Third row seat

Luke68

Luke68

Junior Member
Im wondering if anyone has any experience installing a seat in the baggage area.
When I purchased my quick build kit we had a family of four but since then our daughter was born so I'm thinking it's going to be a tight squeeze trying to get everyone seated and buckled in.
i have found some pictures on the bearhawk site but nothing that really shows how they are installed.
thanks for any help

Luke
 
There's three planes I've seen pics of with a 3rd row but I know nothing about them. I did like you, searched the web and found them. I'm installing a 3rd row in my plane but have planned to do so from the beginning; I have 3 kids.

Here's a pic of my frames set in place without legs. My seats will attach to the L-track. Welding in some bushings to bolt a seat down would be really simple.

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One of the planes I found pics of looked like it just had thick pads for the seats with the seat belts attached to the cargo tie-downs. Something along those lines would be the easiest but probably the least safe, maybe not so great looking and likely not comfortable for anyone for very long.
 
Thanks for the picture, I like the tracks and individual seat adjustment, will they be bolted in place or have a sliding mechanism?
I was thinking of making the seat frame like a tripod, mounting the front legs in with the back seat brackets and using the center cargo tie down for the rear, just not sure if it would be to flexible. Trying to avoid welding to my fuselage if possible but I'm thinking that might be the best option
 
Seats will be adjustable, not really on sliders but can be moved easily without tools.
 
The latest Maules have similar door / window setup, and are offered with a 3rd row of seats - that might be a place to look for ideas?
 
I had a third row seat. It was just a single seat(didn't go al the way across) that way there was room for baggage beside it. If you build it the right size it doesn't need to be adjustable. I have the maule style window. Otherwise the third row is like a cave.
 
patrickh99 said:
Use a kid's carseat and just put fastening points for it.
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That works till the kid is older. Then your left with a family of 5 and a 4-place airplane. For me that would mean the plane gets sold. Unless I completely screwed up my measurements a small adult, like my 5'3" wife, will be able to ride in the third row in reasonable comfort.

The adjustability gives me options. I can pull one middle row seat and sit two little kids in the third row and another in the middle row with a fair amount of room for baggage. I can scoot the middle seat forward a bit and give the 3rd row a little more leg room. Or I can flip the middle seats around and have club seating. Or I can remove both middle seats and position the 3rd row bench anywhere along the track. I might even be able to put one middle seat in sideways, remove the rear doors and have a great platform for aerial shooting.
 
I did not do any measurements, I just assumed the 3rd row would be unusable once the kids hit their teens. Of course, you may not want them with at that point, but that is a whole different discussion.

You definitely have some options with your system.
 
I've been walking circles around my project for over an hr and I think I might install a single seat up against the baggage door and leave the other side for baggage. would there be any disadvantage to covering both doors totally with glass, just seems simpler than welding in stringers
 
Single seat next to the baggage door is a good plan. That's what I was going to go with at first.

Weight is the main reason not to go with full window doors. Plexi or lexan is a lot heavier than aluminum or fabric.
 
Mine was off to the side next to the baggage door. My youngest was about 5' tall when he quit riding back there. Glass would be okay but ounces add into pounds and pounds are the enemy of flight.
 
I'm a Tapatalk user so I didn't see any of the "comments" till just now when I logged in on the computer while doing some other work.

I don't have a solid plan for 3rd row windows. It will depend on how my 6y/o fits back there and how well she can see. My 2nd row windows are larger that the standard windows.
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I don't know how a Maule M7 floor length compares to a BH but here's a couple pics of a M7
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I would like to keep a nice line on the bottom of the windows so if I use the bottom frame of the front window and extend it back to the rear door I get about 10.5" in the front and 4" in the back
I had my oldest son (5yrs) sit in the far back and there is plenty of leg room. I plan on making the seat only about an inch or two off the floor in order to keep decent visibility out of the window in the door.
 

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When you mount your window will it be sandwiched between the aluminum skin and the fram or just fastened to the aluminum?
 
whee said:
Unless I completely screwed up my measurements a small adult, like my 5'3" wife, will be able to ride in the third row in reasonable comfort.
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The challenge I have with passengers that far in the back, especially in a short coupled plane like the BH, is air sickness. They need to be air sickness resistant passengers!
 
Gee - I must be getting old... My first thought was "Oh, how nice that someone has three grandkids that want to fly with them..."
 
I'm a Tapatalk user so I didn't see any of the "comments" till just now when I logged in on the computer while doing some other work.
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...that is at the core of why I don't use Tapatalk. I love the idea, but the details are (IMHO) painful.
 
