Headroom in RVs

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to get some group consensus on the question of headroom in RVs if I could. Over the years, we've asked customers how much headroom they would like to have, and of course it varies a fair amount. Many don't have a flying airplane when we ask them, and may not have put much thought into this question before.

Customer replys usually range from 2-4 inches (measured from the top of the head regardless of whether they are wearing a headset or not). It seems like the majority are somewhere in the middle of that range. We will continue to ask customers what their preference is, but it would be helpful to give them some idea of what others have done.

My question is mainly for all of you who have been flying your RV for a while. What have you found is a good headroom distance? I thought about making a survey, but rather than having people just vote on a number, I wanted to get people's thoughts on the subject. I'd really appreciate any input on this.

PS: one other thing we have noticed is that people's perception of their headroom dimension is often different from when they actually measure it. Actual measurements would be great!

Thanks,

4 point harness, I like three fingers, most of 2 inches for bumps.

RV-6, slider
I am 6', 31" inseam, 12 shoes. RV-6 fits fine with thin pad or Long softie chute. The basic Becky interior foam seats I have just the single seat pad, it is not thick, maybe an inch compressed.

Taildragger, I like to sit high, But I can hit the canopy in moderate.

Not as bad as a luscombe 8E with no numb buns seats, or Kitfox 4 or Pitts S1S, but just OK. Three inches would be perfect, 2 is OK. I wear a flat strap headset.

YMWV

49clipper

I have 1" to plexiglas on a tipup -6. I cannot wear my bose headsets due to keep bumping the canopy, so I use in Halo in-ear set which work great. I use a 1" pad under my seat cushion. If i use no 1" pad, I cannot get the sight picture I want on the ground. I am 5'-9" but long in the torso and short legs.
Hope this helps.

Head room

I don't have enough head room with one inch foam pad. I have the back of the seat as far back as I can get it. RV 6 A, 6 ft. 2inches with 32 inch inseam, very long torso. I've learned to live with it just like I did in a Learjet. I have a Lightspeed headset.

I have an RV7 and am 6' 1" tall and find that 2" is quite adequate with a 5 point harness, I have actually added wedges under my main seat cushion to get me as high as possible for over the nose visibility when landing.

Cheers

Luke,

I used Van's cushions and had them stitched up by a local auto interior shop. No big deal there but what I did was have them stich all three pieces separately; the wedge, the 1" spacer, and the top piece.

I have found that the only time I use the 1" pieces is when someone really small sits in the right side and then I use both. There have been times where I've had tall passengers and removed the wedge so they could fit with no issue.

In short, I wouldn't stich them all together, you will never get it right. By doing it like I did, the pilot and passenger can customize the height as needed.

Head room

Thanks a ton for the replys everyone. Very useful information. For the last 13 years (2000+ sets of RV seats), we have used the separate "wedges" like you mentioned Bill. We will continue to use this method on our Sportsman line of seats because it is simple and economical which is the point of those seats. It will still be optional on our Aviator seat as well. It works great.

Over the years we've found it's not the best solution in every case though. Feedback from customers has indicated that for a lot of aircraft the same person is sitting in the pilot's seat most of the time. This allows us to fine tune parts of the seat design for greater comfort for that person. Eliminating the extra wedges does not contribute to the improvement in comfort, it's just a necessary side effect of the other changes.

We are using some simple, although fairly detailed calculations, to determine the appropriate cushion thickness for a customer based on information they provide. So far our tests have been pretty successful. We will continue to refine the process as needed though.

Thanks again to everyone. This is exactly what I was looking for. If anyone else has any input, that would be great too. The more data points the better. measurements from the top of your head to the canopy are the most helpful. Also, comments about your preferences are good (Example: I have 3", but it is too much, etc.)

Thanks again,

Are you guys ever going get back into doing RV 10 seats and interiors.

I have a -7 tipper with the Aviator seats and normally just use the one wedge. I find that a good fist-width works for me. I can add the additional wedge but I like having the extra room for bumps, and there's times where that isn't enough.

texdog said:

I don't have enough head room with one inch foam pad. I have the back of the seat as far back as I can get it. RV 6 A, 6 ft. 2inches with 32 inch inseam, very long torso. I've learned to live with it just like I did in a Learjet. I have a Lightspeed headset.

Click to expand...

I fly an RV-6 slider. I'm 6' 0" and would say I have a "normal' torso / inseam ratio. My seat bottom is plenty thick, around 5 or 6", (seat back about 1.25") to get me up where I want to be -- which is as close to the canopy as possible so I can see well over the nose (on the ground or in the sky -- I'd do the same if I had a nosewheel). I didn't measure, sorry (maybe I'll come back and edit later) but it can't be more than an inch and a half -- just enough so normal moving around doesn't cause me to hit my head.

My problem is, I'm still with my old Peltor headsets (with Headsets Inc. ANR kit) because all the other new fancy ANR headsets have thick headbands. I tried the BOSE and the sound is WONDERFUL by comparison. But I have to crouch down (or take foam out of my seat) so I don't keep bonking that thick headband on the canopy.

Is there a solution? As in, a good (BOSE-like quality) headset with a thin head band? I can try Halos (thanks 49clipper), but anything else? I'm not willing to sit lower just so there's room for the stupid thick head band. Why so thick anyway? Headband softy-ness has never been an issue even with my stone-simple Peltor thin-vinyl over wire headband (though ear-seal and comfort is). But the sound in those is just crappy compared to the new stuff so I really want to upgrade, somehow.

I use 2 fingers or about 1 1/2" from the top of the headsets. I don't want the headsets banging into the canopy and I have a crotch strap that helps keep me in the seat in the bumps. There is an article that Van wrote from quite a few years ago in which he addresses the most common mistake he has observed when RV pilots are having trouble landing: they aren't sitting high enough. You absolutely need to be high enough to see the cowling which generally works out to about 2 fingers between headset and canopy.

49clipper

rv6n6r,
I like my Halo's but be aware, they do not provide the noise attenuation the Bose does. Once you put them on though, in two minutes you will not even know you have them on. Most comfortable headset ever, if they just were more quiet.

Hey Luke,

I've got a -9A slider fitted with your Sportsman seats and Crow 5-point belts. I'm 6'3" with a 36" inseam (so a little more legs than torso) and I have--I think--at least 2" from my headset to the canopy. In moderate turbulence, I've never had a contact issue. Seat backs are all the way back to the crossbeam, and attached to the middle hinge at the bottom.

Great seats, BTW. Very comfortable on my long (3-plus-hour) Phase 1 flights. The cloth is soft but wears like iron.

Next time I'm in the plane I will take actual measurements and report back. On a colder day, your head room will increase as the foam warms and you sink into the seat a little.