So This is a shout out for some help!!
Had a young fellow by the name of Micheal show up to look at a Stinson I have in the outback hangar! He landed a 207 in a steep turn in some hills in Western AK a few yrs ago and did not come out of it very well!! Is in a wheelchair and nothing works from the waist down.
Now I just had my back fused and some other work done 3 weeks ago so was shuffling around with him and his dad to take a look!!!
Sure did humble me by seeing what this lad can do, from wheelchair to the seat in the Stinson!! No I would not dare help him!!
So he is trying to come up with some hand controls for the rudders and brakes and wants to have them in a Tail dragger as he likesem!!
If anyone has some suggestions, can help design or anything else I would sure appreciate it!
I am going to see if there is anyway in hell I can help this Lad out!!
KickAss Attitude!!
Going to put this up in a couple of places, if you would like to share please do!
Lets get this Kid Flyin again!
Yep he knows he screwed the pooch last time!!
Thanks again folks!!
GT

Does he have the ability to move the throttle if both of his hands are busy with the main flight controls? Coming up with a hand control for the rudder is fairly straightforward. The brakes complicate it, but it is still doable. But the throttle will be a bit more strange.

I volunteer to help do some preliminary design sketching and configuration stuff.... idea wrestling and what not. George if he decides to buy it, send me some photos of the rudder and brake system in the Stinson, and the floorboard in those areas.

Seems like you could adapt motorcycle brake levers to either side of the control yoke with a motorcycle twist grip throttle (and friction lock) on one side. This is an interesting challenge.

I am old and also disabled, cauda aquinas, but can use my legs somewhat. I don't want to discourage engineering on a hand control system for this young pilot. As a short term solution, I would suggest the Ercoupe.

I was thinking of entering Ercoupe in Zane's backcountry airplane database. I used a stock 75 hp Ercoupe to land on a lot of dirt strips on the Navajo reservation. It has no flaps. But on the apparent rate of closure approach , the control wheel can be moved full aft on short final without ballooning. Power can be used to maintain a low rate of descent. It can be landed slowly and softly on the numbers every time. It has a decently high lift wing and can get into low ground effect as well as airplanes in its class. Like all low powered airplanes, obstructions are the real issue. Good mountain maneuvering flight techniques are necessary to make these airplanes safe in the mountains.

I second the Ercoupe. Years ago, I did a recovery of an Ercoupe out of Napa, that had hand controls setup.

Several years ago I read an article about an F16 (I think) pilot who pancaked one in and was paralyzed from the waist down and learned to fly a Bonanza. I remember seeing the video of him leaving his wheelchair, crawling up the wing and going flying, but I can't seem to find it.
And then there's this gal!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b2IqpPSF9-U

Thanks Guys, been having some great responses!! He is hell bent on a Tail Dragger!! So it seems that is what he is going to do!!
I guess there are quite a few out there from Pitts, to cassuts and a few others!
Will be working with him and trying to put it all together,
Have a guy that is willing to build a lightweight lift to pick him up and put him in the seat!! Works with autos all the time, his business!!
Will be talking to a few guys that have installed these things already so hopefully be able to put something together!!
Thinking about my Glastar? Might make a good candidate for this!!
Getting exited to help.
Thanks
Keep the Ideas coming
GT

Hey M6RV6, I have come up with a potential workable solution for this guy to be able to fly a Stinson with his hands only. I used up two commuter train rides and three pages of sketchpad The delays all too common to the Los Angeles Metrolink train system gave me enough time to sketch out something that "ought to work" fairly well.

If there is an already-existing device for hand controls on a tailwheel airplane, then by all means go with that. If you or he wants something new, then read on.

I rough-sketched out a three-axis hand control that will allow your disabled pilot to operate the rudder, the throttle, and the brakes with his right hand. Since I didn't have a blueprint or structural drawing of the tubular structure in the Stinson, it was not possible to lay out the mount interface between my unit and the Stinson fuselage structure, or the final dimensions of the new parts.

Modifications to the airframe are likely to include:

Re-location of the brake cylinders
Fabrication and installation of new hydraulic brake lines
Replacement of the throttle control cable
Welding a handful of simple bolt lugs and mounting tabs onto various parts of the Stinson tube structure

The actual hand control unit would likely be fabricated out of steel or aluminum tubing, with several tabs, bushings, clamp blocks, hardware, etc.

This is of course "early sketchpad" stuff only. If or when a decision is made to move forward with the project, IMHO there will have to be at least two or three people other than myself involved. My initial estimate is that there will have to be:

A machinist, amateur/hobby level or better, with reasonable lathe/mill equipment and the capability to set up and operate the equipment
A welder with the skill level appropriate for an experimental aircraft project
A mechanic/installer/fitter in the area where the aircraft is to be modified

If there are CNC mill or waterjet machine tools and operators available that makes it even better of course.

