Bill Boyd
Well Known Member
Randy Newman summed up my dilemma in '77: short people got no reason to live
But seriously, I love my wife and want her comfortable in the plane - the whole reason we now have 4 spacious, reclining seats for what will be a two-seat mission 99.9% of the time. But at 4'-11" she can't reach the rudder pedals or brakes, which complicates the whole right-seater, learn-to-fly-well-enough-to-get-the-insurance-company's-plane-on-the-ground-and-walk-away thing. She can't see well over the nose, so she has to do her sight seeing out the side window. And her feet don't touch the floor, which makes for some leg and lower back discomfort on trips.
I need to fab some blocks on the brake pedals for her, but more importantly a booster cushion so she can see out, and a removable raised floor to compensate for the booster and her short legs.
The rudder pedal blocks I have no idea how to engineer. I'm pondering a slab of temper foam wrapped in some kind of tough lightweight fabric for the booster cushion, but a good lightweight removable raised floor solution is less intuitive to me. Maybe a plastic lining and some pour-in-place foam or GreatStuff to make a blank that could be covered in outdoor carpet? I'll take any construction ideas for any of the above. What has worked well for others with vertically challenged pax?
But seriously, I love my wife and want her comfortable in the plane - the whole reason we now have 4 spacious, reclining seats for what will be a two-seat mission 99.9% of the time. But at 4'-11" she can't reach the rudder pedals or brakes, which complicates the whole right-seater, learn-to-fly-well-enough-to-get-the-insurance-company's-plane-on-the-ground-and-walk-away thing. She can't see well over the nose, so she has to do her sight seeing out the side window. And her feet don't touch the floor, which makes for some leg and lower back discomfort on trips.
I need to fab some blocks on the brake pedals for her, but more importantly a booster cushion so she can see out, and a removable raised floor to compensate for the booster and her short legs.
The rudder pedal blocks I have no idea how to engineer. I'm pondering a slab of temper foam wrapped in some kind of tough lightweight fabric for the booster cushion, but a good lightweight removable raised floor solution is less intuitive to me. Maybe a plastic lining and some pour-in-place foam or GreatStuff to make a blank that could be covered in outdoor carpet? I'll take any construction ideas for any of the above. What has worked well for others with vertically challenged pax?