Van's Air Force
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Almost RV-14 mod.
- Thread starter bret
- Start date
Since no else has answered yet, figured I'd share my experience.
Im sure the final answer will really depend on individual tastes (and size). Im sure you'll need to sit in one for comparison.
I did the mod on my 6a and love it! SO much more comfortable. Im not a big guy but so you have a comparison, Im 5'11" 210lbs and have a 32 inseam. I never have been exactly comfortable in the 6. My seat is at the back floor position and no standoff behind the seat. Back rests right against the cross brace. I always felt I sat up too straight. I used a small cushion behind my lower back to help give me a little angle or else my back would ache after an hour or so. The problem then was my legs were just a little too far forward towards pedals.
Now my seating position is perfect. Very comfortable angle on the back. Got rid of the lower back cushion and have much better leg room as well.
Im sure the final answer will really depend on individual tastes (and size). Im sure you'll need to sit in one for comparison.
I did the mod on my 6a and love it! SO much more comfortable. Im not a big guy but so you have a comparison, Im 5'11" 210lbs and have a 32 inseam. I never have been exactly comfortable in the 6. My seat is at the back floor position and no standoff behind the seat. Back rests right against the cross brace. I always felt I sat up too straight. I used a small cushion behind my lower back to help give me a little angle or else my back would ache after an hour or so. The problem then was my legs were just a little too far forward towards pedals.
Now my seating position is perfect. Very comfortable angle on the back. Got rid of the lower back cushion and have much better leg room as well.
Doug Rohrer
Well Known Member
Great Mod!
I modified my -9A and am very happy with it. You sit at a much more natural angle. It would be far easier to build it with the mod rather than changing it out later.
I modified my -9A and am very happy with it. You sit at a much more natural angle. It would be far easier to build it with the mod rather than changing it out later.
paulincapetown
Member
Have had it built in to my new 7 (picking up end feb)
It feels great and looking forward to flying with it - always found the leg room a bit of an issue in other 7's and 7a's I have flown. As going to be doing some long trips ,expect this to be beneficial to me and probably more so to my passenger
Will post an update once flown with it a bit
Fly safe
It feels great and looking forward to flying with it - always found the leg room a bit of an issue in other 7's and 7a's I have flown. As going to be doing some long trips ,expect this to be beneficial to me and probably more so to my passenger
Will post an update once flown with it a bit
Fly safe
JonJay
Well Known Member
Go sit in a few airplanes and see how you fit. It is a lot more about body type than it is about overall height. I have a 32" inseam, relatively tall for my 5'10" frame, so my short body and long legs fit the architecture of the stock seat just fine.
If you do go sit in a few, pay close attention to the seat cushions and location of the rudder pedals. Not all of them feel the same.
I have only seen what Allan put on his site. I would sum it up that for most, it would not help, but it certainly would not hurt.
If you do go sit in a few, pay close attention to the seat cushions and location of the rudder pedals. Not all of them feel the same.
I have only seen what Allan put on his site. I would sum it up that for most, it would not help, but it certainly would not hurt.
bpattonsoa
Well Known Member
I just did it to my RV-6a. I am 6' 4" and have a long upper body. I am not comfortable in almost anything made. The -6 was hard to fly more than a couple of hours, even with a thin top and bottom cushion and a lumbar support.
Did the mod. It is tough in a -6 because of some of the rivets and angles in the part. But .....
WOW!!! I love it. The ship fits me. Also being able to remove it made the annual much easier.
Did the mod. It is tough in a -6 because of some of the rivets and angles in the part. But .....
WOW!!! I love it. The ship fits me. Also being able to remove it made the annual much easier.
Vern
Well Known Member
6A mod...a winner!!!!
I did the mod but not for me. I'm 5'6" and did the mod for the comfort of many buds who might fly with me including my football player son in law and 95th percentile height/weight grandchildren.
It took me 9 hours to install with the help of a few friends. Wiring, upholstery, and static lines made mine take longer.
The parts were excellent and the price makes it the least expensive upgrade I've made to Redbird. Shipping was prompt.
Because I'm so short, my seat is in the most forward hinges and I will have to extend the hinged flap on the top of the seat back about 4" after a few flights.
It's a great mod and I recommend it!
I did the mod but not for me. I'm 5'6" and did the mod for the comfort of many buds who might fly with me including my football player son in law and 95th percentile height/weight grandchildren.
It took me 9 hours to install with the help of a few friends. Wiring, upholstery, and static lines made mine take longer.
The parts were excellent and the price makes it the least expensive upgrade I've made to Redbird. Shipping was prompt.
Because I'm so short, my seat is in the most forward hinges and I will have to extend the hinged flap on the top of the seat back about 4" after a few flights.
It's a great mod and I recommend it!
flyboy1963
Well Known Member
how's the sightlines??????
i quite like the view over the nose on my -9a.....and I imgine -7a's to be similar.
Due to the -6a sitting a bit different, does reclining drop the eyeline quite a bit?
It looks in Allan's video that his eyeball is now an inch or two lower, at least, so I would be craning my neck while taxiing to get a better view.
that said, in flight comfort is the objective, so I sounds like that has been met.
as others have said, even at 5' 11", my head hits the canopy a lot, and if I could stagger the passenger seat back so our shoulders don't rub, that would be a big plus with my 'plus' size friends!!! ( not to mention getting them away from the stick, and out of my sightline to starboard!)
i quite like the view over the nose on my -9a.....and I imgine -7a's to be similar.
Due to the -6a sitting a bit different, does reclining drop the eyeline quite a bit?