It would be very very helpful if there was a Stinson fuselage that I could have access to here in Los Angeles to measure and stare at, to finalize the design well enough before any parts are fabricated. There is a bare fuselage up near Las Vegas that a mutual friend of ours has access to, but he has apparently been suspended or banned from BCP. There is a flying Stinson at my local airport, but I have no idea if he is willing to disassemble any of the iterior upholstery to be part of this project. Maybe you have other Stinson Club members or aircraft owners here that are willing to participate.

Another very helpful thing would be to have the participation of someone here in LA who is good with CAD. Solidworks, etc. There is one BCP participant who would be a perfect partner for this (Addicted2Climbing), since he designs and develops precision motion control devices, camera mounts, and other mechanisms professionally. I cannot speak for him at all, and he's awfully busy at his new job.

Obviously this is also heavily dependent on your level of commitment to making this idea into a reality. In other words, there needs to be a Director on this epic movie, and I'm just the actor playing the role of the crazy inventor. This also depends on whether or not the disabled pilot buys your airplane, and whether other BCP members will bring the other parts stuff to the table, etc.

Believe it or not, I think the one thing that should not be that difficult is to secure FAA approval for this. The "Americans with Disabilities Act" (and those who help enforce it) will provide plenty of horsepower and motivation for the FAA to give it a fair chance, and judge it on merit/safety/functionality. Since it would be a field approval approved for one airplane only (at least for now), they will correctly see their risk as being limited. Since the device I sketched out is a very simple mechanical device (no software, electronics, etc.) it will either work as claimed or it will not. There will be no change to the primary flight control systems themselves other than providing another way to operate the existing rudder control.

Anyway, let me know if, when, and how you want to proceed with this.

Bill, Thanks so much, Have everyone close by that can do most of this if it progress's, thanks so much for your efforts, I have a CNC plasma, also a small CNC router that woks well on soft material. Have a good lathe and access to a good Mill, hope to have one in the hangar soon myself. My soninlaw does cad and solid works both as does my brother, so maybe have that part covered also.
I will let you know the next move.
Thanks Again GT

A paraplegic raced a Cassutt in Formula One this year at the Reno Air Races. Either google it or contact IF1 for contact info. If you hit a dead end, PM me.

Sounds like a great project. Good on ya GT!

An experimental would sure make this a lot easier because you wouldn't need to approval of the FAA at all.

The one paraplegic plane I looked at had what looked like a bicycle brake handle on the yoke tied into the throttle linkage. During normal flight the throttle worked as normal but the pilot could use the throttle on the yoke during landing. Rudder was tied into the ailerons. Pretty sure that's how it was.

My first thought is a throttle on the yoke as described above. Handle control for the rudder, like stick steering on a river jet boat. Make it so if you push the stick far enough left it starts to engage the left brake, same to the right. Have a hand brake on the stick that engages both brakes. Seems simple enough.

The ideas that I sketched out are a bit more complex than what what Whee mentioned he saw on another airplane. His system may well be good enough. I was trying to have everything available that was available before, including being able to use both brakes at the same time, and with varying amounts of brake also available for "steering" as well. It is entirely possible that I over-thought it, in pursuit of it being the highest possible quality and functionality.

EZFlap wrote: It is entirely possible that I over-thought it, in pursuit of it being the highest possible quality and functionality.

You saying my idea is low quality and barely functional? What if I had it milled out of titanium or formed up out of carbon fiber[emoji3]

No, I was not trashing your idea in any way. Your ideas may be a simpler and easier solution than mine.

GT, give Whee's idea a try first. If for any reason you think it is not complicated enough, give me a call and I'll be happy to complexify it.

There used to be a disabled fellow in Big Bear who helped develop systems for para and quadraplegic pilots. He also ran a training school for them I believe.
One of the desirable airplanes was the Cardinal with no struts and a very wide door entry.
A friend of mine due to a road accident became quad disabled, his Maule was too difficult to enter so he bought a retract Arrow which has a hand brake. An arm was fitted to the rudder pedals and had a forearm sized hole that the throttle hand fitted through. The hand brake had a strap which velcroed to his jeans so he could grab it without body movement, as he had to strap his upper body to the seat back.
He had a no wheels skateboard to ease the slide from wing to cockpit and from left seat to right.
My CFI better half at the time had to learn to operate the contraption so she could act as his CFI to get him checked back out.
He now has a Bonanza. Impressive.

Coincidentally ran across this a day or two ago. Looks like an old article, but on the right track.

https://www.wired.com/2009/08/hand-control-airplanes/