The Collective is the easiest component to make of the entire system.
It is made from plastic "down spout" or "gutter" that you can get from the hardware store. I got a 90 degree elbow of the same material as well for the base. Make it as tall as you need and secure it to a base of plywood.

The handle is made from 1" diameter aluminum pipe with a bicycle handlebar grip on the end for comfort.

For weight, I filled it full of concrete, running a 1/2 inch pipe through the concrete to allow the wiring to pass through. It weighs well over 10lbs now. When it was all finished, I painted it matt black.

When you raise the collective handle, a linkage made from 2 model aircraft ball links coupled to wheel pant collars (secured to the pot and a 1/4"x 3" long carriage bolt that holds and tensions the handle) moves the potentiometer thereby making the computer read the voltage differential.

Since we are using 1meg pots, only 25 degrees of rotaion of the pot is required to give the required 200-300 ohm resistance that the computer actually uses

Side View of the Linkages.	Front View Of Linkages.
Top View of handle support	Top View of handle support and "clutch". The tension on the handle is simply adjusted by tightening the double nuts against the washers, thereby causing a "clutch" effect. It holds the handle in the required position as you are flying.