remove front seats

[TheTurtle]

I want to remove my copilot seat for better access to the trim wheel for some lube.  In reading I also saw that some people suggest swapping pilot and copilot seats from time to time for even wear.  My pilots seat sags a lot in the seat on the right side.  When flying especially under the hood I always feel like Im turning...  Thinking Ill go ahead and swap them while I have to take one out anyway.

Looks like you just remove the cotter pin at the front and rear and slide them out?

On an F is there any difference in the seats or its just going to be a straight swap?

on another note, i removed the inspection panel to get to the trim stops.  Where am I supposed to find the carny with small hands to actually do anything in there?

[neilpilot]

Seat swap - consider how the seat belts are mounted, assuming you also have shoulder belts.  If you do not have shoulder belts, get them before you do anything else.

[TheTurtle]

Just now, neilpilot said:

Seat swap - consider how the seat belts are mounted, assuming you also have shoulder belts.  If you do not have shoulder belts, get them before you do anything else.

hmm i do have shoulder belts.  From memory nothing is attached to the seat though.  Ill verify that before taking things out.  The clippy side of the lap belt is mounted to the floor beside the johnson bar up lock.  Shoulder belt is mounted to ceiling.  What I now cant remember is where the adjustable part of the lap belt is mounted.  I assumed the floor as well.. 

thanks

[neilpilot]

After my annual in 2001, pilot & copilot could not attach our belts...........the shop had inadvertently swapped the front seats

 

[Bob_Belville]

1 hour ago, TheTurtle said:

hmm i do have shoulder belts.  From memory nothing is attached to the seat though.  Ill verify that before taking things out.  The clippy side of the lap belt is mounted to the floor beside the johnson bar up lock.  Shoulder belt is mounted to ceiling.  What I now cant remember is where the adjustable part of the lap belt is mounted.  I assumed the floor as well.. 

thanks

Since you have shoulder belts by definition they are retrofitted so it is possible the belts do no attach to the seats. for my '66E though the seat belts attach to the seats and are asymmetric which is no big deal but you'll have to reverse the belts if you swap the seats.  

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, TheTurtle said:

I want to remove my copilot seat for better access to the trim wheel for some lube.  In reading I also saw that some people suggest swapping pilot and copilot seats from time to time for even wear.  My pilots seat sags a lot in the seat on the right side.  When flying especially under the hood I always feel like Im turning...  Thinking Ill go ahead and swap them while I have to take one out anyway.

Looks like you just remove the cotter pin at the front and rear and slide them out?

On an F is there any difference in the seats or its just going to be a straight swap?

on another note, i removed the inspection panel to get to the trim stops.  Where am I supposed to find the carny with small hands to actually do anything in there?

Mooney is somewhat unique in that the lap belts for the front seats are attached to the seat.  Most other attach to fittings on the floor.  Switching the seats left to right will require switching the lap belts as well.

Clarence

[Hank]

If the belts are attached to the seat, why does swapping the seats require swapping belts??? My seats were swapped at annual two years ago (just one thing I didn't like about that shop!), and as far as I know the belts weren't touched but have continued to function just fine . . .

[PTK]

2 minutes ago, Hank said:

If the belts are attached to the seat, why does swapping the seats require swapping belts??? My seats were swapped at annual two years ago (just one thing I didn't like about that shop!), and as far as I know the belts weren't touched but have continued to function just fine . . .

May have to do with the shoulder harness attachment. It would be reversed. But still should work. (...thinking and typing...)

 

[Hank]

Just now, PTK said:

Nay have to do with shoulder harness.

All Mooneys that use retrofitted shoulder straps attach them to the roll cage, don't they? I've certainly read about it enough here.

[PTK]

Just now, Hank said:

All Mooneys that use retrofitted shoulder straps attach them to the roll cage, don't they? I've certainly read about it enough here.

The attachement to the seat belt would be reversed. But should work still. 

[Yetti]

If belts attached to seats then need to swap belts. You could also rotate the seat rollers.  Better yet go to crafts section of a good walley world and get some new foam and fix the seats

 

[Hank]

20 minutes ago, PTK said:

The attachement to the seat belt would be reversed. But should work still. 

Ah! Hadn't thought of that.

Wait a minute--my seatbelt buckles in the middle of my lap, not over on my hip. Always been that way . . .

[DonMuncy]

While you are doing this, you might as well disassemble the seats enough to see why you have the sag. There are various parts of the seats which are not the strongest in the world. Most are repairable without too much effort or expense.

[Guest]

The short belt with the female buckle is normally to the centre of the plane(inboard) The shoulder belt goes across the chest toward the centre of the plane.  Without switching the female ends to the centre the shoulder belt will not cross your chest.

Clarence

[Bob_Belville]

21 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

The short belt with the female buckle is normally to the centre of the plane(inboard) The shoulder belt goes across the chest toward the centre of the plane.  Without switching the female ends to the centre the shoulder belt will not cross your chest.

Clarence

Well explained. I am completely confused as to the original question. How can you have flown the plane and not noticed how the seat belts function? If the belts were anchored to the floor the user would not be able to move the seat forward or back without adjusting the seat belt length. Geez.

[Hank]

Just now, Bob_Belville said:

Well explained. I am completely confused as to the original question. How can you have flown the plane and not noticed how the seat belts function? If the belts were anchored to the floor the user would not be able to move the seat forward or back without adjusting the seat belt length. Geez.

True dat, but that's exactly how the C172 I got my license in was done . . . Not the best method, but it worked. Of course, the shoulder strap was separate from the lap belt, and stowed in the edge IO the ceiling so it didn't block the door (Cessna folks ain't completely stoopid!).

[TheTurtle]

yep they are mounted to the seat...  Doesn't look like a big deal to swap though.

The PO had the pilot seat out once to fix it and gave up.  He did give me a few seat springs with the sale so Ill see how that goes.  I vaguely remember something about something else being broken inside the seat..

thanks for the help guys

[carusoam]

In the end...

buckle is on the pilot's right hip, where it gets disconnected by the manual gear swinging through.

If it isn't on the right hip, the shoulder strap doesn't cross the chest very well...

In the modern world, the old methods like swapping seats takes more effort than getting them updated Yeti style!

new foams, a few new plastic wheels,  magic! 

Best regards,

-a-

[jetdriven]

The recline knob is on the inboard side of both seats. Swapping the seats would put the recline knob outboard, and make it hard to use. 

[Yetti]

My seats have two non connected recline knobs that need to be set to the same position.  There are 4 position to choose from.

[Hank]

59 minutes ago, Yetti said:

My seats have two non connected recline knobs that need to be set to the same position.  There are 4 position to choose from.

Lucky man! I also have two knobs per seat, but only three positions each.