January 4, 2005 | HOME | ||||||||
Time for one step back. The seat back adjustment in this airplane relies on a hinged seat back support that I have already been fabricated. The range of movement is about 1.5"! That doesn't seem adequate when you consider that the 2 likely pilots of this airplane are 5' 4" (primary) and 6' 2" tall. Yeah, their arms are different lengths too! So, I figured I had to do something different. I rounded up the materials I had on hand to design and fabricate a simple alternative. I objective is to get 4" of travel without deviating too much from the original plans. With the pieces cut from .063" alclad, I made a spacer (also .063") and initially drilled it to the base piece with a #40 drill. Next, I cut and bent (lengthwise down the middle) a strip of .063" to act as the top of a wedge to hold the lip of the seat back support in a manner similar to the plans. I match drilled it to the spacer, increasing the size to #30.
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Because the top will be flush riveted, I countersunk the spacer to a generous depth to allow the top piece to be dimpled. The top piece will be a visible painted surface behind the seats. All put together and drilled to #30, this represents the farthermost back position. The bent up lip will catch the seat back support. I cut another strip and bent it to make the farthest forward seat position catch. I ran out of time before I could get it all drilled and riveted, but I did manage to rivet the rear catches in place.
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