[02/06/13: This quadrant is for sale to anyone who is interested. Nothing wrong with it, just wouldnt fit in my RV7...I would recommend it for an RV10. Contact me if interested.]
I ordered and received my throttle quadrant from Andair. I'm just going to come right out with it...I wasn't too impressed and am thinking this was a mistake for several reasons. If you're thinking of going this route...hopefully my input will help you make a much more informed decision than I.
Why did I choose this quadrant?....mainly two reasons, I like having the flap control on the throttle, with the idea that my VP-X system will disable them when operating above flap speed in case I accidentally bump them in cruise flight. Second, I want my mixture to be vernier style on the panel. I don't see any valid reason it needs to be co-located with the throttle and prop control. Mainly because a vernier control adds more precise adjustment for fine mixture tuning. Lastly, most competition aerobatic planes have this configuration so its not unprecedented...go peek your head in an Extra sometime and you'll see what I mean.
Ok, now what I don't like and am slightly aggravated about.
1. Andair claims they use this in an RV6...not sure how they manage it with such tight quarters and the movement of the stick. My first look at it and I see interference with my stick. I need to explore this further but it doesn't look promising.
2. The quality of the product is not up to my standards. The aluminum face has surface blemishes all over it. Not what I expect for the price of the product they are shipping.
3. I ordered directly from Andair, then realized that Aircraft Spruce is a US distributor. I emailed Andair about returning it and they said, "sure, but there is a 30% restocking fee." Sorry, but that is total BS! On a $265 quadrant...that's approx. $85...plus shipping back to England...for nothing, money flushed down the toilet. Very aggravating. That's their way of saying, we'll take it back but we really want to discourage you from taking your money back. Horrible customer service in my opinion, they should stand behind their product much better than that. They wont get my future business, I can promise you that.
4. Because the throttle handle is so short, the flap buttons arent easily accessible by your thumb. I can work around this since I wont be accessing those buttons very often. Being a design Engineer by day, this, in my opinion is not a well thought out ergonomic design.
Let me add, I dont bash vendors lightly. As someone that aspires to one day start my own business...I know how careless remarks can hurt a business so I make darn sure I dont do it recklessly. I thoroughly thought this through before committing it to my blog for all the world to see and stand behind my comments.
So, bottom line...we'll see if I can make it work or need to ship it back and get whacked with the steep fees, stay tuned....I'll know more as I start doing layout work for my center console design.
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