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I used to worry a lot about this, but I step on the seat every time I get in my plane and after 675 hours, the seats just don't show any dirt.
Of course, I operate out of paved fields and try and wipe off my shoes before I climb in, but I don't take any heroic measures to keep my shoes clean. |
I haven't been back on the forum for a few days so I would like to thank those who have replied since my last visit. I'll probably go for the appropriately coloured small towel velcroed to the forward edge of the seat cushion, which seems like the easiest solution.
Once again thanks to you all Mike Greene Flying RV7 at LFPX France |
clean seats
...after agonizing about this, I've installed a hatch in the floor, and pull myself up from below, just like in a B-25! :) seats stay immaculate!
...but seriously, I velcro'd a slice of carpet between the seats, and try to step there, then on the gear tower, then slide my butt off the seatback into position. ( 'course won't work for guys with a console.) |
No stepping on seats and no towels !!!!
I haven?t finished my plane yet, so I do not have any experience, but it must be possible to step inside, without stepping on the Seats!!??
The right wing will be installed in a couple of weeks, I will try the entry- and exit procedure at the same time. In the worst case, I will have to put ?something? between the seats to step on, no way there is going to be any stepping on the seats and certainly there is not going to be any ?towels? floating about in the meticulously designed interior. Can?t stand rubbish! Regards, Tonny. |
Good Luck!
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I carry a towel and it fits into my flight bag, so not sure I understand the rubbish concern, although I usually just throw it back into the baggage area. |
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The seats in my RV-6 (B.J. Lauritson fabric) have been stepped on hundreds of times and still look great. I carry a small rubber floor mat to put in the seat but haven't used it more than a couple of times. |
Take off your shoes
Do like Mom said and take off your shoes. I've got a 9A slider. Climb up on the wing. Remove your shoes/boots/sandals. Put them in the baggage area before you board the plane.
I used to keep a pair of moccasins propped against the rudder pedals for winter use. Ol' Gordon Baxter used to fly his Mooney that way. Very comfortable. I've gotten quite lax now that the plane and the $1300 seats have over 300 hours on them, though. And passengers kinda look at you funny when you ask them to remove their shoes. Shades of commercial air travel. Then there's the cheesefoot problem. WalMart sells nice dark gray/silver handtowels for about $4 each. I still do the barefoot thing in the summer, tho. |
In response to Pilottonny's post:
It is indeed possible to get in and out of a tip-up without ever stepping on the seats. My wife and I have been doing it over the last 19 years (3000hrs) in out of our RV6 and 7A. She is 5'-1" and I am 5'-8" and we both are in our 60's and in good but not superb shape. The drill is as follows: Step on the wing facing forward, move the inboard leg over the sill and drape it over the front edge of the seat, sit down on the longeron with your butt as far back against the rollbar as possible, supprt yourself with the inboard hand on the top of the adacent seat, pull in the outboard leg and drape it over the front edge of the seat, now using the support of both hands with the outboard one on the longeron next to your hip and the inboard one on the adjacent seat back slide down into the seat. Getting out is the same in reverse beginning by placing one hand on the longeron and the other on the adjacent seat back then standing up with the aid of your legs until you can slide your butt back on to the longeron. Sounds complicated but happens in a couple of seconds and takes some practice. I have tried it in a slider, it is more difficult because there is less space between the canopy and the windshield bow and the track ontop of the longeron is painful to sit on. Martin Sutter building and flying RV's since 1988 |
YEP!
Martin and I do it the same way. Except that I've only been doing it for 17 years.
On the other hand, for inexperienced passengers, it's easier to have them step in the seat. Never been a problem. |
I use two approaches
My airplane is a slider so I don't know how difficult it is to get in and out of a tip-up. I bought a small rug, cut a "U" in it to clear the stick and sewed a border on it to keep it from fraying. I put that in the passenger seat. My wife steps on it, then the floor, I reach in and pull out the rug, she sits down and I put the rug in the baggage compartment. The nice thing about the rug is it holds its shape and can be positioned nicely with one edge. If someone else is going up with me I just let them sit on the rug (I don't have the mud problem you have to deal with). On my side I step directly on the floor and sit down with no stepping on the seat.
Bob Axsom |
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