Opinion on pedal placement

[bill v]

I did the side holes and then did the middle brace as I moved the side blocks to the various holes but the center block is a different length so the last hole in the center block that is the front hole and the first hole that was the back hole are too close together. just a heads up to watch this before drilling your center brace

[Steve Melton]

also, now is the time to add spring centering return holes if you want that to keep the rudder centered. I added the holes at build and now I plan to install them to prevent the rudder from banging against the stops in the wind.

[Rupester]

I'm 6'0" with 32" inseam and my pedals are all the way forward ... And I still wish I had more legroom. As others said, you can't judge when sitting in the plane until you have all the seat cushions in place ... Including the wedges if you use them.

[flyboy1963]

Scott, I'm not a builder, but here's my rudder pedal observations.

yeah, wear your usual shoes...the heels bring the ball of your foot up a bit.
You probably want to test FULL rudder deflection, WHEN BELTED IN TIGHTLY!
any fitting without belts can't be very meaningful.
Even sitting on most seats for an hour will warm and compress the foam, changing the geometry a fair bit.
Halfway thru a long x-country, you've changed cheeks and adjusted your posture a few dozen times. When it comes time to land in a crosswind, where will your feet be now?
If you change your pedals position fore n' aft much, you need to adjust the links to the cables so you have proper travel, as others have said.

I found I like the seat at max recline, which means the bottom hinge at most forward. ( gives max headroom as well)
still, even pushing halfway on the pedal was a stretch, so I plan to add the pedal extensions.
Bonus; keeps pressure off the brakes until you really mean it.

[Bert]

Note: the center bearing block does not have the same bolt pattern as the end bearing blocks. If you use the end blocks to move a full bolt hole for each move the center support bracket will end up with a figure 8 hole.

[tgmillso]

In the 15 years that this kit has been manufactured it blows me away that the issue that Bert addresses still exists, either that or both Bert and I are missing something. Does nobody in Van's know how to write an engineering change order? On the outboard blocks (F-6116) the hole spacing is 3 1/4" and on the center block the hole spacing is only 3", thus, when you drill the side blocks to the F-719 fwd skin stiffener in the manner they suggest in the manual, you will have holes that don't line up on the F-6118 rudder pedal brace when you go to drill the most furthest aft set. Really frustrating. In hindsight I wish I had drilled the F-6116 side bearing block with 3" spacing between the holes (perhaps allowing an additional fraction due to the outward splay of the side skins at that point - yet to be calculated). I'm just going to leave the aft most position undrilled for now on the F-6118 brace and just hope some vertically challenged individual never wants to fly my aircraft.

[tgmillso]

Just as a follow-up from my aggravated rant above, I contacted Van's tech support and spoke with Sterling about the issue. He said that these two center holes close together on the F-6118 bracket (the aft hole on the forward position and the forward hole on the aft position) were acceptable and a common occurrence. My holes were exactly 1/16" apart, from edge to edge. Not ideal, but apparently acceptable, and I guess to the benefit of any vertically challenged individual that wants to fly my aeroplane in the future.
Tom.

[jjconstant]

I'll offer my own, different approach to the pedal placement. I am short statured, with an inseam of 28". Even so, I wanted tall friends to be comfortable in the passenger seat so I moved the rudder pedals as far forward as possible while still allowing full rudder pedal movement with application of full brakes. I then adjusted my seat to the forward most position and added pedal spacers on the rudder pedals and brakes on the pilot side. Works well and tall passengers are comfortable.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by jjconstant

I'll offer my own, different approach to the pedal placement. I am short statured, with an inseam of 28". Even so, I wanted tall friends to be comfortable in the passenger seat so I moved the rudder pedals as far forward as possible while still allowing full rudder pedal movement with application of full brakes. I then adjusted my seat to the forward most position and added pedal spacers on the rudder pedals and brakes on the pilot side. Works well and tall passengers are comfortable.

No a bad plan if it works for you, but it can be less than ideal for many people.

There is one other item that comes into play that is not movable.... the control stick.
If the rudder pedals are far fwd, and the seat is moved fwd to compensate, some people can become uncomfortably close to the control stick when it is full aft as in a landing flare. The closer to the stick you are, the more awkward the pull on the stick also.

[gasman]

In the proper seating position, the bottom of your foot will not be 90* to the floor. Your rudder pedals should not be 90* to the floor.

The brake pedals should be parallel to each other, and have a little more tilt than the weldment so you won't drag the brakes as you operate the rudder.

The Warrior had a very good foot angle to pedal feel. I matched that feel to my 6A.


BTW.... my passengers just have to adapt....