Pietenpol-List: New fuel tank started
Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:24 am
Original Posted By: helspersew(at)aol.com
OK, now here's a topic that is going to generate some lively discussion!First off, I agree completely with Axel: get temperfoam, get the variousdensities to build up a custom cushion that is shaped to your backside,and don't spare any expense. If you don't plan to make long flights,then don't give it another thought- you could just put bare plywood down and be OK, or toss a cheapo throw pillow or stadium cushion in there andbe just fine. Just don't expect that to work if you'll be flying yourairplane cross-country. Definition of x-c in a Piet: anything more thana 0.5 hr. entry in your logbook.Front and rear seats are two entirely different topics.Rear seat is PIC's. If you will fly an hour or two at a time, it won'tmatter what you do for your seat. If you're a serious flyer, it will.Scout has a full-size seat cushion in the rear cockpit, naugahyde overfoam over plywood, and it's OK for puttering around the pattern but notfor anything over 30 minutes. I have put various types of cushions ontop of the seat for longer flights, everything from the Walmart cushionsfor bar stools to the flotation cushions from boats, and they all are OKfor shorter flights but not for hours at a time and not for x-c. Plus,when I put supplemental cushions in there, I raise my face into theairstream so I prefer not to do that so I can stay behind the windscreen. Myproblem is that I am a 150lb. guy and in the Piet, all my weight is onthe tailbones and there isn't anything there to cushion those two hard points.You have to get in the airplane and fly it x-c to see what will work foryou, but craft store cheapo foam stuff won't do it but you won't know untilyou go for a longer flight.Next point: back rests, front or back cockpits: you could have iron scrapsthere, or bananas- it doesn't matter because you'll never be sitting backfor very long. At least I don't find myself leaning back against the backrest for very long. And I've flown both front and rear cockpits for hoursat a time. In the back as PIC and in the front as navigator, with charts.Next point: the front seat. it's not very large. If you'll just be givingrides, your passengers won't know if they are on a soft cushion or a hardone, or if there is a cushion at all. They will be so psyched on the flightitself that they won't know what they sat on or anything else unless it hasto do with their experience out of the cockpit. If you build it to plans, thereisno cushion on the front seat. Kids won't care in the slightest.Final comment: the padding on the pilot's seat bottom is one of the mostimportant factors in how comfortable you will be flying your Piet forextended periods, and you won't know that until you fly it for an extendedperiod. Don't spend a lot of money on the first try, because chances are,the first time you fly an extended x-c you'll want to change it.After 2 hrs. in the air in Scout, I'm ready for a break and I have determinedthat after numerous extended flights. I need some Temperfoam but I'm willingto endure almost anything just so I can fly my airplane. There is nothingelse like it.Oscar ZunigaAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"Flying Squirrel N2069Z "Rocket"Medford, OR website at http://www.flysquirrel.net ________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: New fuel tank started
OK, now here's a topic that is going to generate some lively discussion!First off, I agree completely with Axel: get temperfoam, get the variousdensities to build up a custom cushion that is shaped to your backside,and don't spare any expense. If you don't plan to make long flights,then don't give it another thought- you could just put bare plywood down and be OK, or toss a cheapo throw pillow or stadium cushion in there andbe just fine. Just don't expect that to work if you'll be flying yourairplane cross-country. Definition of x-c in a Piet: anything more thana 0.5 hr. entry in your logbook.Front and rear seats are two entirely different topics.Rear seat is PIC's. If you will fly an hour or two at a time, it won'tmatter what you do for your seat. If you're a serious flyer, it will.Scout has a full-size seat cushion in the rear cockpit, naugahyde overfoam over plywood, and it's OK for puttering around the pattern but notfor anything over 30 minutes. I have put various types of cushions ontop of the seat for longer flights, everything from the Walmart cushionsfor bar stools to the flotation cushions from boats, and they all are OKfor shorter flights but not for hours at a time and not for x-c. Plus,when I put supplemental cushions in there, I raise my face into theairstream so I prefer not to do that so I can stay behind the windscreen. Myproblem is that I am a 150lb. guy and in the Piet, all my weight is onthe tailbones and there isn't anything there to cushion those two hard points.You have to get in the airplane and fly it x-c to see what will work foryou, but craft store cheapo foam stuff won't do it but you won't know untilyou go for a longer flight.Next point: back rests, front or back cockpits: you could have iron scrapsthere, or bananas- it doesn't matter because you'll never be sitting backfor very long. At least I don't find myself leaning back against the backrest for very long. And I've flown both front and rear cockpits for hoursat a time. In the back as PIC and in the front as navigator, with charts.Next point: the front seat. it's not very large. If you'll just be givingrides, your passengers won't know if they are on a soft cushion or a hardone, or if there is a cushion at all. They will be so psyched on the flightitself that they won't know what they sat on or anything else unless it hasto do with their experience out of the cockpit. If you build it to plans, thereisno cushion on the front seat. Kids won't care in the slightest.Final comment: the padding on the pilot's seat bottom is one of the mostimportant factors in how comfortable you will be flying your Piet forextended periods, and you won't know that until you fly it for an extendedperiod. Don't spend a lot of money on the first try, because chances are,the first time you fly an extended x-c you'll want to change it.After 2 hrs. in the air in Scout, I'm ready for a break and I have determinedthat after numerous extended flights. I need some Temperfoam but I'm willingto endure almost anything just so I can fly my airplane. There is nothingelse like it.Oscar ZunigaAir Camper NX41CC "Scout"Flying Squirrel N2069Z "Rocket"Medford, OR website at http://www.flysquirrel.net ________________________________________________________________________________Subject: Pietenpol-List: New fuel tank started