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DavMull

I'm New Here
I have been lurking on the site for a few months. I have become interested in flying/owning a Van's RV. I thought I wanted to pursue the side by side models until today. A gracious gent in the hangar across from mine provided me with my first flight in an RV. I loved it! Great performance, incredible visibility (even climbing), wonderful control responses, awesome power! However, my 6'1" frame did not fit well. While we could close the slider canopy with a little effort to lean forward, my long legs had no where to go. With my feet on the rudder pedals my knees were contacting the panel bottom.
A few questions for you guys:
1) If I were to purchase a used RV, can they be easily modified to lower the seat and move it aft?
2) Which RV 2 place models are more friendly to us longer pilots? I understand the RV10 would be a great solution, but I would need partner/s to own one.
3) Are 6 foot plus RV pilots rare?

Thank you for your help. I await your encouraging replies.
 
Most RV's can accommodate 6'3" pilots with no problems. My guess is the seat was not adjusted for you. I'm 6'1" also and fit in any RV including the -3.
 
David, First, a big welcome to VAF. You will find this site indispensable while building/owning an RV of any flavor.

Now for your question. I regularly take a tall passenger with me. I am guessing he is of the 6'2" variety and probably 220 lbs. He is a little gangly getting in and out but I have had taller co-pilots and know of others (RV-6/-7) who accommodate taller co-pilots.

The seats are adjustable up and down via cushion height. Additionally, the seat has ground adjustable forward and back positions and maybe your friends was forward.

The -7 is slightly more roomy than my -6. Very slightly.

If you are building, maybe an RV-14 is what you want to look at.

Best of luck and again, Welcome Aboard.
 
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The problem may have been the plane you were in. I am 6'5" and I fit in a RV-7 or 9. Many builders add 2" to the panel for more panel space. Many also have a wedge under the seat cushion and the rudder pedals rearward. I have flown in a 7 that had the 2" extra panel and I could not get my shins under. With the stock panel and the rudder pedal set to the forward position there is plenty of leg room. With the wedge removed and the seat backs in the rear position I have no problems. You need to find a ride in a better suited RV. Don't give up yet.
 
I will echo what the others are saying. I'm 6'1 and have no problem at all in a stock RV6/7 other than if the builder added a bunch to the bottom of the panel. I do like the seat being all the way back, and the rudder pedals all the way forward, but for me there is room for me in all of the RV's when properly adjusted...except for the RV-1, that was a squeeze for me! :)

There are a lot of variations in where people put the seatbacks, the bottom cushions, the rudder pedals and the panel bottoms, so it's likely the one you were in was just setup for those with less vertical height!

Cheers,
Stein
 
When you buy the seat cushions from Van?s the seat section comes in three pieces. The main seating section, a 1? filler, and the wedge.

When I had mine upholstered I had them done as three separate pieces. Some builders have them all stitched together as one THICK seat bottom.

Since I can remove the wedge (and never use the 1? filler unless my son is riding with us and then he gets both of them under his car seat.) I?ve had passengers up to 6? 4? in my plane and I have a recessed sub-panel for switches and breakers.
 
Cushions, pedals, panel, seat position... oh my!

I'm nearly 6-5 with a 34 inseam... fit great but it has to be properly set up for it...
 
Big Enough

I am 6'4" and 235 lbs. I fit in my RV-9A with the seat in the rear position and the pedals in the front most position. I did recently install the AntiSplat cockpit crossbar, which allows the seatback to recline about 4". I am very comfortable now. I might convert to electric trim to eliminate the knob on the floor that takes up space.

As you can see, there are several ways to make more room. It sounds like you were in a plane set up for a smaller person.
 
Thanks guys! I will keep searching. The throttle controls were in the way of my left knee and the intercom plug panel was below the panel too. The plane was fabulous, just not set up for the more vertically inclined. I think I have seen photos of some with the throttle, prop, and mixture in a vertical orientation that should allow more knee space.
 
At 6'5 1/2" I'm building a -9A and fit beautifully. All I did to "modify" it from standard was to move the rudder bearing blocks upto the longeron gussets instead of being 1" behind them.

I'm using the standard Van's panel, throttle location and eyeball vents. The only thing non-standard is my -9A is it's being setup to fly PIC from the right seat
 
KRviator said:
At 6'5 1/2" I'm building a -9A and fit beautifully. All I did to "modify" it from standard was to move the rudder bearing blocks upto the longeron gussets instead of being 1" behind them.

I'm using the standard Van's panel, throttle location and eyeball vents. The only thing non-standard is my -9A is it's being setup to fly PIC from the right seat
Click to expand...

Have you ensured you can get full rudder deflection with the blocks that far forward?
 
Even an already built 7 or 9 can be modified to fit with a little trouble. Pedal mounting position is primary for long legs. You should have no problem at 6' 1" as I fit fine in my 9A--6' 4" with 34" inseam, 210 lb. BTW, I am just the right height. Both feet just reach the ground...

Bob
 
I'm 6'2", 215 and my RV6 fits me fine. I can barely fit into a friend's -6A because the bottom of his instrument panel is lower and he has mounted extra stuff along the bottom of it that digs into my knees. So it depends on the layout and, as others have pointed out, the cushion thickness and pedal placement. CG
 
Tandem RV-8

You might want to try out sitting in the front of an RV-8 someday.

Those adjustable front rudder pedals can be slid all the way forward to make a lot of legroom for tall pilots.
 
6' 3" and fit fine in my -7

I am 6' 3" long legs and 215lbs and fit fine in my -7, I also have the 2" extended panel as mentioned previously. There are some choices that you make when building to accommodate tall pilots, in my case the rudder pedals are mounted in the most forward location without impacting full pedal deflection. the seat back also has a hinged tab that fits into the cockpit cross member, in my case I cut this down to put the top of the seat as far back as it would go, also the seat back can go in three different positions, the rearmost position gives more leg room but a more upright sitting position.
The only issue I have is that on long trips there is nowhere in my plane to rest my right knee except on the corner of the fuel select box which is not comfortable.
Best recommendation would be to sit in a -7 that is set up for someone your size to check for yourself.
 
6'1" and fit fine

I have a 7A and fit fine. 6'1" with a 34" inseam, 185 lbs and have about 3" of seat cushion (temper foam). Rudder pedals are as forward as possible with full travel with max forward brake pedal displacement. I did raise the mounting blocks up 3/4" to get the rudder bar higher due to my size 12 feet. I also have carpet and with sound deadening foam under it which raises the floor about 3/4". I replaced the rudder cable mounting tabs on the rudder pedal weldment so that the rudder cable is in the same relative position to prevent misalignment with the rudder cable holes in the fuselage frames.

Works great. I also use Clarity Aloft headsets to give even greater head to canopy clearance in the event of severe turbulence.
 
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