Tall Pilots

MetalCloud

MetalCloud

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MetalCloud
Hi everyone. Since there's a thread for left handed pilots (I am one) I thought I'd start one for the tall ones out there.

What planes are most comfortable to fly for those above 6 feet?
 
Tall friend likes the Skycatcher.
 
MetalCloud said:
Hi everyone. Since there's a thread for left handed pilots (I am one) I thought I'd start one for the tall ones out there.

What planes are most comfortable to fly for those above 6 feet?
Click to expand...

T-6 lots of room sit upright great view sideways
 
I'm 6'2" 200#. I was comfortable in a M20F Mooney. But you have to like sitting low like a sports car. 182s no problem. Most of my really tall friends are in Bonanzas or 210s.
 
182. I am 6'2" 230#. More than enough room
 
6'6, 290, Socata TB-9.... 5' wide cabin and Gullwing doors... Doesn't get any better than that!
8c68a23af15b1700d0ada23a91291e9f.jpg



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Im around 6'3 and left handed..... even the c152 are not that bad to fly in, its more of being squeezed in on the sides that s*ck. I've never really had a problem with being tall and left handed, however I havnt flown from the right side yet, which is coming up and im dreading that.
 
I'm 6'1". The 152 I fly with the seat full back. The 172 and larger I have no problem.
Actually, it's more fun flying the Cessna tail draggers 170, 180s when taller as you can see better over the cowling than most.

I've flown mooneys and that was more a problelm with width than height.

The Navion has a wide range of comfort. It's one of the few planes that me at my height and my wife at 5'2" (when she's exaggerating) can fly comfortably. She has to have a booster cushion on most of the Cessnoids.
 
I am 6'4" and 220. I do NOT fit in Bonanza/Baron: I have to sit with my chin tucked to my chest.

I do NOT fit in Grumman Tigers (once the canopy is closed). I have to sit with my head leaning towards the other seat.

I fit well in the Cessna and Piper planes I have been in. (Well, except for a Cheyenne, which is very hard to get in and out of compared to a King Air, and the yoke would bind with my knees unless it was pulled back).

I owned a Cardinal RG for 7 years and LOVED it. I never moved the seat from its most aft setting. Just sat on the seat, swung my legs in. My head was behind the wing spar-- I would duck it down to look forward of the wing while turning. I bought that plane from a guy who was 6'7".

I then owned a 210 for 5 years, and it was OK. In the 210 my head was in front of the wing. It was not as easy to get in and out of as the 177 was, though, as there is not much of a gap between the front edge of the seat and the sidepanel in front of the door. On long flights, with the autopilot on, I would sometimes move the seat all the way back to straighten my legs. (My knees ache if I cannot straighten them all the way every few minutes). In that position my head was behind the wing spar, like it had been all the time in the 177.

When I was looking at 210's to buy, I tried one that the seats had been reworked with memory foam, and they had too much padding for adequate head clearance. I was glad to figure out that that was an anomoly for that plane model.

Wells
(out of flying nowadays)
 
One of my favorite pictures is Boeing engineer (and homebuilder) Pete Bowers. I don't think he could get the canopy closed:

M18_1208_01.jpg
 
I'm 6'4 155ibs only plane I've had trouble with was a diamond da20
 
Tampico Trauma said:
6'6, 290, Socata TB-9.... 5' wide cabin and Gullwing doors... Doesn't get any better than that!


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Click to expand...

Wow, really? I'm 6'1" 250lbs, and when I flew the Tobago, I kept hitting my head on the roof. That was the only thing I didn't like about that plane. Panel was a bit goofy, but that's easy to get used to.

I echo the 182. In my limited experience, that's been the most comfortable.
 
I am 6'3 flying a cherokee 160, I have found that I can fit in most airplanes. It is more the getting in and out process that is difficult.
 
Criitter7 said:
I'm 6'4 155ibs only plane I've had trouble with was a diamond da20
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I'm only 6-2 and I don't have enough legroom in a DA-40. With the reclined seats, a memory foam cushion under my butt makes it better but then my headset is only one or two fingers from the canopy and I'm looking down at the panel from an awkwardly high angle.

