Too Tall for Onex

[Onex107]

Has anyone ever posted about raising the turtle deck and canopy to accommodate a taller pilot? I have an interested buyer who is a couple inches too tall for the standard canopy. The Onex seat is as low as it can go with a thin cushion. The only other option would be to lengthen the cockpit box so the seat can recline more.

[prhutson]

Maury, I was thinking of a second, fixed, more acutely angled windscreen, with the shorter but higher canopy leading back to higher sheet metal added to the turtleneck. My biggest concern is that it would block airflow to the v-stab and rudder.

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[13brv3]

I don't recall reading anything about adding height to the canopy on a Onex. I typically pay attention to anything that mentions headroom, since I usually have problems with that. I'm only 6'1", but it's all torso (mostly neck). I'm just finishing the Onex now, and I'm a little disappointing in the headroom. With the thin factory cushion, I only have about 1/2" of space left. If I make the cushion even thinner, it becomes uncomfortable where your legs go over the spar. I can make it work, but it's not going to be ideal.

Rusty

[prhutson]

Perhaps attaching an arched metal channel over a reinforced, partial cut out of the canopy, somewhat like a metal bubble? It would be easier to shape and even bring down to the existing turtledeck. It would limit direct overhead visibility, but would provide some shade. I'd probably go through a couple of canopies trying to cut a hole. Might need one or two additional aluminum arches to provide support for the weakened, cut canopy.
Does anyone have a cracked Onex canopy I could buy and play with?
Too Tall Paul

[13brv3]

I've been giving this some thought and if I'm unfortunate enough to have to replace the canopy at some point I may try it. The rear bow was plenty long as I recall, so I'd leave the front bow at the stock height, but raise the rear bow 1-2 inches. That would of course raise it above the turtledeck. You would then have to add a fairing of sorts to the top of the turtledeck to match the new canopy height. That might not be hard to do with aluminum, but certainly could be done with fiberglass. It might be aesthetically questionable, but it wouldn't bother me.

The stock canopy may not have enough extra extra material on the bottom edge, but I wonder if Sonex could arrange to provide one cut with as much extra material as the mold allows. I expect they normally cut them relatively close to the expected shape to make them as small as possible for handling. Worst case, the frame could be modified to raise the bottom edge of the canopy.

In retrospect, I probably should have made more of an effort to sit in one, and then I might have done this when I installed my canopy.

Rusty

[Hap Hazard]

So the elephant in the room on this one is, how tall is too tall?
Any 6 ft, 2 in Onex owners out there who would care to elaborate?

Cheers,
HH

[13brv3]

"Too tall" is really hard to define, since people don't have standardized proportions. I'm 6'1", but I'm more torso and less legs. For headroom you can measure seated height, which is sitting on the floor with your back to the wall. My seated height is 38.5" and I only have about a half inch of headroom with the factory cushions (about 1.5" soft foam).

Lots of tall people have exactly the opposite problem where they have no legroom. The pedals are installed at the location that fits you, and there's a good bit of range allowed. I think legroom issues might end up being your knee hitting something rather than the position of the pedals though.

Rusty

[thomasjones42]

Onex, 6'1" with helmet, thin seat cushion, no problem.

[bnvoss]

Another viewpoint. I have a Legacy Sonex with single stick/standard seating and I consider it to be a perfect Bubba Single Seat airplane. I'm 6-2 and 240 lbs and I clear the canopy by about an inch with headsets on - by setting in the middle of the seat. Works for me.
Bob Vossman Sonex 550 with 560 hours.