Weight Limit for Passengers?

[mladen]

I have a friend that weighs 350 pounds; he is a big guy overall, looks like a retired football player. He would like to go for a ride. However, I have concerns about fitting him in the front seat. But even before that, I am concerned about his just walking on the wing. I would hate to cave in the wing structure. Anyone have experience in this area? Should I be concerned?

[RobertGary1]

On my experience the main limitations is the seatbelt. 

[A64Pilot]

18 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

On my experience the main limitations is the seatbelt. 

There are extenders for those, couple of different types though. Look close when ordering.

When I fly with bigger people, I leave their seat all the way to the rear, or our shoulders would overlap as I’m bigger than I used to be.

Airplane flies fine though.

Edited October 28, 2021 by A64Pilot

[toto]

I've had a seatback break in half, requiring a pretty expensive teardown and rebuild - definitely be careful on entry/exit.

[N9405V]

I flew with a gentleman that would make a Gorilla look small. He was easily 335lbs. M20E flew fine. We just staggered our seats.


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[Bartman]

I have a friend that I would like to take for a ride who is in the 350 range. I’m sure he cold get in and out but would require a seatbelt extension which I am not interested in getting. My main concern would be the seat would not survive the experience, not just the seat but more importantly the seat back as mentioned by @toto For these reasons I have not offered, and thankfully he has not asked.

Im sure the plane would otherwise fly just fine so long as I adjusted W+B as needed. 

[RLCarter]

Wouldn’t worry too much about the wing, we’ve had 3 people (460#’s) trying to decide the best way to get in…. I tell pretty much everyone over 150#’s not to push, stretch or in any other way stress the seat, door…etc

[Amelia]

One of my favorite people is a lovely giant of a man, easily 6’5”, and massive, maybe 350. He mentioned he’d forgotten how tight Mooneys were. His head was tilted sideways mashe against the overhead. That when it finally occurred to me that my last passenger was a kid. and the articulating  seat was cranked all the way up. Oops. Add one more item to the preflight checklist. Once he cranked himself all the way down, he was much happier. The airplane flew just fine, seatbelt fit, and seat was undamaged. And since I fly in the all-the-way forward position, his fully aft position was no competition for shoulder room.

 

[ArtVandelay]

I always leave the flaps fully down to make getting on and off the wing easier. If both of you are wider, you might need to stagger the seats so as to not to rub shoulders.

[201er]

@Marauder is the resident expert on this topic.

[Hank]

1 minute ago, 201er said:

@Marauder is the resident expert on this topic.

I'm done with this thread! He'll post pictures now!  

[kris_adams]

my concerns in order:  exit, entry (breaking seat back), seat belt. getting OFF the wing.  I've flown with an almost 300 pound passenger and it was very uneventful.  Good luck!

[steingar]

If I can't fit a seatbelt around them they don't go.  If I can't fit a seatbelt around them they probably won't have enough room anyway.  Mooneys just weren't built for the large.

[201er]

6 hours ago, Hank said:

I'm done with this thread! He'll post pictures now!  

From what I heard, his fascination started when he took a 350lb pal for a flight and then couldn’t get him back out of the seat. @Marauder was never the same since that day. Think it ended something like this:

 

[David Lloyd]

Once gave an RV ride to one of the airport guys.  Weight about 350.  Seat belt and shoulders were at the very end of their reach.  Suck it in Chris or you're not going.  The fifth strap was not attempted.  Got to the checklist and wiped the controls.  Uh uh.  Too much gut, could have taken off but might not have been able to flare the landing.  That would not have been the problem in a Mooney, just demonstrates the need to consider the ramifications of an out of the normal situation.

[Guest]

In my opinion these small GA airframes we’re never intended for the size some humans have become.  I don’t do charity type flights anymore because of the size of some people wanting a ride, it’s a Comanche not a C-130.

Clarence

[neilpilot]

21 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

In my opinion these small GA airframes we’re never intended for the size some humans have become.  I don’t do charity type flights anymore because of the size of some people wanting a ride, it’s a Comanche not a C-130.

Clarence

When I did Angel Flights, the listings would always include the weight of each passenger.  While sometimes this data can be a bit off, it was certainly sufficient to prevent signing up to transport an XXXL patient.

[M20F-1968]

I have the newer Ovation seat belts in my plane that use Amsafe buckles that do not unlatch until the top is opened 90 degrees.   

Before I found them, I was digging on ebay for seatbelts with the same buckle.  I found some along with an extension.  That may be a place to find an extension that matches your belts.

John Breda

[philip_g]

When I had the rocket I'd take the front pax seat out and load passengers in the back. Seemed easier to get in and out and helped my w&b

[Yetti]

When we were flying up to get my plane the Mooney guy that was helping me said.  You do know you are buying a Mooney.     After about an hour in the plane looking at me he said "I guess you will fit"

[RobertGary1]

6 hours ago, Yetti said:

When we were flying up to get my plane the Mooney guy that was helping me said.  You do know you are buying a Mooney.     After about an hour in the plane looking at me he said "I guess you will fit"

I’ve never understood this idea that mooneys are small. I’m 6’4” and been smashed in a lot of small aircraft but the Mooney isn’t close to being one of them. 

[philip_g]

1 hour ago, RobertGary1 said:

I’ve never understood this idea that mooneys are small. I’m 6’4” and been smashed in a lot of small aircraft but the Mooney isn’t close to being one of them. 

It's all relative

 

 

And they are.

[toto]

2 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

I’ve never understood this idea that mooneys are small. I’m 6’4” and been smashed in a lot of small aircraft but the Mooney isn’t close to being one of them. 

Wasn’t Al Mooney a tall guy? 6’5” or something?

[Yetti]

9 hours ago, toto said:

Wasn’t Al Mooney a tall guy? 6’5” or something?

yes