Throttle Quadrant
Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:49 pm
Posts a re a bit slow so I thought I'd add some content.
I had an Andair throttle quadrant in my Glasair. It looks like they discontinued it in 2015 or so. I liked it so much I decided to make my own for my Hatz. The picture below shows my version compared to the A/S standard homebuilders throttle quadrant.
It took me a couple of months to figure out a process. I used my trusty CNC router to cut the aluminum parts. It's works well with wood, but cutting aluminum took some effort. The hardest part were the arcs on the top. They were cut from 1/2" aluminum bars. They were hollowed out to reduce the weight. I'm working on the labeling.
Because I was having trouble cutting the arcs, I decided to price them on an online machine shop. They wanted $170 for one arc, $350 for ten and $1200 for a hundred. If I needed a couple dozen quadrants I could get the price of all the parts down to about $100. Fairly reasonable compared to the $650 I paid for the Andair version I bought from A/S ten years ago. Also more economical then the two months Invested in the ones I built.
The levers are made up of five parts. The lever, three handle parts and a dowel to hold hem together. I used J-B weld to glue the handles together.
The Co-Pilot version is different only in the mount. It mounts off the tube behind it. So everything is identical except the side panels. The Co-Pilot version also doesn't have the friction adjustment wheel.
All aluminum, nylon bushings, friction adjustment wheel. Andair had a good idea. Not sure why they quit making it.
I had an Andair throttle quadrant in my Glasair. It looks like they discontinued it in 2015 or so. I liked it so much I decided to make my own for my Hatz. The picture below shows my version compared to the A/S standard homebuilders throttle quadrant.
It took me a couple of months to figure out a process. I used my trusty CNC router to cut the aluminum parts. It's works well with wood, but cutting aluminum took some effort. The hardest part were the arcs on the top. They were cut from 1/2" aluminum bars. They were hollowed out to reduce the weight. I'm working on the labeling.
Because I was having trouble cutting the arcs, I decided to price them on an online machine shop. They wanted $170 for one arc, $350 for ten and $1200 for a hundred. If I needed a couple dozen quadrants I could get the price of all the parts down to about $100. Fairly reasonable compared to the $650 I paid for the Andair version I bought from A/S ten years ago. Also more economical then the two months Invested in the ones I built.
The levers are made up of five parts. The lever, three handle parts and a dowel to hold hem together. I used J-B weld to glue the handles together.
The Co-Pilot version is different only in the mount. It mounts off the tube behind it. So everything is identical except the side panels. The Co-Pilot version also doesn't have the friction adjustment wheel.
All aluminum, nylon bushings, friction adjustment wheel. Andair had a good idea. Not sure why they quit making it.