Your Favourite Control Column Stick/Yoke/Grip!

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Member for

7 years 9 months

Posts: 52

I
recently acquired a spade grip p/n AH2040 as used on many British aircraft. Unfortunately it is missing s few pieces. Where can I get the following parts ?
Replica or original , it does not matter

Looking for :
break lever and associated mounting hardware
rear brass plate for the firing button
copper tubes that run down the assembly from the firing button

Thanks

Hi, replica brass firing buttons often appear on Ebay, sold by someone in Australia, but they are not cheap. Brake lever replicas also appear on ebay. If you can get the pipe diameter, microbore plumbers pipe would suffice for the copper tubes!!
Post a photo of thee grip, always good to see.

Member for

19 years 2 months

Posts: 5,196

The rear brass plate is mounted to gunbutton valve housing. Ian pointed you to the best source of replica brake levers. A chap who was on the forum, may still be, associated with a school rebuilding a spit to static condition, makes the best replica buttons out there. Be careful buying the brake lever mount, need to have the right thread. Would like to see a pic of your grip too

Member for

13 years 1 month

Posts: 524

The number FV 2020 stamped on the lower part of the yoke relates to 'Fighting Vehicle' so probably Warrier or Challenger I would imagine.

GYD

Member for

14 years 2 months

Posts: 635

Thanks, that was in the back of my mind, coupled with the instrument panel which the seller had for sale. I have noticed that fighting vehicles, hovercraft and submarines all have steering wheels similar to aircraft yokes or aircraft grips.

Member for

19 years 9 months

Posts: 1,424

OK, the attached photos are of a recent acquisition. The wheel was produced by the Aircraft Division of “Enamel & Heating Products Ltd”, Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada in the mid to late 1960s. What's left of that company was bought up many years ago. I've contacted the current ownership as well as other entities. Non-authoritative sources suggested some Canadian Grumman S2s may have used this wheel. Without getting into specifics, I find that unlikely. Only one of the three switches is fully intact....and it is of the same type as used in 1950s/60s Grumman (multi-engine) aircraft. So that potential tie-in exists. Another source suggested a version of the Nimrod used this wheel. Online cockpit photo searches have not substantiated that.

The wheel has a Douglas DC4/DC6 style cap. I think it may be original to the wheel--the mounting provision is correct. I've only seen one other photo of a wheel like this (ebay auction about 8 years ago) and it also had a Douglas style cap. The seller of that wheel did not know what aircraft it came out of.

Does anyone recognize this wheel or have any suggestion on what it might be out of?

Nick,
From the information which you provided regarding manufacturer and coupled with obscurity it had to be a Canadian indigenous aircraft. After some research I think I have nailed it to a CANADAIR CL-28 CP-107 ARGUS Aircraft. A maritime patrol aircraft derived from the Bristol Britannia served with the Canadian forces 1957-1982 only 33 ships built. This also fits in with the Nimrod connection and the naval switches as fitted to the Grumman Tracker. There are limited cockpit photos on the net, ignore the centre cap on the net photos (I think the square caps depicted are of a later version) everything else fits (shape and switches etc). Nice rare item!! Well done on the acquisition.

Member for

11 years

Posts: 286

LOL....hey thanks Darrell ! I emailed APHS yesterday about it. N Louis emailed me a couple of hours ago and said he'd contacted someone in the UK who came up with it. I should have known Nick would turn to you :). I owe you a beer (or two....).

Will be doing some repair and restoration work soon. It's a big wheel with a satisfying shape to the grip. Just finished doing some online searching.....cockpit shots are still skimpy. I think at least some of the wheels were delivered with the DC-4/DC-6 style caps. With a minor (clocking) exception, the mounting provisions cast into the hub for the cap are the same as the Dougs and old Convairs.

Member for

7 years 1 month

Posts: 83

Thanks to a member on this forum, I managed to complete my collection of F102, TF102 and F106 yokes. The cockpit photos I've seen of the F106B two seat trainer version seem to indicate that the yoke in the single seat A models, and the twin seat B models, are the same. Can anyone confirm this, or know anyone who might be able to? Thanks in advance.

Member for

19 years 9 months

Posts: 1,424

Nick, not sure if you have seen this photo (see link below) of an Argus cockpit with corroded yokes in situ. This is probably one of the better Argus cockpit shots on the net. Enlarge the photo of the right side yoke and you will see the 'Douglas type cap' and how it fits behind the front square display board. This in turn is affixed to the two holes at the front of the yoke.

https://comoxairforcemuseum.ca/wp-co...922_135307.jpg

Member for

11 years

Posts: 286

Thanks for the photo Darrell. It supports my hypothesis that Argus aircraft were delivered with the Doug/Convair type caps. As you noted about the holes, my wheel also mounted the scroll type square display board at one time. These holes were unevenly placed crudely drilled. The scroll board installations were almost certainly a field mod done to the aircraft after delivery to the RCAF. The photo below shows what I believe to be a NOS Argus wheel that was not installed on an aircraft. Not a high quality photo, but it will serve as the model for restoration. No drilled holes and no scroll board.

[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"medium","data-attachmentid":3870973}[/ATTACH]

m

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Member for

11 years

Posts: 286

MartynNP: Congratulations on acquiring that F-106 grip. The F-102 and TF-102 grips are not the same and the latter is hard to come by. Don't know whether the same holds true for the 106 trainer.
That would be a nice troika of grips you have.

m

Member for

7 years 1 month

Posts: 83

Thanks Swifter. As you say, there are quite a few differences between the F102 and TF102 grips. The F106 and F106B appear to be exactly the same. Very unusual design which must have taken time to get used to - operating the radar while flying in a combat situation would have been quite a strain on the brain I suspect.

Member for

14 years 2 months

Posts: 635

Thank you and welcome back, good to hear your expertise again!

Member for

16 years 10 months

Posts: 2,004

A nice left hander. One of the few that could be used for a British gear stick, if you liked that kind of thing.

Member for

9 years 10 months

Posts: 27

Well I don't have a car... And it would look better on my motorbike