thoughts on middle row club seating

eman1200

eman1200

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for all u 'toga/lance/bo/etc owners with club seating, the backwards facing seats, are they useful, comfortable, preferred by pax over the way back seats? are they better for carrying cases of beer than pax?

it doesn't appear as if the ones in the lance I'm flying are adjustable, and it looks as if the seatback rests against the front seats, so where that front seat is, that's where the backrest of the middle seats end up, and that's typically a very upright position. I guess the one positive thing about them, they are the closest seats to the built in cooler!

thoughts?
 
eman1200 said:
for all u 'toga/lance/bo/etc owners with club seating, the backwards facing seats, are they useful, comfortable, preferred by pax over the way back seats? are they better for carrying cases of beer than pax?

it doesn't appear as if the ones in the lance I'm flying are adjustable, and it looks as if the seatback rests against the front seats, so where that front seat is, that's where the backrest of the middle seats end up, and that's typically a very upright position. I guess the one positive thing about them, they are the closest seats to the built in cooler!

thoughts?
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They make a good place to prop your feet if you're sitting in the rearmost row.
 
They are safer.

I have a friend that worked at Zodiac where his job was to engineer seats for airliners and them smash them against walls.

He said rear facing seats were significantly safer in the event of a crash but the general public would never go for it. Pilots probably wouldn't either :)

SWA used to have a couple rear facing seats in their bulkhead rows. I always liked flying backwards.
 
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SixPapaCharlie said:
SWA used to have a couple rear facing seats in their bulkhead rows. I always liked flying backwards.
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I liked the club section on SWA too.

Allowed me to do my elevator thing by putting my back to the door facing the other people and staring at them.
 
Most of the people I see with the club seating,have a passenger in one back facing seat and one pax in the forward facing seat,allows both pax to stretch their legs.
 
frfly172 said:
Most of the people I see with the club seating,have a passenger in one back facing seat and one pax in the forward facing seat,allows both pax to stretch their legs.
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This.

I've seen a couple of older Cherokee 6s and Senecas with the non-club seating. They did not look comfortable.
 
Club seats are nice for people in the back of the plane to sit and talk (if you have more than 2). They're also nice for putting feet up as a passenger. We frequently had 4+ pax in the Navajo. While some folks really didn't like flying backwards, they all liked the ability to chat during the flight.

It's also nice with small kids. Makes it much easier for whoevers in back with the kids to tend to them (assumes more than one kid).

The down side in a Bo is that the rear facing seats compete with the pilot/co-pilot backs for room. I never liked flying the A36 with a rear-facing passenger behind me.
 
We have the club seating in our Lance. I'm glad we have it because I've seen the middle seats in the all forward configuration, and they seem almost unusable for adults. I've had all four in the back filled on a site seeing flight and three of the four filled for a trip to Florida. It seems a whole lot more usable in normal operations. They do come out easily so bags or cargo can be put there. You are correct though, there is no adjustment to the seat back like there is in the other four seats. There is a clip that keeps them in place unless you put it in the down position. It does take a little getting used to flying backward, but most people don't seem to mind.
 
yeah last trip in the lance the far back seats were out so I could fit as many hookers as possible. but I have thought that taking one back seat out so I can lay golf clubs down would be perfect. I think 3 guys and 3 golf bags would be very doable. as were the hookers.

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Could a person sit with legs across the two rear-facing seats with their back resting against the side of the plane or are there arm rests in the way? Then you could put two in the front, one in the middle, two in the back? Would that be any more comfy?
 
BGF_Yankee said:
We have the club seating in our Lance. I'm glad we have it because I've seen the middle seats in the all forward configuration, and they seem almost unusable for adults. I've had all four in the back filled on a site seeing flight and three of the four filled for a trip to Florida. It seems a whole lot more usable in normal operations. They do come out easily so bags or cargo can be put there. You are correct though, there is no adjustment to the seat back like there is in the other four seats. There is a clip that keeps them in place unless you put it in the down position. It does take a little getting used to flying backward, but most people don't seem to mind.
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We have had adults in our forward-facing middle seats. The only real inconvenience is when loading and unloading... Since the pilot and co-pilot are the last to get in the plane, the middle row people have to keep their feet to the side because they cannot put their feet down forward until the front seats are pulled forward. Once the front seats are pulled up, it's rather comfortable, but the pilot and co-pilot have to make sure they don't put their seat back to get out before the middle row moves their legs.

I attached a couple of pictures to illustrate what I'm talking about. The one of the second row has the front seats pulled up and you can see the legroom, the other pic of the front seats has them pulled back and you can kind of see them butting up against the base of the second row.
 

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petrolero said:
Could a person sit with legs across the two rear-facing seats with their back resting against the side of the plane or are there arm rests in the way?
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Arm rest for the last row folds up/down.

For the middle seats, the arm rest is a removable ice chest/drink holder
 
It looks like there would be a lot of wasted space between the front and second rows, if the second row is facing aft. That said, though, my family sure loved the Saratoga's club seating on long trips. If money were no object and Mrs. P picked out an airplane for us, we'd have one now, no doubt.

club_zpsi4aluxd6.jpg


Flying-1990s-02084.jpg
 
I have a lance and have had many adults in the middle row. The key is to not have a six footer in the front seats. With either the club or standard seating the middle row is unusable if you have a big flight crew. With club seating the front seat pushes the rear to an unusable seat back angle.

