Later model Bensen Vs. Brock Rotor Control Linkage from pilots stick back to mast.

[buckeye4life]

I can find many examples (pictures) of the later KB2 rotor control linkage from the pilots stick back to the mast. But does anyone have pictures (or drawings) so that I could compare and contrast the difference between the later model Bensen' and the Later Model KB's control linkages. I have quite a set of drawings from the earlier Bensen's but nothing with this kind of linkage. The drawings I have are of a stick handle that "rocks-downward" when pushed forward.

 

[MikeBoyette]

That is what is commonly called a pump handle stick. You are correct instead of normal fore and aft to move the rotor head forward and back it does up and down. Ken Brock didn’t like that and designed a stick that goes fore and aft using two tubes one stationary and the other one rocks back and forth to achieve the fixed wing feel of the stick. Most gyros today use a version of a Brock stick.

 

[Sv.grainne]

I call it a walking beam, really an interesting mechanism.

 

[okikuma]

I call it a walking beam, really an interesting mechanism.

The walking beam control assembly was a very common method of control for fixed wing aircraft from the 1910s - 1930s. Piper “streamlined” the mechanical operation by placing the walking beam inside the “torque tube” that provides roll input.

The original Bensen pump handle cyclic control did resemble the action of a manual butter churner “pump stick.”

The later Bensen J2 cyclic operated in a similar fashion as the Hughes 269 cyclic.

Wayne

 

[okikuma]

Brock Cyclic mechanism.

Wayne

 

[Doug Riley]

The original Bensen joystick system (a.k.a. pump handle) is simpler than the Brock. There's less to go wrong with it.

The routine control movements in a gyro are so small that you don't notice that the stick moves a little up-down with your fore-and-aft inputs.

My only criticism of Bensen's stick is that the angle of the grip puts a strain on your wrist. Ideally, it would have a top section raked forward to match the resting angle of your closed hand. This can be accomplished by mandrel bending or by welding on an end piece of tubing that meets the main structure at an angle -- like the Hughes 269 system in the pictures.

 

[buckeye4life]

!!!WOW!!! thank you guys so much. This info is perfect! Exactly what I was looking for. AWESOME!!!