I agree Battson, air sickness is certainly a concern. I'm hopeful that my kids have enough flight experience that it won't bother them. If it does then I'm screwed.

kestrel said:
...that is at the core of why I don't use Tapatalk. I love the idea, but the details are (IMHO) painful.
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This is the only forum I use that has the comment feature so I don't see it as a Tapatalk issue. I've just learned to accept that I will occasionally miss something.
 
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You can see here a BH overexposed on a Maule, the BH is a bit larger airframe wise, the Maule has a little better usable space because of it's design. 0,005" accuracy. :)
 

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Here's another data point on third row seats. I designed it to sit at the same angle as the rear (middle?) seat and I plan to simply attach the back rest to the bulkhead at that station. I originally thought this design would allow the seat to swivel up out of the way, but with 2" of cushion on the seat and back rest it probably won't go far, but it's also quick to remove and will fold up for easy storage. My wife is 5'5" and said it would be comfy enough for a short trip provided I put in a window.
 

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nichzimmerman said:
Here's another data point on third row seats. I designed it to sit at the same angle as the rear (middle?) seat and I plan to simply attach the back rest to the bulkhead at that station. I originally thought this design would allow the seat to swivel up out of the way, but with 2" of cushion on the seat and back rest it probably won't go far, but it's also quick to remove and will fold up for easy storage. My wife is 5'5" and said it would be comfy enough for a short trip provided I put in a window.
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That's a pretty neat and clean solution. You could extend the seat bottom hinge point "arm" a bit further forward, and resolve your "cushion" problem. The cushions would be sandwiched between the seat bottom and the bulkhead.

Alternatively, have the bottom cushion "hinged" at the front ("permanently" attached only at the front edge of the seat) so you could flip it forward, and the seat back cushion "hinged" at the top. To "fold" the seat up, you would first flip the bottom cushion forward, then lift the seat back cushion, raise the seat bottom against the bulkhead, and allow the seat back cushion to drop down, holding the "stack" against the bulkhead with its weight.

With memory foam for the seats, a 1-inch "Soft" density back cushion and a 2-inch bottom cushion (1" of Med-Firm + 1" of Soft) would be good for smaller people - up to about 150 lbs. You would need to design the back cushion attachment mechanism (maybe straps to attach to the bulkhead?) so that cushion would clear the folded seat frame and bottom cushion, but just the weight of the back cushion should be adequate to retain the entire assembly in the folded position. If you were really paranoid, you could rig a strap / snap to the seat back cushion to secure the folded assembly, but I suspect it would not be needed. You'd lose a small amount of cargo space - basically the "volume" of the folded frame and seat cushions against the rear of the baggage compartment.
 
Thats essentially a M-5, you can see how the use if better floor arrangement and head room from the Maule give you a little better use in space for the rear 3rd seat.
 
SpainCub said:
Thats essentially a M-5, you can see how the use if better floor arrangement and head room from the Maule give you a little better use in space for the rear 3rd seat.
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Thanks again SpainCub.

I think it is worth noting the M7 Maule has a 6" longer floor and a higher ceiling in the baggage area than the previous versions.
 
This 3rd row thread seems to be the most complete so I guess this is where I should post some pictures.

I took the last picture while sitting in the 3rd row. Without upholstery I could sit back there in marginal comfort for maybe an hour. With upholstery one of my daughters should be able to ride back there in reasonable comfort for quite some time.

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I have a factory rear seat and when I welded the bushings into the fuselage I ensured they were perfectly square so the seat could be turned around. With club seating, the front seats will have to be fairly far forward and there is still minimal room between the 2nd and 3rd row seat. Not enough for 3 or 4 pairs of legs for any length of time. Maybe doable if there was very small child in a car seat though.

Pictures of tubular fuselages are natoriously hard to see, but hopefully these will be useful to someone. In the forward facing configuration, there is 17" between the forward crossbar of the third seat and the plane of the middle seat back. In the club configuration, there is 19" between the knee crossbars of the seats. While the club had marginally more room, there would be 3-4 pairs of legs in there vs 1-2. However, club has a more forward CG and also offers usable baggage space between the seat backs of the 1st and 2nd row.

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Whee, I didn't notice until now but my "middle seat" window design is nearly identical to yours except that I tapered the top of the pilot-side window to match the height of forward baggage door window (which is factory). If you get around to snapping some pictures how your acrylic is fastened in I could benefit from it.

- Nic
 
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Leg room with club seating will be the major issue. I understand with the factory bench seat this is significant moment forward in the CG location when it is faced aft. That isn't the case with my seating arrangement. Reversing the middle row moves the CG location aft because the seat has to be positioned further aft. I can position my middle row far enough forward that the best way to load passengers is through the front doors and still maintain decent leg room for those passengers.

Nic, I'll start a thread to post my rear window pics in.
 
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