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Old January 7th 09, 08:38 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Greg Arnold[_2_]
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Posts: 148
Default hydraulic brake actuation

wrote:
I built such a system for my former AS-W12 using a Cleveland system.
Worked fine but make sure the entire system is as stiff as you can
possibly make it. Use heavy motorcycle bowden cable and make the run
as short as possible. Also make sure the master cylinder mount is
rigid.

The ratios from brake handle throw (e.g., what is the max throw you
can get with your hand on the stick) to the throw on the master
cylinder actuator is an interesting geometric cut-an-fit. Making your
own handle will help a lot.

I much prefer spoiler-actuated brakes due to the additional force you
can apply with your entire arm/shoulder, the fact that both drag
devices are appropriately on one handle and the difficulty in mixing
fine-scale pitch/roll inputs on the stick with the gross-scale motor
skills of pulling like hell on the wheel brake.



I installed a Tost disc system (modified Cleveland) in my Discus A.
Just uses bicycle cable, and the run is from the handle on the stick all
the way back to the master cylinder alongside the wheel well. The
problem was that the lever on the stick (designed for a drum brake) hit
the stick before there was much braking action. This was due both to
the shape of the lever and the long run of stretchy cable.

After spending considerable time surfing bicycle shops on the internet,
and ordering several different bicycle brake handles, I found one that
is a perfect replacement for the SH handle. It is shorter and curved
away from the stick, and allows you to apply any pressure you want
without the handle hitting the stick.

Thus, you can make such a system work with bicycle components.