning forward” on the flare for landing but it just doesn’t feel right in relaxed flight. I find I need a “booster seat” to get me positioned comfortably. I think about shortening a mast / pylon to adjust to my preferred height, but messing with the geometry brings new problems.
What’s your preference, and is a booster seat, or a taller hang block an option you would consider?
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3 Replies
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I have been experimenting with the front tube length on my Cygnet amphib. Though I prefer the control bar to be mid chest, I’ve had to lower mine a bit to facilitate water takeoffs. A disadvantage is that my trike nose is cocked up a few degrees. I’m going to try lengthening the tube (bringing the control bar up a little higher) with the result of flattening out the straight and level flight angle.
My water takeoff issue is that I’m running a smaller, faster wing than the manufacturer suggests and she gets a little squirrelly on water takeoffs. I’ve had to make a few other adjustments to accommodate the smaller wing’s water performance. On terra firma there’s no issues at all.
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Hey Tom on some trikes where the mast is more vertical, adjusting the front strut length will only affect the swing through (angle of the dangle) and not control bar height. On the Cygnet’s the mast is nearly 45 degrees so you get both. Be very careful about swing through as your trike has a higher thrust line and REQUIRES enough swing through to be safe on full power takeoffs. Without enough swing through the backs of the floats or rear wheels can actually leave the surface first which is further compounded by having a smaller wing which usually has less drag up top making the higher thrust line more critical.
Northwing makes 2 different length down tubes (uprights). A standard which is 61” and an extended down tube which is 64”. The cool thing is the cables mount in the same spot with simply more down tube below the cable bolt on the extended down tubes. You must add a +3” control bar in order to not affect your anhedral. If you have 61” and want your control bar higher, then you are in a jam and need to go custom. Our REV X uses 54” down tubes but now you need to figure out custom cable lengths. But one more problem can arise especially on a large wing like a 17m. The wing struts start to become very horizontal putting more stress/leverage on them…
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Thanks, Larry. I seem to have found the sweet spot on my Cygnet. It’s about an inch higher up the tube from the factory set location (making the tube an inch shorter). I had it set earlier to about 3″ higher which worked but I think was also part of my yawing issue. It’s nicer to have the trike more flat at this point.
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