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I had the same issue with my father. I concluded it wasn't a realistic thing to even try.

A Cessna Cardinal would be a viable alternate - big doors and low lift-over height.
 
Yeah, any airplane where you climb up on the wing is going to be a real challenge, to the point of possibly being impossible.

Far better something like the back of a PA-32. Or a 206. Even anything with air stairs would be easier, like a PA-46. That's assuming the purpose is just to transport the individual. If the idea is to have him up front to enjoy the flight, well then it almost has to be a high wing airplane. The Cardinal is good. Maybe a 182 as well.
 
I know a paraplegic that was shopping for a slide top plane so he could get in with a crane gadget he had. ercoupe or Grumman. His think was the doors would be in the way with anything else.
 
Don't forget the Lance or Saratoga. That back seat entrance is low.
 
If I was the pilot I would just say no.

Off topic story .... I have a friend who had an R22 helicopter ... he had been hired to fly a bride to her outdoor wedding ceremony .... he drove his service truck to the airport and waited for her to arrive .... and she did , in a limousine with the bridal party who dropped her off and then the car headed to the location.

After the limo drove away the pilot saw she weighed about 290 lbs which would put the R22 over max gross.

As delicately as possible he made up an excuse that the helicopter had a dead battery and could not fly so he had to drive her there

She made her grand entrance to her wedding in his tattered old fuel truck.

.
 
How heavy is he? If not too heavy, a strong couple of guys could get him in and out. I have put a 150 lb reluctant dog into an SR22 by myself.
 
Clip4 said:
How to get a mid 80s semi wheel chair bound man into an SR22?
Click to expand...

I would not try it.

In my SR22 I took up a 90-year-old relative while he was completely healthy, with good balance and fully ambulatory. A few years later, he’s now using a walker, and easily winded, and I wouldn’t even think of trying.

Getting him up on the wing, then into the plane, it wouldn’t just be really hard, it would be seriously dangerous. Falls are a terrible thing at that age, and there would be a great risk, climbing on a wing, for someone who mainly uses a wheelchair.
 
A pool lift is where my mind goes. But unless you happen to have one hanging around, it probably isn't practicable.

If there's an incident, how will he get out? How will he get out in general, the seats are pretty low.
 
Where there is a will, there's a way. My father in law has two total hips and two total knees. He can't climb into a Cherokee like normal people. He sat on the bottom of the wing walk and scooched himself up until he could swing his legs around and lower himself into the cabin. Sure it took extra time but he was one of my biggest supporters to finish my pilot's license. He would look at Barnstormers/Controller etc and call me if he found what looked to be a good deal. He flew in the late 70s as a private pilot but like so many of us, life got in the way and he stopped.

It meant a lot to him and my wife to take him up for a flight. I'm glad I did it because it meant a lot to me as well.
 
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