Another plus for the standard seating is significantly more foot/leg room if you are going to fill all the seats. With club seating you are sharing the space with four people.

I regularly fly with 5 plus the dog and everyone is happy. If you use your plane as a four place I would go with the club.
 
The rear passenger foot/leg room is the same for either configuration. In standard configuration you have four legs and club you have eight in the same space.
 

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USAF JD said:
The rear passenger foot/leg room is the same for either configuration. In standard configuration you have four legs and club you have eight in the same space.
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Hey Jeff- what's that middle armrest you have? That's kind of cool.
 
Pilawt said:
It looks like there would be a lot of wasted space between the front and second rows, if the second row is facing aft.
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There is not really that much space there - about enough for a small flight bag.
 
It is the 7 seat option, arm rest, or pop it out for a foot rest from the back.
 

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USAF JD said:
It is the 7 seat option, arm rest, or pop it out for a foot rest from the back.
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I like that a lot. I'll have to see if I can find a 7th seat for mine. I know mine is "registered" as a 7-seater.
 
I think I prefer the beer cooler. I'd have beer on board far more often than I'd have a 7th person :)
 
ahkahn said:
I like that a lot. I'll have to see if I can find a 7th seat for mine. I know mine is "registered" as a 7-seater.
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We've got that seat as well. It spends most of its time hold items in the hangar.
 
As far as club seating in general goes, there are more people who are opposed to riding backwards than forwards. I think most of this is due to the unfamiliar sensation when the airplane accelerates and rotates.
 
USAF JD said:
The rear passenger foot/leg room is the same for either configuration. In standard configuration you have four legs and club you have eight in the same space.
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I like that configuration. I'd rather have a little bit tighter foot space than to force my pax to almost interlock knees and face each other. Plus all the seat backs can be set to their most comfy positions, which is important for long flights. This standard arrangement looks good to me.
 
I've flown in the club seats of an A36. We sat facing backwards for W&B.
 
I've owned a Cherokee 6-300 with non-club and a Seneca-II with club seating.

Entry-Exit for passengers is easier in club configuration as well as if you need to pull the middle seats. By the way, a 50-gallon cooler fits perfectly in the middle row in case you need to carry more beer, salmon or bear.

I still have a folding board that can be placed in the foot well area which converts the entire cabin to a nice long bed with the aft four seats out. Used it often when carrying my dog or camping.

Eman, I'm sure I can make you a deal when you need more "comfortable" space for those hookers ;)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
KiteEXP said:
I've owned a Cherokee 6-300 with non-club and a Seneca-II with club seating.

Entry-Exit for passengers is easier in club configuration as well as if you need to pull the middle seats. By the way, a 50-gallon cooler fits perfectly in the middle row in case you need to carry more beer, salmon or bear.

I still have a folding board that can be placed in the foot well area which converts the entire cabin to a nice long bed with the aft four seats out. Used it often when carrying my dog or camping.

Eman, I'm sure I can make you a deal when you need more "comfortable" space for those hookers ;)..
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veeeeery interesting!

I'm actually going to look at a Cherokee 6-260 tomorrow. not my ideal plane but it's local and I'm curious. curious how many ho's it'll fit, of course.
 
eman1200 said:
veeeeery interesting!

I'm actually going to look at a Cherokee 6-260 tomorrow. not my ideal plane but it's local and I'm curious. curious how many ho's it'll fit, of course.
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According to the national news, 2 hos, 24 hours a day for 5 days will set you back the price of a nice F model. Unless it's only Vegas hos charging pro basketball players that much . . . :eek:
 
I loathed the rear facing bulkhead seats on an airline.

You have to sit there looking other people in the eye for hours while you fight for legroom dominance.
 
2x24x5 = 240 hours.

75000/240 = $312.50/hour

Hank S said:
According to the national news, 2 hos, 24 hours a day for 5 days will set you back the price of a nice F model. Unless it's only Vegas hos charging pro basketball players that much . . . :eek:
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I've owned both. Overall I prefer the club seating bearing in mind that for a six seater you generally don't want to carry six people anyway. With only two in the back, there is more room with the club seating.
 
Gubbins said:
I've owned both. Overall I prefer the club seating bearing in mind that for a six seater you generally don't want to carry six people anyway. With only two in the back, there is more room with the club seating.
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^---this. If you've got 5 or 6 people on board, the 5th or 6th is probably a kid, and they don't mind staring at other people or sitting backwards. Being able to load 80% of your passengers through the rear door is an advantage.
 
Brad Z said:
^---this. If you've got 5 or 6 people on board, the 5th or 6th is probably a kid, and they don't mind staring at other people or sitting backwards. Being able to load 80% of your passengers through the rear door is an advantage.
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Same case could be made for the forward seating. It's not really possible to load the middle row seats in the forward facing configuration through the front door...
 
ahkahn said:
Same case could be made for the forward seating. It's not really possible to load the middle row seats in the forward facing configuration through the front door...
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Really? I've only been in the club seating ones, but it would seem like getting into the middle row of the forward facing middle seats would be no worse than getting into the back of a PA28.
 
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