Hi All
First of all congratulations to Raimo. Well done. An achievement that
only those who have been through it can really appreciate.
On the seat back thing. I have a bad back and did a lot trial and error
to get the seat back right. At the risk of boring everyone rigid I have
a little to add.
I agree with all that the slope of the top half has to be continued
though I added one or two improvements to this.
I took a piece of 1 inch thick upholstery foam The shape of the seat
back and then use a piece of high density foam one and a half inches
square in section the width of the seat and rolled it into the 1 inch
foam from the bottom up and stitched it in place with nylon thread. This
made a lumber support on the bottom of the seat back.
Wedges of foam were then glued each side to provide the bucket seat type
sides and the whole lot covered in leather. The sides of the seat are
in contact with the body and help to retain you in the seat and
distribute the pressure on your body over a wider area.
A leather flap continued over the headrest and down the back where it is
attached by large Velcro patches either side of the seat belt anchorage.
Velcro is very strong in tear and is easily adjustable.
I then attached the seat back by positioning it so that the lumbar
support fitted right into the small of my back. This is below the kink
in the seat back shape and effectively provides the continuation of the
seat slope at the top. An additional patch of Velcro on the front at
each side and the job is done.
The downside is that this takes a while to do. Something to do with why
it took us 11 years to build G--ZTED
The benefits, I think, are worth the trouble. When getting into the
aircraft everyone puts their backside on the headrest and slides down
into the seat. The flap over the back attached by Velcro retains the
seat back and because it is leather the slide down into the seat does
not ruin or upset the seating. The height of the lumber support is
adjustable by means of the Velcro in the unlikely event that you are
going to let someone else fly it from the left hand seat. The right hand
seat is the same and is frequently adjusted like this to accommodate all
shapes and sizes. I have a spare bit of high impact foam to go under the
pax seat squab if they are weeny. I have left the area below the lumber
supports empty. This allows you to sit up and lean forward a bit more
comfortably by sliding your backside right back to the firewall. The gap
is only 3 to 4 inches and, although not thought of at the design stage,
it allows a little ventilation in this area which is again more
comfortable on long trips. G-ZTED is a Europa Classic with a short
footwell and this all helps with the leg stretching room.
My wife and I have done quite a few 3 hour stints and have felt very
comfortable throughout.
Reading back through this, it sounds a bit complicated. At the risk of
looking silly I will send it anyway.
The flying season is here again so I hope to see some of you around and
about the UK.
Safe flying to all
Regards
Justin Kennedy
G-ZTED Europa Classic Monowheel Rotax 912S Airmaster CP Prop
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