I am looking for ideas to build my own handle. I have seen some very nice home-made handles over the years in magazines that were never kept.

I am now getting back into building U/C and have a shop with a bandsaw, jigsaw, sander, drill press and thought it would be fun to make my own personal one.

Throw in some pros and cons of different kinds.

I'll be flying mostly 1/2A to B size engines, the largest being a Real Sporty with a .15 Conquest (so far). Maybe a third for throttle?

Also give me an idea what to shoot for with hole spacing. All I've ever used was the Sig 1/2A handle with my Bee engines.

Thanks[sm=thumbup.gif]

JP,

There are so many things involved that a picture, alone, wouldn't tell you much...

If you are flying 1/2A, have you tried using a much larger bellcrank than usual? The idea is that our hand moves the same angles, and needs some space between the lines for us to hold it, whatever size the model is. If you've flown "larger" models with the classic 3" bellcranks, you should have some experience with the 'natural feel' you can get with that and a comfortable size handle.

1/2As usually show using about a 2" plastic bellcrank - if your handle is about standard size, think how much quicker and further that little bellcrank would move with your 'natural' control input angles at the handle. Sure, you can move the lines at the handle closer together, but I prefer the broader range with a wider line spacing at the handle - combined with about a 3" bellcrank. 1/2As don't have to be too touchy to fly enjoyably...

(Actually, I prefer to build my own metal bellcranks, too, so I'm not limited to what is mass-produced, or offered by specialty suppliers. )

However, general suggestions:

Make some provision for adjusting to neutral. The old EZ-Just handles had a cable passing through a sorta "buckle" for this. A comfortable neutral hand position is very nice to have... If things get scary, you can relax your hand and know where the model should be.

Finger troughs on the grip usually aren't worth the effort. It is better to form the grip to rest comfortably in your hand along the second bones of your fingers, when you pull the handle like the model does. E.g., loop a string through the connection points, set it over a doorknob and pull about 10 lbs of so. That's more than you'll likely fly, but if it's good there, it will be good at lighter pull loads, too.

Separation at the handle between the line connectors? Figure that if they are the same distance apart at the handle as they are at the bellcrank, the bellcrank moves to the same angles as your hand. It is usually better to attach the lines wider apart at the handle than at the bellcrank. You can control how far the control surfaces move by using a "shorter" radius at the bellcrank for the pushrod, and a "longer" radius at the control horn(s). Most of the time, you won't need the elevator (and/or flaps) to move as much as 25° each way from neutral, so juggle the bellcrank and control horn radii to get no more than about half your wrist angles. You can always move your hand/wrist/arm a bit further if you need. THAT is much easier than trying to tame a too-twitchy responding model by brute force.

Enjoy your efforts! It's always nice to create the stuff you use. Too many guys are missing out on that, today, IMHO...

For anything larger than 1/2A I prefer the Tom Morris handle. When I got mine they came as kits but now they come assembled. You can order them with 15 degree bias or no bias. They have an aluminum bar to hold either an adjustable cable or eyelets. I prefer eyelets, but a cable is easier to adjust if you have a slight mismatch on line length or leadout length.

I tend to hold my arm out straight so I prefer a bias handle. If you fly with your elbow bent you may prefer no bias. Quick check...hold a pencil in your hand as if it were a control handle, in the flying position. Flex your hand up and down, then establish a neutral. If the pencil is now verticle, you need no bias. If the pencil is tilted with the top away from you, you may prefer bias.

Line spacing. The Tom Morris handles have adjustable line spacing, as do most decent handles.

Overhang. This is the distance from the aluminum bar to the center of your hand. On some handles it is adjustable. On the TM handle it is not.

There are other factors and many handles available. I think a lot of us learned on the old E-Z Just which only had cable adjustment which COULD add bias, but I never used bias back then. I would adjust for line/leadout length if necessary and compensate for anything else. The line spacing was 4" if I remember correctly.

Good luck with your quest.

George

Jet
This probably is not what you looking for but it is my #1 handle.
Has been in the family for 50-60 years.
I like being ably to adjust neutral in flight and no one else has one!Ha!
Same size and shape as small E-zy just Hot Rock.
Cast aluminum handle
Thumb screw at top for adjustment.
Cast in embossed is "Italian"

Thank you for all of the excellent insights to control handles. I've never read a book as good, in fact rarely have I seen handles covered in any type of articles and I've bought a few RCM subscriptions over the years plus other publications. It seems everything is R/C. Even with C/L coverage in magazines it usually is just a quarter page of competition standings at the last event, never any building guidelines or "rules" of it. Maybe I haven't found the right book yet but this sure helps me get where I'm going.

That is a nice handle.

Brodak publishes "Control Line World" magazine. If you want competition rules you can find them on the AMA website.

Flying Models has a monthly column on control line and publishes CL plans quite often.

I am curious why the Control Line World web site has nothing on it newer than three and a half years old.

Additionally, when it comes to handles, there's a collection that De (not "Dee") Hill owns that should be photographed and posted.

Here are mine, I made all of them but the black one and it was given to me, not sure what kind it is.

Interesting assortment. All but one appear to be derived from the Sullivan S-166 handle a shape that I also like a lot.

The black handle in the picture is a Sullivan handle, I think.

Anyone know if the EZ-Just Hot Rock handles are still available, and if so where can I get one ?

Igot three from EBay...they turn up pretty often.

Old post but really worth reading. That handle you hold to me is A very personal item that I’ve yet to learn more about. My oldest handle is at least fifty years old. And I recently modified it to make my arthritis not hurt when I was in the Circle. A Company called Okie Aire has unfinished wood handles that you can adapt adjust and make them more personal. Learning to adjust and adapt a handle to every plane was a great move for me. It’s made my comeback to the circle a great experienceAJ