[Redbud40]

A friend of mine wants to buy a 10. He is a big guy,and after sitting in two of them yesterday, it was apparent that he needs some more room. He is not really overweight just a big upper body. We all thought if somehow the seat cushion could some how be moved over more center cockpit, (2 inches maybe) that would work, might even have to impede on the center console a little. Obviously we are not talking about moving the rails or structure,just the actual seat on the rails maybe. Any one encounter something like this or thoughts that we might consider? He has head room if the cushion and seat had to be raised up a little to move over on to the console. Thanks
Mike

 

[woxofswa]

Highly impractical to move the seat sideways IMO. You would have issues with the clearance of the stick between the legs. Leaving the stick where it is would restrict stick movement to the left, and if you moved stick to the right with a spacer, then you'd have restricted space on the right due to rudder pedals. Changing geometry of the center console at the firewall to move rudder pedals would affect myriad issues like the engine mount etc. Anything CAN be done but it would be a huge undertaking.

I think you could easily trim an inch out of the lower seat bottom cushion. You could perhaps shave the upper door concave indent 1/4 to 3/8 deeper. Other than that, I think you're better off with a different model of aircraft. Maybe an RV8 with a custom highboy canopy.

 

[BobTurner]

Keep in mind that Vans furnishes the front seat cushions in a ten because they are part of an engineered safety system. Pilot sits above a rigid spar carry thru, and seat and cushion were designed to give maximum possible crush space in the event of a vertical impact. I would think twice before thinning the cushion, or moving the seat over the rail.