The Pilot Behind 3D Stick & Rudder

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3D Stick & Rudder builds aircraft parts the way pilots want them built: simple, practical, and made to solve a real problem.

Hello….I’m Paul Swearingen—a Naval Flight Officer, instrument-rated pilot, electro-mechanical engineer, EAA member, and the founder and designer behind 3D Stick & Rudder. I founded 3D Stick & Rudder in 2019, starting with cockpit controls for Van’s RV and other Experimental aircraft. Since then, the work has grown to include aircraft emblems, placards, electrical controls, specialty tools, and hard-to-find replacement parts for both Experimental and classic aircraft.

Every product starts with the same question: Is there a better way to do this? Some designs improve cockpit workload or control feel. Others replace an original aircraft part that has become difficult or impossible to find. Each is developed around fit, function, simplicity, and the environment in which it will actually be used.

Every product is designed, manufactured, assembled, and inspected by me in Marion, Iowa. Many have been developed with direct input from the pilots and aircraft owners who needed them in the first place.

Questions or a custom fit? You’ll be dealing directly with the person who designed and built it.

Paul Swearingen (callsign “Swag”)
Founder & Owner
3D Stick & Rudder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-swearingen-b3b13a14/

Pilot-Built Aircraft Controls, Emblems, Placards & Specialty Parts

If you fly an Experimental aircraft or maintain a classic airplane, you know the small details matter. I design and build throttle grips, cockpit controls, aircraft emblems, placards, smoke-system controls, and specialty parts that solve problems, replace hard-to-find originals, and make an airplane feel complete.

Designed, manufactured, assembled, and tested in Marion, Iowa.

Shop Throttles • Shop Control Knobs • Shop Aircraft Emblems • Shop Smoke Controls • Shop Placards & Tools

What I Make

Throttle Grips
Throttle grips designed around real cockpit tasks—PTT, Smoke, TO/GA, COMMS/ICS, Flaps, and more. Controls are positioned at your left thumb and fingers to keep your hand where it belongs.

Control Knobs
FAR 23.781-style Prop / Mixture / Trim / Alt Air knobs and matched sets designed for identification by sight and feel while giving the throttle quadrant a finished appearance.

Aircraft Emblems & Badges
3D reproduced emblems and badges for classic aircraft including Cessna, Piper, Mooney, Beech, Learjet, Aero Commander, Seabee, and others. From control-wheel emblems to hard-to-find exterior aircraft emblems, these pieces bring back details that decades of flying can damage or make difficult to restore or replace.

Smoke System Hardware
Pilot-developed controls and accessories designed to simplify wiring, protect components, and improve operation of your Experimental aircraft smoke systems.

Placards, Tools & Aircraft Details
Maintenance tools, aircraft placards, identification pieces, and specialty parts designed to solve the small problems that come with owning and maintaining your airplane.

Why Pilots Buy From 3D Stick & Rudder

  • Built by a pilot for pilots

  • Designed around real aircraft problems

  • Hard-to-find replacement and restoration pieces

  • Practical cockpit ergonomics

  • Individually manufactured and inspected

  • Made in the IOWA USA, Veteran Owned

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Best-Selling Throttle Grips • FAR 23.781 Knob Sets • Aircraft Emblems • Smoke Controls • Placards & Maintenance Tools

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