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What kind of seat cushions do you fly with? printer friendly version
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Fredrik S
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Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2017 @ 05:31 AM  

I have just ordered AIR protect foam 50mm thick to replace our old cushion in XSK wich is an old Dynafoam cuschion that is 25mm thick.
The problem with the Dynafoam is that it is
1. old and
2. (probably due to age) gets hard as a plank when the temperature is low and it isn't very comfortable at all any more.

I for instance get a real pain in my legs after flying about 1-1,5h so i hope the new cushion will prove to be more comfortable and give better seating support overall.

This made me think though, what kind of cushions do the rest of you fly with and do anyone have any experience of the AIR protect foam?

[Edit by Fredrik S on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 @ 07:18 AM]

--------------------
Best regards
/Fredrik Svanberg
RF4D serial#4104 SE-XSK

Bob Grimstead
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Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2017 @ 10:07 AM  

Hello Fredrik,

I have dynafoam (conformal foam) cushions on all of my aeroplanes, not just for comfort, but because of the safety protection they give in the case of a heavy landing, undercarriage collapse or crash. Yes, they all become very firm in cold weather, but five minutes after sitting on them my body heat softens them. I don't think the age of the foam is relevant.

Did you know there are four differernt grades of dynafoam? the green is very firm, blue and pink come next, while the cream foam is very soft, and stays comparatively soft even when cold. I have several cushions with a variety of dynafoam laminates and change them around as required. I have also made some of my cushions curved by adding strips below them to form lumbar support and under-thigh support.

As usual, a little inexpensive experimentation often provides solutions.

Yours, Bob

--------------------
Flying and displaying Fournier RF4Ds VH-HDO and G-AWGN, building replica RF6B G-RFGB and custodian of RF6B prototype F-BPXV

Fredrik S
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Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2017 @ 10:27 AM  

Hello Bob.
That might be it then, at the moment there is a green dynafoam cushion in XSK and i dont experience any softening when sitting on it .
AIR protect foam is also a safety protection foam though they don't seem to have different firm grades like dynafoam.
If it proves too soft i will probably make some kind of cushion by joining the old dynafoam and AIR foam and shape it.
50mm thickness is what we thought the thickest cushion we can have in XSK considering the length of the pilots (50mm gives an unloaded cushion height of about 7-8mm above the rim of the cushion well)
It will be interesting to see how the AIR foam functions in cold weather and how it forms itself when we sit on it .

--------------------
Best regards
/Fredrik Svanberg
RF4D serial#4104 SE-XSK

Bob Grimstead
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Posted Friday, March 3, 2017 @ 11:56 PM  

This is the arrangement I currently have, with under me 7.5 cm of three layer confor foam bought from Aircraft Spruce (half of one of their 18" by 16" by 3" three-ply sheets — http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/conForFoan.php?clickkey=5944). This has a black cover made by a local sewing lady, and sits on top of 2.5 cm more of the firm, green foam underneath me. So altogether I am sitting on 10cm of foam.

Behind me is an assortment of different grades and thicknesses of conformal foam, to provide a contoured seat back with good lumbar support. On top of this is a single 2.5 cm sheet of blue foam, also from Aircraft Spruce, and also covered in black corduroy material.

I have been experimenting with all this for a couple of years, but I am now satisfied that I have the best possible combination of foams for maximum comfort, back support and G tolerance at the minimum cost, so I shall now get covers made up for the underlying foams.

Good luck with your experimentations.

Yours, Bob

--------------------
Flying and displaying Fournier RF4Ds VH-HDO and G-AWGN, building replica RF6B G-RFGB and custodian of RF6B prototype F-BPXV

Bob Grimstead
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Posted Saturday, March 4, 2017 @ 00:02 AM  

I should add that the rudder pedals have been moved forwards by 5 cm on both of my Fourniers, to give me more head room and a more reclined seat.

Like many other Fournier owners who do not use parachutes, I have replaced the old hollow fibreglass seat back with a simple 5cm sheet of external quality plywood.

The combination of these two things gives me a much more reclined and very comfortable seating position compared with the original arrangement which was designed around René and Bernard who were both not very tall.

Yours, Bob

--------------------
Flying and displaying Fournier RF4Ds VH-HDO and G-AWGN, building replica RF6B G-RFGB and custodian of RF6B prototype F-BPXV

Jorgen
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Posted Saturday, March 4, 2017 @ 02:00 PM  

Thanks Bob,
a picture or two sure clarify things quite a lot. I would like to do your mods too, especially the pedal move but if I don't, I've given some thoughts to adding a pair of wedge-shaped pillows under your thighs that can help on long ferry flights. I had a pair of inflatable air cushions under the thighs in a glider I once had and that made a big difference when I broke my personal glider endurance record of 8 hours 15 min (from Feringe if you believe, Fredrik).

May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen

[Edit by Jorgen on Saturday, March 4, 2017 @ 02:01 PM]

Fredrik S
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Posted Tuesday, March 7, 2017 @ 03:50 AM  

Quote:
Originally posted by Bob Grimstead

I should add that the rudder pedals have been moved forwards by 5 cm on both of my Fourniers, to give me more head room and a more reclined seat.

Like many other Fournier owners who do not use parachutes, I have replaced the old hollow fibreglass seat back with a simple 5cm sheet of external quality plywood.

The combination of these two things gives me a much more reclined and very comfortable seating position compared with the original arrangement which was designed around René and Bernard who were both not very tall.