It looks in Allan's video that his eyeball is now an inch or two lower, at least, so I would be craning my neck while taxiing to get a better view.
that said, in flight comfort is the objective, so I sounds like that has been met.
as others have said, even at 5' 11", my head hits the canopy a lot, and if I could stagger the passenger seat back so our shoulders don't rub, that would be a big plus with my 'plus' size friends!!! ( not to mention getting them away from the stick, and out of my sightline to starboard!)
alpinelakespilot2000
Well Known Member
Just curious, whatever the comfort merits of this modification, has anyone (including anyone other that the manufacturer of the modification) done an engineering analysis of it? That seat back bulkhead is pretty important structurally, especially because it is part of the rear spar attach point. I'd hate to see a lot of new builders jump on it simply b/c other builders have done it and like it. FWIW, I'm 5'11/190# and the stock set up works very comfortably.
Pretty Easy and oh so comfy!
My wife and I installed this mod in our 7 today. It took about 4hrs. It took a bit more grinding to make it fit well. But, truly a great add for us. I'm about 6'2" and 190" and my wife is 5'10". Almost no difference in access to the baggage area. The stainless cross member is much smaller in fore to aft dimension. But, it's much more beefy material. Good value! Highly recommend!
My wife and I installed this mod in our 7 today. It took about 4hrs. It took a bit more grinding to make it fit well. But, truly a great add for us. I'm about 6'2" and 190" and my wife is 5'10". Almost no difference in access to the baggage area. The stainless cross member is much smaller in fore to aft dimension. But, it's much more beefy material. Good value! Highly recommend!
We installed in our 7a
It was a bigger job that we expected, we had some clearance issues with the rivets under the canopy rails. Took us a couple days part time to get it right.
Results:
Much more room for taller folks. Very comfortable position. Makes it easier to reach back into the baggage area while seated.
Short people have trouble seeing out without a cushion. One of our partners prefers to fly with the seat wedge installed, which moves it back near the original positon.
Will be great to remove it when doing inspections. Stronger than original design.
Makes it alittle harder to get in the plane as you can not sit on the seat backs with the seats reclined.
Overall, very happy with the modification.
It was a bigger job that we expected, we had some clearance issues with the rivets under the canopy rails. Took us a couple days part time to get it right.
Results:
Much more room for taller folks. Very comfortable position. Makes it easier to reach back into the baggage area while seated.
Short people have trouble seeing out without a cushion. One of our partners prefers to fly with the seat wedge installed, which moves it back near the original positon.
Will be great to remove it when doing inspections. Stronger than original design.
Makes it alittle harder to get in the plane as you can not sit on the seat backs with the seats reclined.
Overall, very happy with the modification.
PerfTech
Well Known Member
Chime In !
... I thought this would be a good time to share some useful information with you guys that weren't aware of some recent developments that may be of interest to the Tip-Up builders. A few months back, one of our fellow RVers with a tip up was so discouraged with the seating room he decided to do the "Almost a 14 seat mod" in his airplane no matter what it took. He purchased the kit and went to work. He had it completed in short order and said "it made a completely new airplane of it and he couldn't be happier in his decision". He was gracious enough to prepare a PDF file with full documentation, parts list and great photos of his installation. He stated, it was not difficult at all, and ask that we pass this on to his fellow tip up owners. Here is a link to the great PDF he created you can download from our website. http://antisplataero.com/Downloads.html We have sent out perhaps 15 kits to other tip ups, and it seems everyone it very happy with their outcome. Have a look at his installation, and if we can be of help just give us a call. Thanks, Allan...
.
... I thought this would be a good time to share some useful information with you guys that weren't aware of some recent developments that may be of interest to the Tip-Up builders. A few months back, one of our fellow RVers with a tip up was so discouraged with the seating room he decided to do the "Almost a 14 seat mod" in his airplane no matter what it took. He purchased the kit and went to work. He had it completed in short order and said "it made a completely new airplane of it and he couldn't be happier in his decision". He was gracious enough to prepare a PDF file with full documentation, parts list and great photos of his installation. He stated, it was not difficult at all, and ask that we pass this on to his fellow tip up owners. Here is a link to the great PDF he created you can download from our website. http://antisplataero.com/Downloads.html We have sent out perhaps 15 kits to other tip ups, and it seems everyone it very happy with their outcome. Have a look at his installation, and if we can be of help just give us a call. Thanks, Allan...
I installed this mod in our 7A. I'm 6'2"-225lb w/ 34" inseam. We (I have two sons that fly also) have Aero Classic Aviator seats in the most aft setting. The seat position was too upright with the leg room just a little to short for long range comfort. The more reclined position is much more comfortable and allows the seat bottom to be placed more aft resulting in improved leg room/comfort. The view over the cowl did change a little so we had Aero Classic send us the wedges they make that matched the leather seat bottom, which raised my eye level back up and added to the leg room. As comfort goes, this is a great mod if your currently feeling cramped.
Dale
Dale
Hi.
I have recently purchased a flying RV7A Slider in Australia and approached my LAME - AP about installing this mod.
Is there anyone in Australia who has installed this mod who would be able to please email me with some guidance?
[email protected]
Cheers!
I have recently purchased a flying RV7A Slider in Australia and approached my LAME - AP about installing this mod.
Is there anyone in Australia who has installed this mod who would be able to please email me with some guidance?
[email protected]
Cheers!
PerfTech
Well Known Member
...Go to our website and there are two videos that show the complete installation on your RV-7. Thanks, Allan ..
