Seat improvements

[Turbo 162]

The sling seat forces you into kind-of a fetal position, with absolutely no lumbar support. Others have remarked that the fiberglass seatpan is uncomfortable.  In a KF, there's space for big improvements in comfort, but in an Avid-C or earlier, we're cramped for space.  I am contemplating a plywood seatback stiffener, with a lumbar support cushion.  Any alternative ideas on this out there?

[Matthewtanner 44]

Oh-58 has a seat that was comfy the would be nice in an avid, I’ll see if I can dig up a pic.

[Matthewtanner 44]

[Willja67 144]

Here's how a guy made a carbon fiber seat for his KR2. He initially was going to use a sling seat as well. I imagine his technique could be used to make a seat for a kitfox. 

http://www.n56ml.com/seat.html

Edited 7 Feb 2019 by Willja67
Added picture

[1avidflyer 1983]

Every one's back side and back are different, but here is my take on the subject.  I've flown a fair amount in the Avid fiberglass seat, and about 600 hrs or more in an Avid sling seat.  For me the sling seat was way more comfortable.  In the fiberglass seat, I had to put a pad behind the small of my back or my back would be in a lot of pain after an hour or even less.  Sling seat can also be adjusted further back for help with longer legged guys.  To each his own, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  JImChuk

[Turbo 162]

It seems to me that the bottom of the sling seat is comfy; it's just the back that could become a pain (literally) on longer flights.  I was thinking of taking a thin plywood sheet, and with the face grain in the vertical direction, drill and zip-tie it to the lacing grommets at the seat back top and then make standoffs for the bottom, allowing it to rest against the frame tubes there, since the aft seat-bottom is not laced, but has one long loop for each side, split in the middle.   Some form of lateral stiffening there would be required.  At this point I'm just kicking around ideas.  Gluing some urethane foam at the anatomically correct height on the plywood seat-back could add to comfort.  None of this modifies the sling seat, so if it's a bust, nothing is ruined.  An alternative would be, after figuring out what shape would be comfortable, to design my own fiberglass or carbon seat pan as Willja67 suggests.  With sufficient stiffening it could simply lace to the two steel fuselage tubes.  A fair number of options exist.  I just figured someone here might have worked this problem for the older Avids by now.

Edited 7 Feb 2019 by Turbo