Creature comfort...
Anyone put a headrest in the back?
If so what did ya use and do you have any pictures?
Also has anyone put any padding along the edges of the pilot seat back to save on the passengers knees/legs hitting it?
Chad,
First, in 25 years of RV ownership (RV4 built, flown 1500 hours, sold, HR2, re-built, flown 1000 hours, sold...RVX flying) has given way to some good, and not so good ideas.
Back in the 90's I had a headrest on my RV4 rear seat via the
rear lower canopy frame crossbar. How? I bought a "pool noodle" foam float, cut it to size, attached it to the front of the crossbar with double sticky tape temporarily for testing. Turns out resting your head against it inflight wasn't restful, more like a head massage at 2400 RPM! Flightline interiors makes one for the RV8 that could be
made to fit. The issue would be opening and closing the canopy. My wife carried a small pillow that worked well. The better deal was the Rocket fast back. Much more comfortable and the RV4 can be modified...FYI
Idea scrapped....
Second, making the front seat less "scrape worthy" is easy. Remove the front seat back and carry it over to your handy belt sander. Sand the entire serrated edge at a 45 degree angle (as Infidel mentioned) until it's no longer threatening to bare legs.
Great idea!
Now to add one more great idea if yours isn't equipped: Rear seat foot-wells. Plans are available online, RV8 foot-wells are a bit too deep and rub on the aileron push-rods but can me made to fit. HUGE improvement in rear seat ergonomics, trust me!
Side benefit is they are great storage areas when flying solo. They can be fabricated in several evenings work...
V/R
Smokey
Flightline interiors headrest
http://www.flightlineinteriors.com/
Rear seat foot-well plans (
Thanks again to my friend Steve Sampson)