Both pitch and roll have trim (actuator + a spring) and autopilot servos. Actuators are controlled from a hat switch on the control sticks.
Pitch. My project came with the Strong pitch trim unit, a modified cordless screwdriver. 12v turns the shaft of the motor, which turns a torque controlling clutch, which spins a threaded rod. The rod moves a cylinder that holds a spring loaded piston. The springs give the piston ~3 inches of play, or 1.5" each way. The piston is connected to the elevator control arm. In operation, a hat switch runs the screwdriver, the threaded rod moves in and out of the cylinder, and the spring loaded piston presses or pulls on the elevator. That's how it is supposed to work. But the unit I got had a threaded rod with a tight bind in the piston. The motor had been abused to the point of sounding, even when free of resistance, like a coffee grinder loaded with gravel. And that motor absolutely would not turn that threaded rod. After some research and emails, I decided to salvage the spring loaded piston and replace the screwdriver / threaded rod with a linear actuator. The actuator has a 3" throw that matches the full range of the spring piston - if I have runaway trim I over power it and solve the problem on the ground. I picked this actuator because of the throw, steel case construction and a super slow rate - this is 0.2 inches/second, or a full 7 seconds from neutral to full up or down. This gives 42 lbs of force for 0.33 amp of current. The actuator is controlled by a hat switch on each of the control sticks.
Roll. For roll trim I made the plans parts, then decided to go with the (common) builder alternative and used electric roll trim. I then made a Wright-Hanka spring, described in the Canard Pusher newsletter of April 2003 (p. 24). I used 8 plies of carbon fiber, and my super strong high temp epoxy - Raka non-blushing, made for use in tropical climates. The spring is connected to a small, low speed actuator, which is connected to the aileron throws. The connection is a 5/64ths cotter pin. The actuator is slow and short: a 4" throw (2" each way vs 1" expected use) and force of 14.5 lbs at 0.6" per second. Note - an earlier spring used 4 plies of BID and the West Systems slow epoxy. That spring was wide but far weaker, cracking under ~30 lbs of force. I recommend the CF and a really good epoxy. From here I can thin the spring to get the targeted give.
Autopilot Servos. The Dynon SV-AP-PANEL NOSE UP and NOSE DN buttons can control up to 2a of pitch trim motor pitch trim is 0.34a at full load. From the Dynon install manual on 18-4 – 18-5:
"Trim Motor Control. In addition to the AP mode buttons, the SV-AP-PANEL includes an adjustable, speed-sensitive trim controller, eliminating the need for relay packs or a separate trim controller. The integrated trim controller is wired to a D15M connector that can be connected to Aircraft power (12V only), pushbuttons (typically, on the stick), and power to and control of up to two trim motors - such as those made by Ray Allen. A set of pushbuttons can optionally be installed for the copilot. The pilot's pushbuttons take priority over the copilot's pushbuttons. Pushbuttons used for Trim Motor Control must be Push Button Normally Open (PBNO) – a momentary switch with a contact that is closed only when the button is pushed. One terminal of the pushbutton is connected to the selected pin; the other terminal of the pushbutton is connected to avionics ground (can be common with Pin 2)…. When SkyView is not powered on (not communicating with the SV-AP-PANEL) the speed scheduling features (QUICKEST TRIM SPEED / SLOWEST TRIM SPEED) are not available. In this failsafe mode, the trim motors will run at their full speed when trim buttons are pushed."
My intended practice is that the airplane is properly trimmed before handing it over to the a/p. The Dynon a/p can be used to control the pitch trim? That sounds like too much system reliance, and I plan to keep separate the trim and a/p.
The no trim force trim speed should be verified to be about 120-130 KIAS, established in phase 1 testing. This is equally applicable to the plans trim (tension springs), any of the leaf spring options or the electric trim options. With "natural" trim speed rigged ~130 KIAS, trim failure leaves the airplane controllable. Before that first flight, pitch trim is set so that at pitch neutral the trailing edge of the elevator is in line with the trailing edge of the canard.
Grips. The grips look to be the teak ones made by Custom Aircraft Grips (
http://customaircraftgrips.com/). They were smooth but I could not detect what finish had been applied - a finish helps the grips stay clean. I treated them with "Watco 66041 Rejuvenating Oil" and the grips look and feel good. The left/ pilot grip has a 4-way hat switch (trim), a PTT switch under the index finger holding the stick, and a rocker switch to the left of the hat. The right / co-pilot stick has hat switch and PTT. I'm trying to figure out what I'll use the rocker for... The boots are auto shifter boots picked up on EBay, made as a tall cone sewn from 4 triangles of artificial leather 9” tall. The cone is turned inside out, zip tied to the stick, then pulled back over the stick right side out now. Then stuff it down in the hole leaving the large end of the cone out of the arm rest. I made a bracket to fit the arm rest - see picture below. Trim leather and bracket so the screws go thru the leather to hold in it place, while staying clear of the lids on the map pockets.
The grips have a good size wire bundle - 10 wires on the left, 7 on the right. Those wires are in a super tough shrink-fit protection, and the end beyond the tube were protected with snrink tubing. The wire bundle was passed through the center of the aluminum tube, then past the hinge on the aileron/elevator mixer. On the ouside of the map pocket, aft of the control stick bottom, I installed a terminal junction block where labeled wires from the stick switches can match up with labled wires running to trim motors, PTT and some 3rd function. If I was sure I wouldn't need to remove the stick I would use a DB-15 connector, but this allows me to easily change anything that needs changing. The only hjard part was fabricating some kind of mount for the terminal block - I ended up with nut plates sandwiched in BID, the mount then attached to the map pocket using G1000 Flex, a thickened epoxy.