Hey draccent,
bose-x, gcolyer, scooter boy, and sternone have it right in my opinion, so I’ll try not to waste space repeating their wise words. Clyde Cessna started something for which the entire world owes appreciation, and he was well over 6 feet tall. After having my head planted firmly into the ceilings, and knees into the instrument panels of many types. I appreciate the proper allocation of space in a 172. I will agree that rudder pedals can be hard to reach for some people, when the aircraft is not equipped with the Cessna clip on rudder pedal extensions. These well designed parts clip on and off in seconds, and add about 3” to the rudder pedal position. They are hardly detectable when installed, and I have flown a 172 with them installed with no difficulty, just a different seat position (I’m 6’3”).
So if you have chosen to fly an aircraft without the manufacturer’s recommended equipment installed, to make the aircraft safe for the intended flight, what does that say about you? Perhaps the aircraft should be criticizing you, rather than the other way around!
When you have come around to accepting different people and different aircraft for their various strengths and weaknesses, you might try a Mooney. They have many strengths, but I have found that ceiling to pedal total distance is not one of them.
Pilot DAR