Slider wheel pitch and roll control stick apparatus for an aircraft

For use in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft having located therein a control panel structure for displaying aircraft instrumentation and at least one seat for an aircraft operator, and further having foot-operated rudder and brake controls positioned underneath said control panel structure, wherein said operator's feet are normally positioned underneath said control panel structure when said operator is seated and operating said rudder and brake controls, an aircraft pitch and roll control apparatus, comprising:

• an elongated control shaft having an upper end and a lower end, said shaft extending continuously in one piece along a center line axis from said upper end to said lower end, a control wheel being connected to said upper end;
• a shaft-translating housing surrounding a portion of said control shaft intermediate of said shaft's upper and lower ends, said upper and lower ends each extending outwardly away from said housing;
• bearing means for rotationally connecting said shaft to said housing in a manner so that said shaft is rotatable about said shaft's center line axis in response to turning of said control wheel by said aircraft operator;
• means for slidably mounting said shaft-translating housing to said control panel structure, for moving said housing back and forth in a particular direction, wherein sliding movement of said housing back and forth correspondingly translates said shaft back and forth, and wherein said center line axis of said shaft extends at a certain fixed acute angle with respect to the direction of said shaft-translating movement, said shaft being positioned substantially above the legs of the operator when in a normal seated position, said shaft's upper end extending rearwardly at said fixed angle into said cockpit so that said control wheel is in a position that is comfortably operable by said operator, and said shaft's lower end extending forwardly at said fixed angle to a position located forwardly of the normal position of said operator's feet when seated;
• a movable pitch control swing arm operable to adjust the pitch of said aircraft;
• a movable roll crank arm operable to adjust roll of said aircraft;
• and
• connecting means operable to interconnect said control shaft's lower end with both said pitch control swing arm and said roll crank arm, in a manner so that translation of said shaft causes movement of said pitch control swing arm, to adjust aircraft pitch, and in a manner so that rotational turning of said shaft causes movement of said roll crank arm, to adjust aircraft roll.