Elegant solutions for dual, outboard throttles?

[cluttonfred]

I have spent some time flying European microlights with side-by-side seating, a single center stick and dual outboard throttles at the left and right sides of the panel and like the arrangement, but I have to say that I never looked behind the panel to figure out the mechanics. I do remember that the Skyranger had curved levers which came up under the panel and ended in...golf balls.



Can anyone explain how that's done or suggest any other elegant solutions for dual outboard throttles?

[rwanttaja]

One possibility:

Moving the handles turns the torque tube, which shoves the throttle cable back and forth.

This is just a quick sketch showing the layout...in reality, the tubing would be of smaller (relative) diameter, and the handles would be more-horizontal below the bar.

Ron Wanttaja

[cluttonfred]

Thanks, Ron. After a little more digging I found the UK Skyranger builder's manual available online. The actual solution used in that design is quite similar to your sketch except that the throttle cables are actuated directly by the pilot side handle. The torque tube serves only to transmit the motion from the passenger/instructor side to the pilot side.



Originally I had in mind some sort of push-pull cable arrangement between left and right, I still wonder if that might work but I suspect it would be far less robust than the torque tube solution. I imagine that there are other torque tube arrangements which could work depending on the distance to the panel, for example, long quadrant levers projecting through slots in the panel rather then the curved levers coming up from underneath.

Cheers,

Matthew

[steveinindy]

Looking at that original picture of the configuration gives me the thought of how weird it would be to fish a golf ball out of someone's skull following a crash.

[cluttonfred]

Creepy thought. Are you suggesting that there are safety concerns with this set-up vs. more conventional push-pull controls or side- or center-mounted quadrants?

Looking at that original picture of the configuration gives me the thought of how weird it would be to fish a golf ball out of someone's skull following a crash.

[Clark Savage Jr]

The Emeraude has homemade dual throttles on the plans.







Unfortunately they are blueprints instead of fancy CAD drawings.

Youtube has several videos showing the Emeraude. One short (2:30) clip does have some good views of the throttle(s) in use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzO-V8Tv73c

Just search for "Emeraude airplane" and you'll find them all. The CAP-10B has a similar throttle lashup.

You can see & hear the continuous use of the throttle in this French Connection airshow video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMRrjs0HJ44

[cluttonfred]

Thanks, Clark. The usual solution does seem to be some sort of a torsion tube running behind the panel connecting left and right throttles: the Piel configuration uses separate quadrants as opposed to the Sky Ranger in which the levers connect directly to the tube. Thanks very much for taking the time to post the images, it gives me some good ideas on how to gin up my own. Cheers, Matthew