Small stature people flying PA-28

[T10]

Just wonder if anyone else has had this problem (and no it's not me I am normal sized:))
A student pilot of my aquaintance (well significant other) is 5ft 1" and has a great deal of trouble reaching the flap leaver and the rudder pedals. To be honest she has just used cushions from the club house up to now. I was thinking of getting more suitable cushions made from shock absorbing foam.
Would be interested to know if anyone else has had similar problems and how they were overcome.
Thanks
T10

[1800ed]

I know people who sit on cushions in PA28's because they're a bit on the short side. There are a couple in the back of the aircraft I fly, they're foam filled as opposed to feather which makes them a bit firmer.

[BroomstickPilot]

Hi T10,

Does your 'significant other' have to train in the Pa28? I should have thought there were several other types around in which she would be at much less of a disadvantage.

For example, she may be better off in the C152, although she might still need a back cushion. It has a small cockpit, the flaps are electric and everything is operated from the instrument panel.

I see you are in Wiltshire, so Old Sarum should be within easy reach of you. I believe they bought Technam Sierras and they used to have access to a Sky Arrow, both of which may be worth a try.

Broomstick.

[RW05]

Have your student look in the garden furniture area of a local garden centre/Focus/somewhere similar. Okay this time of year is not the best but failing that an internet search could turn up something. What you're looking for is the the sort of seat pads you'd use on a patio chair. They normally come in 3 thicknesses - thin, medium and thick (often buttoned). The medium ones are the perfect size for a PA28 seat and have the advantage that you can easily select the correct number for the perfect seating position in any aircraft (some older aircraft have sagged out seats due to too many hefty blokes...........) I use one of the above cushions behind my back and sit on another, but I also have a small (approx 12" square) cushion under my bum as sloping my legs down a bit is a) more comfortable, and b) decreases the distance to the pedals slightly. Down side is that a good bit of bumpy air has everything off my knee and onto the floor but you soon learn to cope with that.... In the older PA28 I trained on I used to sit on 2 cushions.
The other tip to give your student is to arrange the seat so that full rudder is a real pointy toe stretch. The idea is to sit as far from the yoke as possible while still having just enough rudder for crosswind landings. Sit too close and pulling back in the flare becomes almost a physical impossibility. Try it. I struggled to do anything but land flat all through my training then one day I put the seat back a notch and it was problem solved.
Sorry to go on a bit but being 5' 1 doesn't have to limit you to a C152.

A 5'1" PA28 pilot

[robin]

... but how do you deal with the flap lever? I've had a number of trips in PA28s and still can't reach them comfortably and I am 5'6"

[RW05]

Robin - never had a problem with the flap lever. Okay, I have to duck below the coaming level for it but it's a case of good look outside, look at lever, duck and grab. Did once have a bit of a problem in an aircraft that had the xponder on the far rhs of the panel. Once it developed a fault and was removed it was no problem at all....
T10 - sorry about referrng to your other half as your student. That's what you get for speed reading.

[B2N2]

Older models Cherokee are better suited for the "vertically challenged".
Knew somebody who had no troubles in a 1969 Cherokee 180 but who could fly IFR only in a later model Pa28-161.
Shop around and you fill find a plane that fits.
Word of caution when using cushions; use the marine (boating) version as the foam is much denser and will not compress as much.

[L'aviateur]

It's funny that this should come up, as I'd never thought about it until I took my other half up in a PA-28 a few years back. The first few flights, and I just asked her to take the yoke for a few mins and follow the river/road etc, and couldn't understand why she seemed to wander off course easily. It was only on about the third leg that I realised she couldn't see over the dash. She is 5'2".

[Cusco]

Doesn't the fire retardant property of the foam have to be taken into consideration?

I doubt if 'Garden Centre' cushions would come up to the Airworthiness standards that the actual seats themselves require........

Cusco.

[Sam Rutherford]

Oregon Aero cushions, pricey, and worth every penny...

Sam.

[AdamFrisch]

I think this is a problem in most small aircraft. The Cessna 150/152 is terrible. I'm 5ft 11in and I have at least a foot of headroom in it. Can barely see above the bleeding dash. The 172 sometimes have the seats you can raise, but if you get an old one they don't. I have to crank that up as high as it goes and still feel I could use another inch for visibility.