scsmith
Well Known Member
When I built my RV-8, I bought the Classic Aero Designs Aviator upholstery, so the original Vans front seat back was left over.
I figured it would be useful for flying with a parachute, just swap out the upholstered seat back for the bare Vans seat back.
My parachute is a Long-Softy, and it is slightly wedge-shaped. That is, it is thicker at the shoulders than at the lower back. I found that the combination of the fairly upright seat back plus the parachute shape gave a very upright seating position, with my face closer to the instrument panel than in normal position with the upholstered seat back.
I found that the very upright seating posture made me feel g's much more. Call me a whimp, but I'm a glider pilot, and I'm used to taking g's in a much more reclined posture.
So, what to do????
Well, I decided to modify the seat back to compensate for the parachute shape. Because of the natural curvature of your back at the shoulders, it is possible to set the backrest back more by putting a bend in it. The upper portion is more vertical, but you don't usually rest on that part of the seat back because of your shoulder shape. My modification consisted of cutting a wedge out of the side rail angles, bending them, then putting reinforcing plates on the sides to restore strength across the cut.
It took a couple of tries to get the bend right so that my back is more reclined, but the top edge of the seat back doesn't have too much contact pressure. I found the best bend angle for me is 20 degrees.
Here is a picture:
The result is a much more comfortable seating posture with the parachute on. My face is not so close to the panel, and I can tolerate more g's.
Hope folks find this useful
I figured it would be useful for flying with a parachute, just swap out the upholstered seat back for the bare Vans seat back.
My parachute is a Long-Softy, and it is slightly wedge-shaped. That is, it is thicker at the shoulders than at the lower back. I found that the combination of the fairly upright seat back plus the parachute shape gave a very upright seating position, with my face closer to the instrument panel than in normal position with the upholstered seat back.
I found that the very upright seating posture made me feel g's much more. Call me a whimp, but I'm a glider pilot, and I'm used to taking g's in a much more reclined posture.
So, what to do????
Well, I decided to modify the seat back to compensate for the parachute shape. Because of the natural curvature of your back at the shoulders, it is possible to set the backrest back more by putting a bend in it. The upper portion is more vertical, but you don't usually rest on that part of the seat back because of your shoulder shape. My modification consisted of cutting a wedge out of the side rail angles, bending them, then putting reinforcing plates on the sides to restore strength across the cut.
It took a couple of tries to get the bend right so that my back is more reclined, but the top edge of the seat back doesn't have too much contact pressure. I found the best bend angle for me is 20 degrees.
Here is a picture:
The result is a much more comfortable seating posture with the parachute on. My face is not so close to the panel, and I can tolerate more g's.
Hope folks find this useful
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