REFLECTOR: seats

[Reiff Lorenz]

Bill,



Your seats look terrific! I like the combination of the automotive hinge/recliner and the lighter Velocity seat pans. May I ask what Oregon Aero and the local shop charged to pad and cover them?



I've attached a photo of my first attempt at installing the Corbeau seats. I made a temporary seat bracket out of hardware-store angle aluminum. The back is too low and the front is too high, so I'll be re-making it, this time with 6061 aluminum and AN-hardware. I'd welcome any tips that you or others have for me. (What's the best way to cut angle aluminum? My band saw is slow & loud.)



I don't think forward CG will be a big issue for me. My wife and I are both small and we're moving the panel, stick, (and maybe pedals) aft an inch. It's always hard to tell at this point in construction if there will be W&B issues, but I'm currently more worried about aft CG issues with single pilot and full fuel.



Despite all that, I'm really glad that you sent the photo and description of your seats. Until you described your installation, I didn't have a good plan B to my Corbeau attempts. I also like your under-seat storage. That's ingenious!



Reiff Lorenz, Dayton, OH

XL-RG, 31% complete

Installing the RG pulleys and making seat brackets



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-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of William Walker
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 10:14 PM
To: reflector at tvbf.org
Subject: REFLECTOR: seats



Reiff,



You'll probably regret the Corbeau decision down the road. Most current Velocities run out of forward CG before they run out of useful load. That extra 35 lbs is way forward of the CG.



Besides, there is almost no side-loading in aircraft, and although the Velocity seat pans look Plain-Jane, you would be amazed at how someone like Oregon Aero can make them feel wonderful. Wiggle room is very much appreciated after 2+ hrs in this type aircraft.



I looked at numerous options, even automotive seats, and came up with this solution:



Factory seat pans, Mazda Miata (circa 2002) outer hinges, factory inner hinges, some creative fitment engineering, Oregon Aero seat foams, local interior shop, and could not be happier. They look and feel like factory car seats, they fold forward for easy access to the rear seats, and the seat backs can be adjusted rearward by the hinge lever in easily duplicated notches. (They can also lay all the way back and down if you ever have to sleep in your plane or have the need to engage the autopilot and travel rearward to diagnose wayward gear problems).



Let me know if you are interested and I'll take a few photos and a video to send to you.



Bill Walker


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