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Q-talk 99 - Electric Reflexor Installation

For as long as I can recall, there has been much debate regarding electrically controlled refelexors. Being one to go "against the grain" but also one to avoid conflict -1 decided to install an electric reflexor but keep it quiet. I am now coming out of the closet.

My first 100 hours of Q2 time was spent with a manual reflexor. I quickly learned that I didn't like the distraction of moving my hand from one control to another during the landing phase (close to the ground and during roll-out). I like to have one hand on the throttle and one hand on the stick. A couple years ago, while re-doing my cockpit, I decided to do something about the reflexor control situation. After much contemplation, I elected to install an electrically driven reflexor with the activation switches located on the stick. The following describes my installation. No doubt, there are several ways that this could be accomplished.

Servo: The first problem was finding a servo motor to drive the reflexor. After a fair amount of searching, I decided on the MAC servo. It has plenty of power, it is light (4oz), small (2.75" square), relatively cheap, a most importantly, it has a remote position indicator. I used the 6A (now T2-10A) servo, G205 stick, and the RP3 LED position indicator. All are available from http: //www.menzimeraircraft. com . This servo has 1-inch of travel

The next issue to overcome was mounting the servo. I elected to install a phenolic guide in the FS-94 bulkhead replacing the CS4 bearing. The guide was machined to precision fit the aileron bellcrank (QCSA3) and it allows only vertical movement. An aluminum "thingy" was built to capture the bearing that allows the bellcrank to rotate (aileron movement). The servo is mounted to the FS-94 bulkhead.

The reflexor is now controlled using two switches on the stick. These are typically "trim up" and "trim down" switches. The other switches on the stick are used for radio PTT, machine guns, and missiles. The position indicator is mounted in the panel.

I have found my reflexor to be trouble | free. I include the reflexor position in all my checklists (most importantly, pre-takeoff). It oper-1 ates very smoothly, precisely and seems to be the perfect speed.



You can order a printed copy of Q-talk #99 by using the Q-talk Back Issue Order Page.