182 b back seat

I have a 1959 182B with the F.Atlee dodge bush seats in the back.

I find that there is NO head room with these.

I put the standard bench seat back in and there is tons of head room.

Does anyone know if there is a split rear seat that gives as much head room as the original bench seat?

It does not have to fold up like the Attlee Dodge seats do.


Thanks

We had the Atlee seats in our '53 180, didn't have any headroom issues, just slid them forward quite a ways. If we got them too far back, then yes, the back seaters would bump their heads.

Not sure there's an easy way to get a split bench in there, but you are asking the right crowd.

gb

Late model 185's came equipped with individual rear seats that attached to the side wall via nut plates built in. There were two sets of nutplates, so you could move each seat forward or aft. I don't know how hard it would be to install those nut plates, but those seats always worked well, though they don't fold up to stow. They MAY sit a little lower than the Atlee Dodge seats...

So, you putting the Jolly Green Giant in the back??

MTV

I, too, am surprised to hear of headroom issues with Atlees Jumpseats.

The late model 185 "Jump Seat" (middle removable seat) installation is easy to accomplish in the earlier model airplanes, and pretty light-weight. Don't forget that you will have to come up with the seat-belt 'anchors' for the outboard belt attach points.

If you wish to sell the Atlee seats you have, please Personal Message me, it's the little "PM" button at the bottom of my post.

Thanks. DAVE

I own a '73 182, and have considered removing the stock bench and putting in Atlees. Would be nice to fold a seat up when hauling something big. From the early 60's on, the 182's are a different airframe than the 50's vintage, which were identical to 180s. I'm wondering if anyone here has atlees in the newer wide body 182's and if there is a headroom issue in those planes? I noticed the stock bench has a bit of a recline built into it, so it could be by having you sitting back at an angle Cessna avoided the headroom issue? I looked at Atlees in a friends 180, and they were pretty low to the floor, anyone get sore legs sitting in them? Hate to spend a couple grand on a set and find out they aren't comfortable.

Cessna jump seat in a 1959 C180B.

I didn't spend much time in the back, but the times I did I wasn't overly comfortable, but not too bad for an hour or so. The back seat of a 180/185 has never been noted for extreme comfort that I'm aware of anyway. My wife who is 5 foot nothing did fine back there, except for being cold in the winter. There is something to be said for having an intercom and the on/off switch. I have ridden on the Cessna jump seats some, and I can say without a doubt that the Atlee's are better, for me. I would think the Atlee's would be the way to go in a newer 182 if you wanted portable, the extra cockpit width is a real bonus.

The only complaint I had with the Atlee seats is the fact that unless the tracks were totally free of sand and dirt, they were a bit of a pain to get in and out. Might have just been ours, though. Head room was never an issue, and we hauled some pretty big dudes sometimes.

gb

I liked the BAS seats I had.

Heck, they folded sideways, and I installed them myself!

Try the back seat of your cub if you want to complain about headroom

Starting to sound like I might just keep the bench in the 182P. Almost always have 2 people back there - with the wife being one of them - so 4 passenger comfort is at a premium over the occassional need to put an oversize load in the cabin. With extended baggage and the huge storage lockers in the Aerocet floats I am doing fine for hauling all the gear. Maybe I'll have Oregon Aero work up that bench seat to make it real nice.

Here's a tip for makiing the bench easily removable- replace the bolts holding the seatback to the bench with hitch-pins & clips. Install so the clips are on the outboard side, next to the cabin wall. Then in the future, just pull the hitch-pins, then remove the seat back, then the seat bottom. Reinstall in reverse order. Waaay easier than trying to wrassle the complete rear seat assembly out in one piece- that resulted in a lot of scratched rear windows & gouged side panels in my 170 before I did the hitch-pin mod.
Later I installed a single (RH) 185 jump seat. It didn't fold, but the back lifted right off. Real handy- it made a three place airplane out of it but also made it lots easier to haul stuff and to access your always-on-board gear too. Field approval 337 required but that was a snap since all the stuff was right out of a 185.

Eric

hotrod180 said:

Here's a tip for makiing the bench easily removable- replace the bolts holding the seatback to the bench with hitch-pins & clips. Install so the clips are on the outboard side, next to the cabin wall. Then in the future, just pull the hitch-pins, then remove the seat back, then the seat bottom. Reinstall in reverse order. Waaay easier than trying to wrassle the complete rear seat assembly out in one piece- that resulted in a lot of scratched rear windows & gouged side panels in my 170 before I did the hitch-pin mod.
Later I installed a single (RH) 185 jump seat. It didn't fold, but the back lifted right off. Real handy- it made a three place airplane out of it but also made it lots easier to haul stuff and to access your always-on-board gear too. Field approval 337 required but that was a snap since all the stuff was right out of a 185.

Eric

Click to expand...

Eric,
I know this is an old post, but I am just now struggling with my own C182P back seat issues. Do you happen to have any photos or further suggestions regarding your hitch pin approach? I think your 170 rear seat may attach differently than my 182 rear seat. I have 3 bolts going into the floor and can't visualize how hitch pins would work here. It's a bit easier to see how they would work on the two side mounts. Thank you for your help.

I love the 185 jump seat approach, and will look into that as well. Again, any photos available?
Thanks!
Rick

My 170 rear seat bench retained the two bolts into the floor and two into the sidewalls.
The hitchpins were only used to connect the back rest to the bench. e
Remove the back, then remove the bench.
Lots easier than rassling the whole seat assembly out all at once.