POST INNOVATION IDEAS HERE!
Award made at BACFest in Colorado.
Add ideas up until the end of August.
Tom Bragg:
I’ve been searching for a long time for a solution to my very narrow PTT and A/P Disconnect buttons on the yoke. They are very small switches, buried in some kind of caulking and stuffed down into the yoke. So much caulk that I can’t see any part number or even the type, style, or shape of the switch. I didn’t want to cut off the caulking for fear of disturbing the wire connections. So I just endured the nearly pinpoint pressure that led to pain in my thumbpad, especially over long XCs in busy airspace.
Then I stumbled on a suggestion from Mark Weiss for JayCar Electronics on a completely unrelated topic in the forum. I searched their inventory, and found a pushbutton cap that may fit the top of my thumb-piercers. The cool part of JayCar’s product specs is that they provide the external AND internal dimensions, unlike most of the US suppliers I’d been searching. I measured my thumb-piercers at .1″ diameter, matching the JayCar cap perfectly. Out comes the credit card to place the order, and darn the luck as I find that JayCar only ships to Australia addresses.
So a couple PMs later and Mark has agreed to be my proxy for shipping so I can get some caps that I know will fit. The caps arrived intact, and installation was a snap. Now my PTT and AP Disconnect switches are very happy with their new hats, and my thumb is ecstatic!
This is just one example of the many fine people in the BAC family. Mark, you are a gem, and I am indebted to you for the generosity of your time and troubles to help me out. I’m looking forward to some time in the future when I can shake your hand and buy you a pint or three of your choosing.
CB