The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

Hey guys, new 140 owner here. I just got my 2nd tailwheel lesson earlier today. It was a tough day. I'll skip all the details, but the summary is I groundlooped it twice. The second time I asked the instructor to fly left seat and get us home. He agreed.

We switch seats and both of us note how much more room is available on the opposite side of the airplane. It didn't occur to me until I was back in the hangar that it's impossible for BOTH seats to offer more legroom than the other.

During my post-flight inspection of the plane, I discovered that the hinge pins at the base of the vertical seat cushion had both pulled free of their sockets and had allowed the base of the cushion to move rearward. This essentially gave both of us about 2" more legroom. That was nice. Got our knees out of the yoke and made the rudders/brakes easier to actuate.

Couple things occur to me:
First, the groundloop loads must have distorted the fuselage enough to allow the pins to disengage. Hmmm.
Second, has anyone ever modified that little hinge bracket to intentionally move the seat-back rearward? Add a couple of additional holes? I'd like some legroom, but I don't want to do so with the seat only secured by the upper pins.

We'll talk about the groundloop when I get my head right...

But until then, anybody willing to instruct tailwheel in the SF Bay area?

Wow...sorry to hear about two ground loops. It's hard to criticize the instructor w/o knowing all of the details. What were the winds? I had some initial problems when I bought my plane. I found that wearing the right shoes (or no shoes) helped. Big clunky running shoes, or similar, will not give you the proper "feel" for rudders/brakes. Hang in there. Maybe get a different instructor?

Dave,
I had in my airplane an aluminum plate that was bolted to the bottom seat bracket. That plate was giving me 3 more holes towards the back.
For me at 6'2'' and with the top of the bench adjusted to the most rearward, I was perfectly seated. The extended bracket was in place when I purchased the plane. You would have to check if that could be done under a 337.

I have since upgraded to C150 adjustable seats.

Martin, thanks for the reply. I'm aware that many folks go to the 150 seats. Do these seats allow more rearward adjustment? I'm guessing so, if you replaced your rearward setup with the 150 seats, but can you confirm? Thank you!

6277 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:46 am Wow...sorry to hear about two ground loops. It's hard to criticize the instructor w/o knowing all of the details. What were the winds? I had some initial problems when I bought my plane. I found that wearing the right shoes (or no shoes) helped. Big clunky running shoes, or similar, will not give you the proper "feel" for rudders/brakes. Hang in there. Maybe get a different instructor?

Yeah, the issue is mine entirely. No indictment of the instructor. I hope I didn't give that impression. He's an extremely talented pilot.

8475 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 10:32 am Martin, thanks for the reply. I'm aware that many folks go to the 150 seats. Do these seats allow more rearward adjustment? I'm guessing so, if you replaced your rearward setup with the 150 seats, but can you confirm? Thank you!

Dave, sorry for the delay responding. I would say we gain an inch or two with the 150 seats, but you loose in head room. I used to have the seat pan cushions (lying directly in the pan). So having the 150 seat rails over a 1in thick piece of hardwood, plus the seat itself, raises the whole seating height.
But still OK for roof clearance with the headset on.
The advantage is that you can remove the passenger seat to bring more gear (if needed), or with a passenger that is shorter than you, they can adjust forward and not be shoulder to shoulder.
Pretty happy with the setup