After many random cuts and scrapes on my right arm and my wife's left arm I have to do something about the vulnerability to cuts from the seat backs when exiting the aircraft. I am thinking of connecting the seat backs with a removable piece of aluminum angle that is well padded and upholstered. It seems like there should have been a slick rubbery plastic cap developed for this area by some enterprising RV builder by now. Is there such an accessory on the market?
I made a padded brace/guard for the area between the seats. The structural part is made from and 8" piece of 1/8" X 3/4" angle with one flange cut off each end. No. 8 floating platenuts are installed in the upper flange of each seat back and the the mounting holes on the new angle part are countersunk for flathead screws. A strip of thin foam rubber (maybe 1/2" thick) is glued to the center angle and wrapped around it and glued to itself like a 3" diameter jelly roll. Then I cut a "L" shaped hole in some upholstery material I had left over from Becky O's shipment and slipped it over the angle and glued it to the foam end. Then I cut notches in the overhang (1/2") and glued them down to the outer surface of the roll. Then I repeated it with the other end. The I took a strip of the upholstery that would cover the OD and extend 1" out on either side and folded the excess in and glued it to itself providing an strip as wide as the roll OD surface and glued it inplace. Then I took some red thread and hand sewed all of the seams. The finished product seems pretty good. Photos below:
Bob Axsom
Arm Scrapes and Cuts Exiting RV-6A
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