Shrinking Pilot Population

[201er]

With so many pilots shrinking due to age and various sorts of trauma, how's the Mooney cabin fit playing in? Has anyone gone from not needing pedal extensions to needing them? Does it get easier to climb in through a single door?

Sad to see that there is hardly any "growing" into the plane but the other way instead. Anyone have kids that are learning to fly and getting to the point of being able to reach the pedals?

[jaylw314]

9 minutes ago, 201er said:

With so many pilots shrinking due to age and various sorts of trauma, how's the Mooney cabin fit playing in? Has anyone gone from not needing pedal extensions to needing them? Does it get easier to climb in through a single door?

Sad to see that there is hardly any "growing" into the plane but the other way instead. Anyone have kids that are learning to fly and getting to the point of being able to reach the pedals?

LOL, I totally misread your thread title, I thought you were complaining of how we have fewer pilots today than in the past.

We might see very gradual loss of a couple inches over our lifetimes.  Probably not enough or fast enough to be a problem.  We generally only see more significant reduction in height with repeated spinal compression fractures.  Well, ok, I suppose bilateral leg amputations.  Or "headectomies".

Edited July 24, 2022 by jaylw314

[M20F]

I am not shrinking due to age but every year it gets harder for me to get in/out.  The cabins and seats in Mooney’s suck imho.  

[Will.iam]

26 minutes ago, M20F said:

I am not shrinking due to age but every year it gets harder for me to get in/out.  The cabins and seats in Mooney’s suck imho.  

That’s my physical yoga exercise for the day. See Mooney keeps me young both in mind and spirit. 

[M20F]

35 minutes ago, Will.iam said:

That’s my physical yoga exercise for the day. See Mooney keeps me young both in mind and spirit. 

I am good on mind and spirit.  Joints, muscles, and anything else I am due for an overhaul. 

[philip_g]

1 hour ago, M20F said:

I am not shrinking due to age but every year it gets harder for me to get in/out.  The cabins and seats in Mooney’s suck imho.  

I hate getting in and out. Once you own something easy to get in it's really irritating to go backwards

[bmcconnaha]

i like alot about the cabin.  rear seat room in my J (i am 6ft2)  would be better if a shrunk a few inches, lol.  Someday soon I will be longing for the fuel burn relative to speed of my mooney while i have an engine guzzeling fuel on each wing... a quest for redundancy and room for Angel flights and my dogs.  

[Shadrach]

3 hours ago, 201er said:

With so many pilots shrinking due to age and various sorts of trauma, how's the Mooney cabin fit playing in? Has anyone gone from not needing pedal extensions to needing them? Does it get easier to climb in through a single door?

Sad to see that there is hardly any "growing" into the plane but the other way instead. Anyone have kids that are learning to fly and getting to the point of being able to reach the pedals?

Generally speaking, legs don’t become noticeably shorter with age.  At 48 I don’t really give ingress and egress anymore thought than I did at 28 even though I’ve put on 35lbs since my mid 20s. My dad is 84 and while it takes a bit longer than it once did, he does not require assistance to get in and out of the plane. Mooneys are not ideal for those who carry more height and or girth in their torso. A much as I like the airframe, the ergonomics are not for everyone. Some folks who are challenged by it can make it work when they’re young and flexible but that only lasts so long. My old man does not fly solo anymore, but it he was still able to manage the manual gear and fuel selector well into his eighth decade.  Dad is a little guy and was 5’6” at his tallest and is likely shy of 5’4” now. He still uses same seating position. Never needed extensions.

[Hank]

My goal is to stay strong enough to push the Mooney in & out of the hangar, and flexible enough to get in and out.

[ArtVandelay]

My goal is to stay strong enough to push the Mooney in & out of the hangar, and flexible enough to get in and out.

Me too, I don’t have a step, so in/out has extra difficulty.

[A64Pilot]

Average man can lose 1 inch between 30 and 70 and could possibly lose another before death.

Some do lose leg length, but not a whole inch, from knees and arthritis. I did. You even become bow legged when they are really shot.

I’m 5’10” or close and almost exactly 50% percentile, until I gained weight anyway.

I would like extensions, but have become accustomed to sitting closer to the panel than I prefer, I sit fully forward or one click back, if I could get further back it would be more comfortable, slide your seat back some in cruise and see how much more comfortable you are.

People are getting bigger, not smaller.

[Shadrach]

54 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

Average man can lose 1 inch between 30 and 70 and could possibly lose another before death.

Some do lose leg length, but not a whole inch, from knees and arthritis. I did. You even become bow legged when they are really shot.

I’m 5’10” or close and almost exactly 50% percentile, until I gained weight anyway.

I would like extensions, but have become accustomed to sitting closer to the panel than I prefer, I sit fully forward or one click back, if I could get further back it would be more comfortable, slide your seat back some in cruise and see how much more comfortable you are.

People are getting bigger, not smaller.

We are the same height and I use second notch from front. I do like to kick the seat back in cruise sometimes. Get’s my knees out of the foot well so I can either completely straighten my legs or bend them 90°. Extensions would be nice for me but would detract from one of my planes appealing attributes which is ample legroom for the rear seaters. If there’s anyone back there I limit to 3hr legs anyway . If solo, I can stretch out in cruise without extensions.

[A64Pilot]

It’s getting my knees out past the nose gear well that I want, as is I fly with a 3/4” neoprene pad I put between my knee and the gear well, the artificial knee is 6 months old now, but still very sensitive to pressure there. Very rare for me to fly with someone in the rear, so I think I’d really like the extensions.

At least they are an option.

[Fly Boomer]

On 7/24/2022 at 10:48 PM, ArtVandelay said:

Me too, I don’t have a step, so in/out has extra difficulty.

I bought a step, but it's not attached to the plane.