Yours, Bob

Thanks for showing Bob.
You really have a nice arrangement of cushions and your seating cushions are just 2,5cm thinner than the one i ordered for XSK.
We also have a plywood sheet as a seat back but we (like Jörgen) hasn't your modification with the moved pedals, so my problem (since i'm 184cm long) is that i can't have your nice arrangement of cushions behind my back. Since i have thoughts of one day competing in the engine aerobatic nationals in Sweden with XSK (sportsman class) i have tried to seat myself with a very thin parachute from the club (National 425) that is 2" thick at the top of your back and 3,5" thick at the bottom and with that i just fit in the cockpit to do aerobatics for a shorter period of time (it's not that comfortable but good enough to be doable).
I have had thoughts of modifying the pedals in XSK as well and move them a bit forward in order to gain some more space and comfort .
I just have to convince three others that it is a good idea and that it is wothwile to do the job .

Quote:
Originally posted by Jorgen

Thanks Bob,
a picture or two sure clarify things quite a lot. I would like to do your mods too, especially the pedal move but if I don't, I've given some thoughts to adding a pair of wedge-shaped pillows under your thighs that can help on long ferry flights. I had a pair of inflatable air cushions under the thighs in a glider I once had and that made a big difference when I broke my personal glider endurance record of 8 hours 15 min (from Feringe if you believe, Fredrik).

May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen

[Edit by Jorgen on Saturday, March 4, 2017 @ 02:01 PM]

I believe you Jörgen.
What glider was it? you have about 2 more hours than me then. My record is 6h 30min at the moment, set last summer in our clubs Ls8 during a cross country flight over the worst terrain around Dala-Järna (we made the task in the completly wrong directions). But that is another story

--------------------
Best regards
/Fredrik Svanberg
RF4D serial#4104 SE-XSK

Jorgen
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Posted Friday, March 10, 2017 @ 06:28 PM  

Hi Fredrik,
I had a half share in LS3-17 "SE-TTM" and at the time it was also equipped with a "polish microphone" (=pee tube :D ) which makes it a lot less messy... We took it out though after we discovered corrosion on the rudder fittings....

As for fitting in the RF 4, I use a foam matress and a sleeping bag as back cushions. They work OK and doubles as overnight equipment in case I have to land because of bad weather somewhere. I would like to do the rudder pedal mod too and I've been thinking about finally getting that Dynafoam seat cushion for years now...

May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen

Donald
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Posted Saturday, March 11, 2017 @ 04:28 AM  

RF3, not RF4, but I have a 'Confor' seat cushion from Trelleborg. It's a laminate of two densities, blue and green if I remember correctly, and it's the most comfortable thing I have put under my backside in the aeroplane.

Equally important though, I have a hard foam ramp under the front third of the cushion so that some of my weight is distributed through my upper thighs. With the original cushion all of my weight was concentrated on the bones of my ass and that got uncomfortable quite quickly.

The RF3 does not have the 'parachute space' behind the pilot but I had tried Jorgen's sleeping bag seat back idea, even packing it into a largeish rucksack and wearing it into the cockpit like a parachute, but I never found that satisfactory. Perhaps the different internal geometry of the 4 makes it work.

Antti
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Posted Saturday, August 19, 2017 @ 07:37 AM  

Hi guys,

It took me some time to remember my password. For some reason I suddenly did and now I'm back again! Still being a Fournier nut

I bought one of cushions from Oregon Aero for a few years ago.
https://www.oregonaero.com/accessories/softseat-portable-cushions
https://www.oregonaero.com/accessories/softseat-ordering

Mine is "Portable Cushion Base with Pilot Cutout". The price seems to be $173 at the moment. I thought it was more, but maybe fedex took its share.

Longer flights used to be a pain in RF4. My legs basically hurt. Then I found the Oregon Aero cushions via some forum where bush pilots said they could easily fly and 8-hour day with it. They were right. I still haven't sat eight hours in a Fournier, but two hours are very enjoyable.

Antti

[Edit by Antti on Saturday, August 19, 2017 @ 07:39 AM]

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***** RF4D OH-370 - RF4D OH-371 - RF4D OH-373 - RF5 0H-386 *****

Jorgen
Captain

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Posted Sunday, August 20, 2017 @ 04:18 AM  

Heiii Antti,
good to see you back! I was thinking about you a month ago on one of my frequent trips to Texas, Finnair had the cheapest ticket so I had a stopover in Helsinki. Not time enough to go and drool over Markku's RF 4 but are you still based at Malmi? If so, maybe next time then!

May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen

Antti
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Posted Monday, August 21, 2017 @ 02:16 AM  

Tjenare Jörgen!

I have been very sad not remembering my password.
It's great to be back. I am surprised to hear Finnair was the cheapest option, but so does the world change...
I am now working at the Finnish Aviation Museum. So I can finally settle down in some corner getting gradually covered by dust and spider web. It's located next to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, so please come to visit if you have time between flights at some point. I met Mikael in Hahnweide last autumn and we somehow talked about Fourniers and he mentioned knowing you well.
I am very much located at Malmi, but all the motorgliding activity takes place at Wredeby airfield some 100 km east of Helsinki. Just went there yesterday. My son had the first flights in Grob! He's only been flying in Diamonds and Cessnas before

And what comes to the topic, I was supposed to test my above mentioned cushion in Grob, too, but forgot it after all.

Antti

[Edit by Antti on Monday, August 21, 2017 @ 02:17 AM]

--------------------
***** RF4D OH-370 - RF4D OH-371 - RF4D OH-373 - RF5 0H-386 *****

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