It works but barely. It's okay VFR but I don't think I'd like the panel angle IFR at all.
 
timwinters said:
I'm only 6-2 and I don't have enough legroom in a DA-40. With the reclined seats, a memory foam cushion under my butt makes it better but then my headset is only one or two fingers from the canopy and I'm looking down at the panel from an awkwardly high angle.

It works but barely. It's okay VFR but I don't think I'd like the panel angle IFR at all.
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I believe around 2008 they made the canopy of the DA-40 slightly taller. My problem with the DA-40 (and the DA-42, and probably the DA-20 too although I've never tried it) is my knees hit the bottom of the instrument panel with the pedals extended full forward.
 
flyingron said:
One of my favorite pictures is Boeing engineer (and homebuilder) Pete Bowers. I don't think he could get the canopy closed:

M18_1208_01.jpg
Click to expand...

That's about how I looked when I sat in one. The headroom is something I could deal with. The shins on the bottom corner of the panel, not so much.
 
6'4" 275 lbs. I have only been in a C172S, but I have to crank the seat up some and slide it forward quite a bit to reach the pedal. I can't imagine the person who would need the seat down all the way or all the way to the rear. Shoulder room is a bit tight.
 
In my little airplane I had to put the seat as low as I could to help with head room. I have a hard time seeing over the panel on the ground. But in the air it's not a problem. Heck on the ground it makes for a fun taxi. Just throttle up some, raise the tail, and hold it up at a walking pace. No better way to fly. I get to fly on the ground and in the air. As I say, the fun last longer...

Here is my new seat. It's almost on the floor, not quite. I can but my hand under it. This gave me about 3 inches more room from stock.
 
I'm 6'8" 220 lbs. I fit ok in 172s I have been right seat in a Mooney it was a squeeze. Getting in and out was the hard part. Same way with Cherokee 180. I had to set with my feet crossed and the seat all the way back for the yoke to be able to turn freely.
 
6-9 sit in a mooney mid body just fine. Cant fly bonanzas or any piper product. Baron Right seat seemed pretty doable. 172SP was seat all the way back and up
 
6'4" at 225lbs and so far the A321 is most comfortable for me.
 
jaymark6655 said:
6'4" 275 lbs. I have only been in a C172S, but I have to crank the seat up some and slide it forward quite a bit to reach the pedal. I can't imagine the person who would need the seat down all the way or all the way to the rear. Shoulder room is a bit tight.
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Here I am (your imagination called me) :dunno: 6'5" 235. All the way down and back were standard for me. Maybe I'm built funny, and also that was in a 172M.

Before we traded up, we sat in various Bo's, Sixes, a Comanche, coupla Mooneys (no idea which model), a 195, etc. What fit me best was the 182RG we ended up with. YMMV

Also, we have a Citabria with the fore/aft adjustable seat that fits nice, even with a 'butt' chute.

Edit....plenty of room in a Skycatcher also.

Jim
 
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The 172N I did most of my primary in had to be configured just as Jim explained.... Every flight it was the last item after plugging in the headset.


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I've only found one airplane so far that was problematic. It's a 152. Shins hit the instrument panel and the left shoulder hits the window. I can't even get in unless the seat is all the way back.

The fave is a 177RG, but honestly, every four seater I've tried has been fine.

Note that short people seem to hate 177RGs, as the windshield gets rather low when the seat is far forward. Kinda ironic that short people whack heads and taller people don't.
 
The CT line from Flight Design holds big folks nicely... I'm 6'2" 250, and I know 6'4"+ that fit too. And the cabin is wider than a 182.
 
CT4ME said:
The CT line from Flight Design holds big folks nicely... I'm 6'2" 250, and I know 6'4"+ that fit too. And the cabin is wider than a 182.
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Yup, my tall friends loved the CTLS we used to rent though none of us were fans of the seat adjustment method.
 
My 6 foot 4 inches flight instructor flew C-152s with me all through my training. When we got the chance to fly in my Grumman Tiger, he flew that thing with the seat all the way back and was much more comfortable!
 
6'2", 230# and I fit in the 182 great. My 172 is comfortable and no issues as well. In the PT19 I have plenty of adjustment left on the seat and peddles.
 
Brad Z said:
I'm thinking of the petite 5' 2"-ers that had trouble seeing over the panel, even with the seat cranked up.
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I liked the 182 and I'm 5' 3". I have thousands of hours in a 206... But I used cushions.
 
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