preserving headroom... seat mods... and headroom happiness!

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i have worked with luke at classic aero designs to get acceptable headroom and can proclaim headroom happiness!

i am a bit over 6'4" with a 34" inseam for general reference. without any seat cushion or back i had about 2-1/2" of headroom.

my order from cad included an ultra light sportsman seat bottom for the pilot side fabricated with confor foam that maintains great support while minimizing the overall thickness. with the seat bottom my headroom is reduced to about 1-1/4". the standard sportsman seat back that i initially ordered includes a moveable lumbar support, a significant amount of side bolster, and core padding that pushed me forward and up right into the canopy... completely unacceptable.

together with luke and jeremiah from cad we discussed potential solutions to restore adequate headroom. they had me fit 1/2" rigid insulation to the seat back in increments to gauge the impact on headroom and we discovered that there was a dramatic reduction in headroom from the seat back thickness. with just 1/2" added my 1-1/4" of clear is reduced to 5/8"... with an inch it is down to a marginally tolerable 1/4". after discussions the seat back was modified to reduce the overall thickness of the bolsters, eliminate the lumbar support entirely, reduce the core insert to a minimum thickness, and change the foam to confor.

they did an amazing job in making the seatback look great. i was not able to immediately test it though since i had moved on in the build and wiring had overtaken everything.

this past weekend they modifications have proven to be fully functional and my headroom horror has become headroom happiness!

for those concerned about headroom i suggest considering reducing both the seat bottom and seatback and using confor foam. my end result preserves great headroom, more than 5/8" clear, and is actually more comfortable than the 'standard' seat.

here is a shot of the bliss from happy headroom... hard to appreciate this if your hair never brushes the headliner of every car you get in...

both seats for reference... the co-pilot is standard foam and form, the pilot side is with the ultra light bottom with confor and the specially modified thin back with confor.

pilot side

co-pilot side

classic aero designs is the greatest, thanks luke!

 

[videobobk]

Sounds like you and I are exactly the same size--6'4" 34" inseam. I was able to add a bit of headroom (it's a slider) and don't have any trouble with standard sportsman seats (minus lumbar support.) I didn't like the extra room taken up by the fairly thin Sennheiser ANR headset headpiece, so I went with a behind-the-head QT set. If you have problems, you might look into that as they are really nice in other ways, also.

Bob Kelly

 

[carguy614]

second that!!

Definitely give the QT headset a try. For you, it will add an extra inch or so of effective headroom. And the sound quality and comfort can't be beat!! I sold my Bose headsets after 2 flights with the QT Halos, and I don't bump the canopy with my head.
YMMV,
Chris

 

[[email protected]]

in ear headset

thanks bob and chris, it is good to hear positive input on the halos, i have planned for an in ear headset with the rv and will likely give the halos a try. they can only give 'extra' headroom when compared to a traditional clasp headset though... my room is head to canopy so they will not provide any extra space but will preserve what i have.

 

[Jim P]

Might consider lumbar support...

If you're taking any long distance flights, you may want to consider some type of lumbar support as a flat slab for a backrest may not be very comfortable by the end of a day. I know there are inflatable lumbar supports that can be pumped up as needed that might help.

 

[Wilson Hoffman]

I'm 6' 3" and would like to add some advise about fitting into the cockpit.
When I took my RV-9A demo ride I seemed to have plenty of headroom
even wearing my Lightspeed headset. But ... when my stock Sportsman
seats arrived there was no headroom; I sent them back to be remade
with 1.5" flatter seat and am now OK. The seats are otherwise very nifty.

My wife is 5'7" and sits on a regular seat + the booster pad to get the
same height.

Other things to consider: You really will probably only use the most
rearward hinge to attach seat back unless you want tactile feedback when
you pull the stick back and when you do this you want the top seatback
to be just touching the bar behind so many people just throw away the
brace that attaches to the seatback and clips into the top of the bar; I
suggest that you trim this so that the seatback is as far aft as it can be
when all is assembled. It will hold the seatback securely if necessary.

I also note that with a 7A you might be interested in acrobatics; its hard
to see how that can work with <1" headroom.

Wilson