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Will I fit?


JimB58

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On 12/28/2020 at 1:27 PM, JimB58 said:

Hello Fellow Vintage Mooney lovers...

I finally got my PPL, am tired of renting a/c, and would love to get a good ‘67 M20F w/ Johnson bar. But, never having sat in one or flown one yet, I have a simple question... will I fit and be comfortable when flying it. I’m 6’2”, and 205#. My knees are way to close to the dash in the C & E model; hence the desire for the longer F model. What say you, the experts? 

Thanks, in advance...

I’m close 5’11”, but I fit fine in the E model.  If needed I could probably slide the seat back another 10 inches and I can have my legs straight.  As others mentioned your knees will always be close to the panel, I would try to sit in one and play with the seat settings.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
9 hours ago, cliffy said:

Question-

If you haven't even sat in one as you say, how do you know you will be impacted by the panel?

I'm 6'1" and 250 and I have to be 2 or 3 holes fwd to reach the pedals. 

 

The Mooney seems to fit a wide range of people.  From short with pedal extenders.  To very tall. I am not very very tall but I am perhaps very tall at 6'4'' and longer less than my height would suggest.  I was flying with the seat on the farthest back hole, and not quite happy so I had an extra hole added so my seat goes a tad further back now and I love it.

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11 hours ago, cliffy said:

Question-

If you haven't even sat in one as you say, how do you know you will be impacted by the panel?

I'm 6'1" and 250 and I have to be 2 or 3 holes fwd to reach the pedals. 

 

I have been a passenger in the front of  a '65 M20C, had the sat all the way back, and I had trouble with the yoke hitting my knees/thighs and my knees were too close to the bottom of the panel.

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2 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

I had a partner years ago who was 5’11” and sat on an extra cushion. It can work for shorter pilots but Al was tall. 

That's me, the 2" seat cushion really made my landings better, because I can now see the front of the cowl.

My 5'3" wife can't reach the pedals.

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1 hour ago, JimB58 said:

I have been a passenger in the front of  a '65 M20C, had the sat all the way back, and I had trouble with the yoke hitting my knees/thighs and my knees were too close to the bottom of the panel.

If you’re tall like me that’s just life. Even worse in planes like the Bonanza and Aztec. In those planes if I can fly without a kneeboard I will. 

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12 hours ago, JimB58 said:

I have been a passenger in the front of  a '65 M20C, had the sat all the way back, and I had trouble with the yoke hitting my knees/thighs and my knees were too close to the bottom of the panel.

I have been a passenger in a B58...   :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Baron

and a Boeing 737....

Mom always said... if you can’t say anything nice...

 

So...  how about that weather we’re having?

-a-

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1 hour ago, 47U said:

If you had been a passenger in a B-58, I’m not sure there’s an emoji to reflect how big your smile would be.

image.jpeg.0b127263e53673fe02338f6325ba56eb.jpeg

Beech... Bomber... same fuel flow... on the scale of affordable to non-affordable... :)

One IO550 can be a challenge to feed and care for...  

Having two, I would need a different job... to go with my first job...

PP humor only, not a real comedian...

Best regards,

-a-

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On 1/15/2021 at 11:47 AM, JimB58 said:

I had trouble with the yoke hitting my knees/thighs and my knees were too close to the bottom of the panel.

I'm still having trouble understanding this comment.  Were you trying to sit with your feet flat on the floor?  You sit in a Mooney with your feet straight out, knees straight, with only your heals touching the floor.

The seat is so close to the floor I can't possibly imagine how your knees/thighs were anywhere near the yoke or the bottom of the panel unless you were bending your knees and pulling them up.  That sitting position definitely won't work.

We get this "Will I fit?" question all the time, but usually it's asked by the wrong people.  If you are tall, good news... you fit!  It's the short people who don't ask and really should be asking.  If your legs are too short, you won't have room for the yoke with your feet on the pedals.  If your back isn't long enough, you won't see over the panel.  Both can be fixed with rudder pedal extensions and seat cushions.  But to be too tall, you'd really need to be about 6' 9" or taller.

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  • 4 weeks later...

6'3" 235#, no issues in the C model with leg room and additional holes can be drilled in the runners if the position isn't perfect.  The bottom of the windows in the older planes are lower (taller windows) and allow for a comfortable armrest on the sill. I do rub shoulders with male passengers..... and my wife.... has to move her butt when I move the johnson bar...

I've got one friend with muscular legs who hits the yoke, I may change to the later model raised yoke.

Edited by Hair Helmet
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M20B model. I am 6’1” and 250. I wear a size 48 suit jacket. I have broad shoulders and I find it very comfortable solo and moderately comfortable with someone slightly more narrow in the front with me. Just did a cross country from LA to Tampa with my buddy (5’ 9” and 220) with no issues. As far as height and leg room. It is not a Cessna or a Piper. Your sight picture, distance to panel, and seating angle are very different. Cessna is to a Ford Ranger as a Mooney is a vintage Corvette. When I tried to have my seat all the way up to replicate the distance to the pedals and sight picture of a Cessna nothing fit. It wasn’t until I scooted way back when everything fit right. 
 

-Trent

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6 hours ago, Trenta said:

M20B model. I am 6’1” and 250. I wear a size 48 suit jacket. I have broad shoulders and I find it very comfortable solo and moderately comfortable with someone slightly more narrow in the front with me. Just did a cross country from LA to Tampa with my buddy (5’ 9” and 220) with no issues. As far as height and leg room. It is not a Cessna or a Piper. Your sight picture, distance to panel, and seating angle are very different. Cessna is to a Ford Ranger as a Mooney is a vintage Corvette. When I tried to have my seat all the way up to replicate the distance to the pedals and sight picture of a Cessna nothing fit. It wasn’t until I scooted way back when everything fit right. 
 

-Trent

That's right. Cessnas sit and handle like a small truck. Mooneys sit, ride and handle more like a sports car. There's a reason the seat is so close to the floor . . . . And no, my seats don't move up and down; there's about an inch of "space" under them.

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