Hello All,
New member here, just purchased a 1946 J-3 with an O-200 from a local fellow here and am excited to get her in the air on my next days off. We (3 of us) purchased the plane as a fun toy but also in the hopes of doing seaplane ratings on the side. We are all experienced commercial float pilots and have flown everything from Super Cubs to Otters and Beavers to large amphibians and hope to use that background to teach new seaplane pilots.
I am 6’ and don’t fit in the front seat unless the seat cover and cushions are removed and even then my shins are up against the instrument panel in something that is close the the fetal position (exaggeration but its kinda how I feel). I have no problem flying from the back seat but I would like the option to sit, albeit marginally comfortable in the front as well as have options to have taller students occupy the front seat. Looking at a lot of the posts and doing a lot of searching I have seen some people say they fit just fine at 6 feet…even comfortably. Some posts talk about if the original instrument panel is installed you gain more clearance on your legs (the original panel is not installed but I also don’t know the dimensions of the original panel). There is also some discussion about -18 adjustable seat being installed up front. I see the Attlee Dodge STC to do this but am not sure if it would gain me anything or whether moving the seat rearward would interfere with the forward elevator from the back.
I’m hoping someone here can give me some insights and options that might be available to play with the geometry up front. The previous owner was only a little smaller than me and he only soled from the front… in fact the rear controls aren’t even installed (something I will have to do soon obviously if we are going to use it to train.)
Thanks in advance!
New member here, just purchased a 1946 J-3 with an O-200 from a local fellow here and am excited to get her in the air on my next days off. We (3 of us) purchased the plane as a fun toy but also in the hopes of doing seaplane ratings on the side. We are all experienced commercial float pilots and have flown everything from Super Cubs to Otters and Beavers to large amphibians and hope to use that background to teach new seaplane pilots.
I am 6’ and don’t fit in the front seat unless the seat cover and cushions are removed and even then my shins are up against the instrument panel in something that is close the the fetal position (exaggeration but its kinda how I feel). I have no problem flying from the back seat but I would like the option to sit, albeit marginally comfortable in the front as well as have options to have taller students occupy the front seat. Looking at a lot of the posts and doing a lot of searching I have seen some people say they fit just fine at 6 feet…even comfortably. Some posts talk about if the original instrument panel is installed you gain more clearance on your legs (the original panel is not installed but I also don’t know the dimensions of the original panel). There is also some discussion about -18 adjustable seat being installed up front. I see the Attlee Dodge STC to do this but am not sure if it would gain me anything or whether moving the seat rearward would interfere with the forward elevator from the back.
I’m hoping someone here can give me some insights and options that might be available to play with the geometry up front. The previous owner was only a little smaller than me and he only soled from the front… in fact the rear controls aren’t even installed (something I will have to do soon obviously if we are going to use it to train.)
Thanks in advance!
