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How "tall" can we fit in our planes

I have a friend looking closely at an new kit. He is 6-5". He won't fit in my 6 will he fit in a-7 or -9? I am pretty sure he will fit in the -10 and the -8. Thanks.
 
It depends alot on his torso length. Better get him to sit in a 7 or 9. Some modifications can be made during the building process and seat construction to get a little more head room space. Head set selection is another.
 
The seat pans are at least 1" lower in the -7 & -9, maybe 2" than the -6.
 
Tall

I had a friend in the rear seat of my -8 who is "5 feet 20 inches tall" as he calls it!:D

I'm sure the -8 would be an option.
 
Tall pilot and/or passenger

I'm a bit over 6' 5" with a long body and fit comfortably in my -9A. But the petals are all the way forward and the seat cushion wedge is thinner to give my head a 1" clearance below the canopy. I also use a headset with a thin band. In 250 hours I've only hit the canopy twice in turbulence.

My brother-in-law is an honest 6' 7" and fits comfortably as a passenger/pilot, but he had to completely remove the seat cushion wedge for head clearance. Rudder petal clearance is not a big deal because you generally remove your feet from RV petals once in cruise.
Leland
 
Contact Van's

Contact Van's. They have modification plans to the seat areas for taller pilots. I know of one that was done on the -6. Not sure about the rest.

John Balbierer
 
Tall guys.

Bill, I'm 6' 5" with a 38" inseam. I have enlarged the bulkhead gusset behind the seats in my 7 (slider), back about 3", as well as moving the seat backs (on the floor) approx. 1.5" to the rear,this was done with Van's ok as well. Now with the rudder pedals moved foreword as far as possible, you gain 1.5" at your bum and 3" at the shoulders, it is very comfortable, considerably better than the 6 I began my training in. RV-7 xl!!


Steve
 
My tallest passenger

was a 26 year old gal who was only 6'2"...Not only did she fit well she was absolutely gorgeous...:D

Frank...who is 5' 8"
 
Contact Van's. They have modification plans to the seat areas for taller pilots. I know of one that was done on the -6. Not sure about the rest.

John Balbierer

The "tall pilot" modification applied to the -6. The -7 and -9 incorporate the change.
Leland
 
I had a friend in the rear seat of my -8 who is "5 feet 20 inches tall" as he calls it!:D

I'm sure the -8 would be an option.

Funny, I too am 5'20",with 38" inseam I "fit"in an Rv-8, but am searching for input on how to "fit better" Lot's of folks think just cuz you are tall, that you are unflexable! I did my training in a 152!(I cheated when I got to solo cross country, I used the left side rudder pedals!) I used to drive a Chevy turbo sprint, however as one ages, maybe flexability ceases?
 
I had a 6'5" guy in my -6...

...a couple of years ago. I removed the seat bottom and left one Classic Aero booster in place and he still had clearance with the headset on. The seat was also tilted to the rearmost postion. I'm right at 6' so you can see how tall Jim is:
Jimandme-1.jpg


He had to duck to let the slider bow by but then it was fine:
Jiminside.jpg

Regards,
 
I'm 6'6" myself. I debated building the -8 with the tall pilot option, but after flying in an RV7 and sitting in another, i realized its doable. As people have said, I'm sure it depends on how tall your torso vs legs are. I plan to squeeze every inch I can into my plane to make it work for me.

I'd be curious how Hoss7 "enlarged the bulkhead gusset behind the seats in my 7 (slider), back about 3", as well as moving the seat backs (on the floor) approx. 1.5" to the rear".

Can you really move the back of the seat 3" rearward? I'd love to see some pictures of this.
 
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