Here's The Challenge

[Winnie]

I remember the story of the Griffon pilot who lost his foot to frostbite in Labrador a few years back. Last I heard he was flying commercially, but it took some time for him to get TC to accept his disability.

 

I believe he frequents the forum here ocasionally too!

 

I think he "only" lost his toes, not sure tho.

 

Wish I could be of any help to the threadstarter, but unable there.

 

Inspirational read tho, and Thumbs up, hope you get ahead.

[Blackmac]

If any association has information on artificial limbs, I think you might try this one, it's been around for awhile.

 

http://www.waramps.ca/nac/home.html

 

Good luck.

 

Cheers, Don

[206Rookie]

Wicked challenge helimechanic, here's what I came up with.

 

Please note that this is a paper napkin scetch...I just ran out of napkins and had to use a CATIA workstation :-)

 

The first picture should give you an overall view of the adaptor. The pink pipe represents the cyclic just below the grip. The yellow gold ring could be hinged to allow swapping from one ship to another or it could be simply two cresents and screwed together.

 

 

The brown cup represents the cuff for your arm. The green stem would be connected to the cuff via a universal joint (blue).

 

 

The green stem is inserted into the red receptacle (funnel shaped to make alignment easier) pushed to the flat base and rotated 90 degrees clockwise to lock in place. The lock is a simple ball (light brown) and spring (not shown) in a hole in the base (white) of the receptacle.

 

 

Insertion, locking, unlocking and extrication could be done with simple twists of your right arm. The universal joint might give the adaptor a bit of flexibility when flying. Granted this is just a brainstorm and a lot of ergonomic trials would be needed before you're comfortable. But I imagine this set-up could be made quite solid.

 

I know what it's like to get an ok from TC when you have a physical defect. Myself my left arm is 4 inches shorter than the right and I only have four fingers on each hand. Granted, I don't have to deal with prosthetics, the toughest thing for me is buying gloves :-)

 

Please let me know what you think.

[helimechanic]

You are an inspiration and a rockstar, Helimechanic. :punk:

 

Just a thought, but have you heard of the Open Prosthetic Project? It's a design collaboration effort between users, designers and funders in this area. Perhaps consider posting your very first initial post at their Forum, too? You never know; might just find that person with the same predicament, or at the very least, get people already involved in development thinking along the lines of your needs.

 

Here's their Web site: http://www.openprosthetics.org/

 

And their forum: http://openprosthetics.ning.com/

 

They're based outta Durham, south of the 49th. I'll keep looking for you, too. And welcome to Verticalmag.com's Forums, too! Best, TQN

Transquebecniece, mate you're a legand, listed the orginal thread like you suggested and getting some ggod ideas

[helimechanic]

206Rookie, Great idea, definitely think this idea is heading in the right direction, will try and make a rough prototype, think it might work best turning the recepticle 90 degrees so the connection is in a direct line with the arm, what do you think? mate I'm blown way by your effort I owe you a beer sometime.

[helimechanic]

Sorry about the delay in replying to all the posts but have been out in the field on a break down

Thanks to all the forum readers who have posted on this thread, sorry I'm not able to respond to all the posts individually but would like to thank everyone for their input, I'm blown away by the responce, please keep the ideas coming, I'll write an article for vertical once I've got my medical back to let you guys know I got there!

[206Rookie]

Hey helimechanic,

 

Yeah, reorient the mount, the receptacle and the universal joint in a manner that will be most comfortable for you. The dimensions and angles I used were pretty much just for ease of drawing and proportions sake.

 

I'm stoked you like the idea! I was thinking of a few improvements last night:

 

On my key chain I have a quick disconnect which is actuated by depressing a piston which releases the tension on a ball-lock mechanism. The balls lock in a shallow channel in the receptacle. It's very simple and allows for limitless rotation around the longitudinal axis. It would allow for a lot more movement and would be simpler to insert and lock into place.

 

 

I'm imagining a receptacle similar to the first but a full funnel (no slice taken out) and the locking channel would be on the inside wall of the hole at the base of the red receptacle. Sorry I don't have access to my workstation today, I'm at home. I'll flesh out my idea and try to send you some 3D images Monday evening after work.

 

The only thing with this is it may require your left hand to free your right arm from the cyclic since the piston needs to be held down to allow the extraction from the socket. Maybe we can figure out a mechanical linkage that would depress the piston by rotating the forearm?

[transquebecniece]

Transquebecniece, mate you're a legand, listed the orginal thread like you suggested and getting some good ideas

That is awesome! Keep at 'er and consider pointing anyone who helps you at OPP (that's not Ontario Provincial Police, mind you...) to this very thread because there are some exceptional ideas here when you get the time to evaluate them all fully.

 

This is a fabulous bunch of giving/sharing/mentoring/go-the-extra-mile people, is it not? They have effectively blown me away a time or two, as well! :up:

 

As for that li'l legend thingy...ahhhm, no. I know legends. You just get back up there, at the controls, then we'll have a little chat about legends.

[Skids Up]

Please note that this is a paper napkin scetch...

 

Quite a napkin you have there... :lol:

[Swissmatt]

I was wondering whether a swivel ball might help. Have a clamp on the cylic with a ball that has 206Rookie's connector on it. The female part would be on the prosthetic. A 90 degree wrist turn would free you from the cylic and lock you back in. The swivel would allow for different comfort positions while wresting your arm on your leg.

If the clamp that holds the contraption on the cylic would consist of two c-clamps screwed together, you could adjust the height on the cyclic for optimal comfort. Using quick releases (as found on e.g. a bicycle front tire) rather than screws would make the transition from AC to AC even easier.