Control stick movement limits

[Extranajero]

Does anyone have a diagram showing the control stick movement limits of a representative jet fighter\trainer ?

I have just spent ages searching for one with no luck

[Dropship Pilot]

Here's some data for the F-18:

Left/right: +/-3" on a radius of 12.493"

Front/Back: +2.5"/-5" on a radius of 18.529"

 

 

The radius given is from the point of swivel to height of the middle finger.

As you can see from the data the F-18 has two differend points of swivel 6.036" above each other.

 

 

 

Cheers,

DSP

Edited August 21, 2019 by Dropship Pilot

[Extranajero]

That's very helpful - thank you :)

[streakeagle]

The geometry of sticks varies greatly with the type of aircraft. I have a real F-4 stick and I have mounted my Warthog with an extension chosen to match the real stick's pitch movement as measured by displacement in inches at the tip of the POV hat/trim switch. The roll limits of the real F-4 stick are much smaller than the pitch limits, so the Warthog stick moves much farther than the real F-4 stick. I could edit the roll axis curves to hit the limits at the same displacement as the real F-4 stick, but this hasn't been a problem. I seldom need max roll limits and if I do, I can just move my legs just a tiny bit (an inch?) to permit the stick to hit its limits.

 

I just found the spreadsheet I used to calculate the extension length I needed to match the displacement at the top of the stick.

If you pitched the F-4 stick fully forward, then fully backwards and measured the distance using a reference point (I think I used the tip of the trim switch or maybe the trigger), I measured 10.5 inches. Side to side I measured 9.5 inches. The Warthog measured 6.5 inches in both directions. Given a radius of 9.5 inches, I calculated that I needed a 14.8 cm extension to match the real stick in pitch (forward/back motion). 14.8 cm was convenient since the extension was available in 15 cm (150 mm). The Warthog has a larger angular displacement, so the length of the stick is shorter and the base of the stick has to be mounted much higher than the pivot point of the real F-4 stick so that the top of the grips are at the same height.

 

If you are interested, I could make a diagram showing the real F-4 stick, its dimensions and its actual range of motion. But the key parameters of 10.5/9.5 inches of displacement at the top of the stick for pitch/roll should tell you most of what you need to know.

Edited August 22, 2019 by streakeagle

[Extranajero]

Thanks :) it looks like I have hit on a realistic range of movement by accident - kind of.

The stick is mounted on a box, on the floor and the throw corresponds to roughly 5 inches in all directions. It's limited to 3 inches side to side by my knees so I have adjusted the roll curve in DCS so that corresponds to full deflection. Aft stick is correct and forward stick is limited by my monitor shelf, so I left that alone.