A36 Pilot Headroom

I am looking at pruchasing an A36. I am 6'3" with a fair amount of my
height in my torso. I sat in the A36 and found that my head hit the
ceiling, even without a headset.

I found this interesting, as I have fit in every plane I've flown.
Most of my time is in Sundowner, Cherokee 180, Seneca II.

Anyway, is there any way to adjust the seat height on a 1976 A36? The
present owner did not think so.

Any other workarounds?

One other question: Can the 3rd/4th seat in an A36 be turned around
to face aft (ie club seating). I am interested if this is feasible
and legal.

Thanks,
-Nathan

Sounds like you need a Mooney, the perfect plane for a tall person. The
Mooney was formed for tall people.

-Robert, 6'4" Mooney owner

Nathan Young wrote:
Anyway, is there any way to adjust the seat height on a 1976 A36? The
present owner did not think so.

It sits atop the spar so it is cannot be lowered.

Any other workarounds?

Remove and replace the existing seat pan padding with a thinner, high
density Confor foam to reduce the height.

One other question: Can the 3rd/4th seat in an A36 be turned around
to face aft (ie club seating). I am interested if this is feasible
and legal.

Depends on the year, perhaps. Some models of the A36 do have club seating.

Robert M. Gary wrote:
Sounds like you need a Mooney, the perfect plane for a tall person. The
Mooney was formed for tall people.

Yes. When someone buys a Mooney, the tall, skinny soon-to-be-owner
goes to the factory, they sit him in a seat, then they form the airplane
around him.

Well, it's the only logical conclusion!

Tina Marie
(way too short and round to ever own one)
--
http://www.tripacerdriver.com "...One of the main causes
of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way
to indicate successful termination of their C programs." (Robert Firth)

Sounds like you need a Mooney, the perfect plane for a tall person. The
Mooney was formed for tall people.

I know you like Mooneys, but this is ridiculous.

The Mooney accomodates tall people because the sitting position is
reclined, like a sports car. If you could sit upright in your Mooney
(which you can't - the seat won't allow it) you would hit the top of
the cabin as well.

The A-36 actually has much more headroom than a Mooney (any Mooney -
even the much roomier Ovation) but by default the seat is upright. If
you're tall, you may have to recline the seat slightly - though not so
far as the least reclined position in the Mooney. It will reduce the
visibility some - but at its worst it won't be near as bad as the best
visibility you can get in a Mooney.

Michael (don't own either, but have flown and instructed in both)

I've flown both and must disagree. In an A36 you sit up, like in a
truck. In the A36 my knees tend to hit the instrument panel. In the
Mooney you sit down low, with your feet sticking straight out in front
of you. You almost have to be 6 feet tall to reach the peddels. My
partner is just under 6 feet and has to run the seat all the way
forward and still has a VERY hard time seeing over the glare shield. My
wife (sitting in the right pax seat) cannot see ANYTHING in front of
the plane, even though she's sitting on a 1" Oregon Aero foam pad.
She's 5"4'. Even with the seat straight up, you almost have to be 6
feet (or use a cushion) to see properly over the glare shield. I still
have serveral inches left above my head in the Mooney, more than in the
A36.

-Robert

On 21 Jun 2005 15:40:34 -0700, "Michael"
wrote:

The Mooney accomodates tall people because the sitting position is
reclined, like a sports car. If you could sit upright in your Mooney
(which you can't - the seat won't allow it) you would hit the top of
the cabin as well.

The A-36 actually has much more headroom than a Mooney (any Mooney -
even the much roomier Ovation) but by default the seat is upright. If
you're tall, you may have to recline the seat slightly - though not so
far as the least reclined position in the Mooney.

I reclined the seat in the A36 and my head still hit the ceiling, so
unfortunately, this is not an option.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 18:48:54 GMT, john smith wrote:

Nathan Young wrote:
Anyway, is there any way to adjust the seat height on a 1976 A36? The
present owner did not think so.

It sits atop the spar so it is cannot be lowered.

I saw the structure underneath the seat and figured it was probably
the spar carrythrough. That doesn't bode well for adjustable seats.

Any other workarounds?

Remove and replace the existing seat pan padding with a thinner, high
density Confor foam to reduce the height.

This is the track I am pursuing with my A&P, but I doubt I could
really gain enough headroom to be comfortable.

Thanks for your idea.

-nathan

I flew some time in a couple of rental A36s and purchase a POH
for the model. According to the POH, the middle seat can be turned
around and faced forward. I wanted to do this on a couple of trip but
the FBO said it was not possible, eventhough the manual stated otherwise.
I think they just didn't want the hassle. For me, the A36 is best with the
middle seat facing forward and the rear two seats removed for baggage.

Just FYI, the POH also allows operation of the airplane with the rear cargo
doors removed.

Ronnie

"Nathan Young" wrote in message
...
I am looking at pruchasing an A36. I am 6'3" with a fair amount of my
height in my torso. I sat in the A36 and found that my head hit the
ceiling, even without a headset.

I found this interesting, as I have fit in every plane I've flown.
Most of my time is in Sundowner, Cherokee 180, Seneca II.

Anyway, is there any way to adjust the seat height on a 1976 A36? The
present owner did not think so.

Any other workarounds?

One other question: Can the 3rd/4th seat in an A36 be turned around
to face aft (ie club seating). I am interested if this is feasible
and legal.

Thanks,
-Nathan

I reclined the seat in the A36 and my head still hit the ceiling, so
unfortunately, this is not an option.

Something is wrong here. I have a student who is 6'2, flies with the
seat back fully upright, and still has headroom in his A-36. Are you
sure the seat height adjustment is cranked down all the way?

Michael