Too tall for RV9?

I am 6? 2? tall and have successfully sat in two different RV7s. I am about to buy a RV9, the owner is concerned that I?m too tall to fit in his RV9 because he gave a 6? 2? tall friend a ride and he couldn?t get his knees under the panel. He said the seat is as far back as it can go. I understand that the 7 and 9 cockpits are the same so it seems to me that I can make it work either by moving the position of the rearmost seat anchors back or getting thinner cushions. What do the experts think?

Thanks

Joby Wieser

Depends on Where Your Height "Comes From"

The RV9 cockpit is the same as the RV7. I believe there should be no head height difference between the slider and tip-up.
I'm 6 feet tall, but my inseam is 28 inches, so my upper body is more like 6'4" or more. My seatback is in the mid position and my rudder pedals are back about 1-2 inches from the mean. I have to wear a headset with a thin band to keep from touching the canopy of my tip-up, but so far (after nearly 15 years) no problem.
I've considered Antisplat's seat mod, which angles the seatback more, but I'd have to re-mount my O2 bottle from the back of the center pillar, and I'd lose just a little baggage space (which my wife tends to max out when we travel). Your mileage may vary.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP

Joby,
I am 6'-5" and have no problems. I have however had problems in others planes but only if they had extended the panel. It is quite common to use an extended instrument panel. This makes it impossible for me to get my legs/ knees under the panel. If his was not extended then you should have no problems.
Congratulations on the purchase. You will love it.

I am 6'4" with lots of leg. It was tight for me, but the Almost -14 mod made a huge difference.

6'4" 34" inseam and comfortable in my RV-7 with the rearmost seat position and frontmost rudder position.

One thing I would put out there; I have conforfoam seats, in the summer I have no issues with head clearance; however in the Minnesota winter the foam gets much harder and my head is pretty much touching the canopy for 10 or so minutes until my seat heaters get the foam softened up some but I still sit noticeably higher than in summer. If I were to do it again I would just get standard foam. This might not be an issue for you since I see you're in Texas, but something other northerners should consider.

I also use the halo headset so there is no additional height on my head.

6'3" and 210.

I own and fly an RV9A often - long distances. This year have put 140 hours going Portland Or to LA twice, Oshkosh, Colorado SPrings, Phoenix, etc..

So, no issue.

my -9a with typical Van's seat cushions

I like to see over the dash, so want to be as high as possible...but...that comes at the cost of less canopy clearance!!!

You say you 'sat' in a 7, and your friend 'fit' in one.
I think that's different than 'flying' and encountering turbulence.

I am just under 5'11" and with a typical headset, was constantly banging my head. 5 point harness helps hold you down, but seriously, for any length of cross country, you need to swivel around, change cheeks, reach stuff in the back...you don't want to rely on a crotch strap constantly cinched down to 100 psi!

I would say you NEED the 'almost a -14' mod.
Obviously several tall guys here differ, and say they fit 'fine'.
You can try the in-ear headset route, thin cushions etc.
IF not happy, you have a few other options.

happy skies!

It depends on how the seat cushions are put together and how the seat is positioned.

Pretty simple stuff to change.

You may have to move the rudder pedals forward on the longerons and I also recommend the Anti-Splat Almost -14 mod.

I just installed it in my -7A, along with a 4th row hinge as far back as possible. The seat back / belt mounts are a limiting factor.

Joby said:

I am 6’ 2” tall and have successfully sat in two different RV7s. I am about to buy a RV9, the owner is concerned that I’m too tall to fit in his RV9 because he gave a 6’ 2” tall friend a ride and he couldn’t get his knees under the panel. He said the seat is as far back as it can go. I understand that the 7 and 9 cockpits are the same so it seems to me that I can make it work either by moving the position of the rearmost seat anchors back or getting thinner cushions. What do the experts think?

Thanks

Joby Wieser

Click to expand...

I built a -9A, being 6'5.5" and 180lbs, with most of my height in the legs. Using the standard panel I have no problems whatsoever. I even hung a KLN-90 underneath the RHS of the panel and while I do need to be mindful getting in that my jeans don't snag the knobs, I do fit well.

I did put the rudder pedal bearing block hard up against the firewall gusset to compensate - but this means you can't have a rear-mounted prop governor as the firewall recess won't fit. Depending where the builder installed his, you might be able to move the pedals forward an inch or two.

I use a pair of seat cushions from a Suzuki Swift over the standard Vans aluminium seat back on the rear-most hinge setting and am quite comfortable. They are relatively thick and rigid and while this does move you forward slightly enough to be noticeable vs the original "sewed by myself" cushions, but isn't a problem.

Testing before I had an upholsterer cut out and sew in a cutout for the stick movement.

Thanks all for your experience, I’m confident I will fit now.

Fit

Joby,
Breakfast at Campo Azul Tuesday and you can go sit in my 6 with a thin cushion and see what you think. I have standard and thin.

I am 6'4" with 34" inseam. When I built my -9A had the rudder blocks as far forward as possible and it worked fine. As a forethought, I made 4 positions for the rudder assembly; with 1" spacing so the whole assembly could be moved back for a shorter person very easily. As it turned out, I sold the plane to a person much shorter than me; who had to move the assembly back 4 inches. Just a thought if every decide to sell the aircraft.

One other thing, the seats back mounts on those hinge pins on the cockpit floor..and I have seen some planes that only have one or 2 hinges installed, mine has 3 rows, and really, the farthest rearward hinge could go back farther.
I cant imagine, with the ASA "almost a 14 " seat back mod, and a bottom hinge placed as far back as possible..anyone would not fit.

Adding another hinge on the bottom of the cockpit floor, or moving one rearward, would be a very, very simple operation.