Here's The Challenge

[helimechanic]

Hi guy’s,

 

Time to put your thinking caps on! I’m looking for a solution to connect my wrist to the cyclic grip.

A bit of history first so you know where I’m coming from.

I’m a Commercial Helicopter Pilot with an Instructors rating and a Licensed Aircraft Engineer. I have about 2000 hours made up of all the normal stuff. I lost my right hand in an explosion in 02 at the wrist.

 

So the problem is; I’m trying to come up with a method of attaching my right wrist to the cyclic that will stratify the regulatory authority i.e big brother! so I can get my medical back. What I’ve tried so far is using my standard artificial arm, which is a carbon fibre sleeve with a titanium crab claw and taping to the cyclic, which works fine but will never be approved. I have also built a clamp that attaches to the cyclic and rod end that screws into the carbon sleeve, and the two are connected by a quick disconnect pip pin, the authority is concerned about the permanence of the connection in the event of an accident.

 

So I’d really appreciate the readers of this forum to brainstorm and post any ideas they might have no matter how crazy they seem, as you never know were the idea might lead. The solution needs to be quick to fit and remove, simple, and fail safe.

 

Just to let the sceptics know, you can fly with an artificial hand, I’ve flown around 10 hours in the last few years in R22, R44 II and UH1-H. I plan to do the test flying in either a R22 or R44.

 

This is a very unique challenge as I can’t find any pilot currently flying helicopters in the world at the moment with an artificial hand. If any body knows any different please let me know I’d love to know how they’re doing it.

 

Cheers

[Skidz]

Have you spoken to someone who makes prosthesis ? I know one guy who was born with a stump for a right arm. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to paddle whitewater kayaks. He brought this prosthetic limb specialist to one of our winter pool sessions so he could see first-hand the physical aspects of the sport. He filmed people paddling from all sorts of angles and went away with a bunch of other commercial videos showing people paddling pretty extreme rivers.

 

Three months and about a dozen prototypes later, our guy was paddling on the river with us. I've seen this guy paddle class-IV whitewater with no problems whatsoever.

 

What I'm getting at is maybe you should enlist the help of such a specialist. Show him a helicopter and what kind of forces implies (ie, I suppose TC will want you to demonstrate the ability to handle a hydraulic failure, for instance, which in an aircraft like an Astar is no mean feat). Some of these biomechanical engineer types are real geniuses at this stuff.

 

Oh, and by the way, the armless guy I mentioned is himself a prosthetist, but for his project he realized he needed to think out of the box, so he went to someone else.

[ame206350]

Great suggestion to a tough problem Skidz. Good luck to the thread starter. :up:

[helimechanic]

Thanks Skidz, I've been working closely with the prosthetic guy's for a few years now, they've be realy great, but these guy's specailise in making the carbon sleeve and attaching off the shelf terminal devices where I come from. Good start though, maybe I could talk to some biomechanical university grads.

Thanks for the support ame206350

[skullcap]

Good for you to keep at it, hats off. One question is the radio and intercom switches, how do propose to deal with it?

 

Don't laugh but it maybe a simplistic idea, but why not use a prosthetic hand and wrap it closed around the cyclic with multiple layers of velcro? Velcro, if clean and used properly is very strong and since the hand is doing the work may be ok???

 

Good luck

[MikeNowak]

You're definately the great humbler, HeliMechanic! It takes a lot of effort to try and keep doing something you love after something so life changing, I have mucho respect for you man!

 

I'd imagine some kind of prosthetic that had a clip in for a bracket attached to the cyclic would work, such as the way a bicycle shoe connects to the pedals on a mountain bike... maybe something with a lock that you'd have to manipulate with your left hand to get unattached. The cyclic buttons would be no problem I'd think IF you could make a full on modification to the helicopter -- just add them to the collective, but as for flying more than just a one-of custom chopper, it might be tough to make a quick mount/dismount tranfer system from cyclic to collective.

 

Also, wasn't Transport Canada working on a one-stick flight control system? One stick that does cyclic, pedals, and collective... then a standard prosthetic on your right hand to manipulate gauges and dials... of course learning all of that with your left hand would be no simple feat!

 

I wish you the best of luck, you have a huge will to overcome challenges and I greatly envy you for that!

 

Mike

[FREDDIE]

I would think you need to make a fitting that solidly conected to the cyclic. As for the radios and such have a avionics guy build you a wiring harness that plugs into the wiring harness that you can operate with your other hand.

 

I remember back in the 1980,s Steve Fonyo trained in Langley BC and he was missing his leg below the knee.

[helimechanic]

Good for you to keep at it, hats off. One question is the radio and intercom switches, how do propose to deal with it?

 

Don't laugh but it maybe a simplistic idea, but why not use a prosthetic hand and wrap it closed around the cyclic with multiple layers of velcro? Velcro, if clean and used properly is very strong and since the hand is doing the work may be ok???

 

Good luck

Thanks Skullcap for the suggestion, have thought about the velcro idea, problem is I have to be able to demonstrate reconnecting the device is flight in the event it comes apart from the cyclic, hard enough on a coventional control like the 206, nearly impossible with Frank's T-Bar. As for the radio and intercom, you can get STC collective ends with additional switches which I'll mod the cyclic switches to.

 

Keep the idea'a coming

[helimechanic]

Thanks for the support Mike,

The bike shoe clip could hold possiblities, I'll have a look at them this weekend and let you guy's know. I'm Chief Engineer for a company so there's no problem modifying one or two of the machines with a plug to install a collective mod to when I want to fly. Will probably mod one of the Ag machines, would like to keep my hand in (excuse the pun) at spraying and bucket work and no passengers to scare!

Been thinking about magnets as an option, maybe a tube magnet clipped to the cyclic and a vertical ferrous rod connected to the carbon fibre sleeve that you slide down through the magnetic ring. That way it can be slid in and out during flight with a resonable amout of force and my left hand can stay on the collective. What do you guy's recon?

[marc]

How about a device similar to a real hand but with electro-magnets in the tips of the fingers that mate with the palm so they wrap around kung-fu grip style.

 

the magnets would fail to on as a safety measure, but you could release by pressing a push button mounted under a flip up guard on the side of your collective.

 

Siolid grip unless activated by a guarded switch for release.

 

If you made the hand plyable enough and with enough range it could potentially work on all cyclics.