Beaver seat kills my butt

[frozen solid]

Does anyone here know about any modification/replacement for the seat in the beaver? That damn metal ridge behind where the parachute used to go is excruciating after sitting there for an hour or more and I can barely move my legs after sitting in it. I looked at it and can't see any reason that metal thing can't just be drilled out and removed. I can barely stand it anymore.

[lazyboy]

There is an stc to put cessna seats on seat rails....a worthwhile mod

[kilpicki]

Wait till you progress to the Dirty Double its the same

[tcraft]

Put a boat life cushion under the seat cushion, they fit perfect.

[frozen solid]

I "progressed" to the dirty double years ago; it's pretty comfortable comparatively, because it doesn't have that huge stupid metal wedge crushing your sciatic nerve until your legs fall asleep. I don't remember having this much discomfort when I was twenty-two and spent all day every day in a beaver: I also tried the boat cushion idea: it looks like it should work, but no dice; for some reason the DeHavilland engineers have designed a seat that absolutely cannot be made comfortable no matter what. If you went to design the worst possible apparatus for the human form to sit in for more than one minute, you couldn't top the beaver seat. I think the solution would be to drill out the rivets holding that angled piece of metal out of there and then drop a nice soft cushion in there. I don't see what purpose that metal serves.

[rotorfloat]

Perhaps these guys might have something for you.

Oregon Aero

[Northern Skies]

hmmm.... I never noticed a problem with the seat. I probably will now, thanks!

What gets me is the way you have to sit kind of crooked to make yourself fit right. I thought I was blowing out a knee a few weeks ago until I realized it's from resting my laft knee on the door pocket. The vibration must have been doing something, because it felt horrible. Now I just stuff a sweater between there in cruise.

[xsbank]

I used to stick my can of Pledge behind the seat back cushion - it made a nice lumbar support so you didn't end up slouching down so much and it eased the dreaded 'Beaver back.' Anything I put on the seat bottom cushion tended to follow me out the door when I ducked out to dock.

[CJ3PILOT]

Does anyone here know about any modification/replacement for the seat in the beaver? That damn metal ridge behind where the parachute used to go is excruciating after sitting there for an hour or more and I can barely move my legs after sitting in it. I looked at it and can't see any reason that metal thing can't just be drilled out and removed. I can barely stand it anymore.

I last flew a Beaver 30 years ago and my ass still hurts and my back from flying Otters.I guess that the sign of a old bush pilot. (Right..CAT)

[twotter]

It all depends on what type of seat is installed in your airplane.. There are a couple different types and they are quite different.. Personally I prefer the civil seats to the ex military ones..

[turboguy]

Cessna seats in a real airplane? Are you insane? Suck it up sunshine.

[mikegtzg]

Just go to your local Canadian Tire and pick up an OBUS seat cushion. They work great.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/produ ... 9573722741

[North Shore]

Drink more beer = gain weight = fatter ass = less need for seat cushion. Simple.

[1000 HP]

Drink more beer = gain weight = fatter ass = less need for seat cushion. Simple.

So True....

[PanEuropean]

Does anyone here know about any modification/replacement for the seat in the beaver? That damn metal ridge behind where the parachute used to go is excruciating after sitting there for an hour or more...

Jeepers, the seat cushion does not last forever - it is made of foam, it degrades and eventually needs to be replaced. My guess is that the seat cushion (and seat back upholstery) in your aircraft is probably more than 10 years old - if that is the case, just replace the upholstery.

There is actually a TAB (Technical Advisory Bulletin) published for the Twin Otter that advises operators that the pilot seat cushions need to be periodically replaced - when they degrade, they no longer provide adequate protection to prevent the pilot's tail bone (coccyx, the final segment of the spine) from impacting the seat pan in the event of a hard landing. That TAB was published way back in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Many years ago, I knew of a company in Hangar 4 at Calgary airport - Aero Upholstery & Refurbishing - that sold replacement upholstery kits for various DH products - not sure if they are still around, but when I was working at FlightSafety, we bought our interiors from them - we would replace the seat bases and seat backs in the simulators every 24 months.