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STC is renewed for 206 seats in 180/185

No experience sitting in them in flight, but I installed them in a 180 I had a hand in building several years ago.

The report is that they are comfy.

There is not alot of headroom in the early 180 rear seats if not slid all the way forward and especially if it has an original style headliner.

That applies to Atlees and BAS jump seats as well.
 
Look for the back seat from the 1975 and later 4 place interior 180/185. They are comfortable and they attach to the floor only. I never could figure why a lot of those airplanes were ordered with the milk stool seats. The middle seat in the 6 seat deluxe version had a shorter back rest height. No STC required.
 
Pete,

Those "milk stool" seats you refer to attach to the sidewall, and remove easily with just two bolts. They then come apart into the base and back, so they can be easily stowed in the baggage compartment.

For working pilots, the full width back seats severely limit loading possibilities. Try getting a 70 hp outboard motor in a 185 with that monster back seat in it.....and stay in CG. Lots of loads require more length than the full width seats afford.

And, if you're on floats, more than likely the airplane can just barely carry four "actual size" humans and a decent load of gas. When on floats, I almost never kept more than three seats in the 185s that I worked. Two passengers and all their stuff plus a load of gas was about all those planes could legally haul on floats.

At one point, I was "loaned" a 185 with the full width rear seat (actually the center seat, since the kiddy seat in back is actually the "rear" seat), and I quickly found out what a useless arrangement that was, assuming you're moving people and stuff with the plane.

MTV
 
Mike,
You are absolutely correct on everything which you said and I agree with you. In this neck of the woods very few 180/185s were used as working airplanes. Mine has the 4 full sized seats. whenever I went on an extended trip the back seat stayed home leaving room for the cargo. I do believe that when dealers ordered these planes for resale they ordered the milk stools. All of the ones which I was involved in ordering had the comfort seats.

I just mentioned this to give JohnnyR another option. He'll likely have a difficult time in finding one because the bulk of the airplanes had the milk stools.
 
This would be for the center row seats. I don't intend to ever have rear seats in ours. The one I'm thinking of replacing is as Mike describes. Here's a pic
20160727_114204 (2017_03_16 22_24_38 UTC).jpg
 

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The seat which I mentioned has more leg room, a single bench with two separate split fold down adjustable position backs which line up with the post ahead of the back window.
 
Sorry, I should have given more info. We frequently fly with just three seats for space and weight, plus I want to be able to quickly remove for bulky cargo stowage/retrieval. So, the quick remove 206 center seats seem appropriate, no?
 
If you sometimes want a three seat arraignment then yes. The seat which I mentioned is quickly removable and is a two seat bench. Just four latches to studs on the floor.
 
I purchased this STC a couple of months ago, it may be a while till I get around to installing it as the seats came with and are going in a project. One thing about the installation that I didn't know is that the instructions call for the seats to be installed on the tracks so that they latch in the forward hole in the track. The actual hole that the latching pin for the left seat goes in is approximately 1.5 inches forward of the aft end of the left outboard track. This places the forward edge of the seat two or three inches forward of the door opening, the same as the stock mid row jump seats or the mid row bench seat. I thought that the seat could be slid back to make more leg room but that is not a option as the STC is very specific. Also keep in mind that you have to buy four seat tracks which you will modify to use with the STC so the cost of the tracks is around $1000. The installation also requires that the additional bulkheads under the floor that are part of the float kit are in place as the aft end of the installed tracks set on these partial bulkheads. Attached is a photo of a left 206 mid row low back utility seat and a right standard 180/185 mid row jump seat setting in the position they would be in when installed in my 69 180H project. I still think they are the more comfortable choice just can become costly by the time they are installed.
 

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bat443 said:
I purchased this STC a couple of months ago, it may be a while till I get around to installing it as the seats came with and are going in a project. One thing about the installation that I didn't know is that the instructions call for the seats to be installed on the tracks so that they latch in the forward hole in the track. The actual hole that the latching pin for the left seat goes in is approximately 1.5 inches forward of the aft end of the left outboard track. This places the forward edge of the seat two or three inches forward of the door opening, the same as the stock mid row jump seats or the mid row bench seat. I thought that the seat could be slid back to make more leg room but that is not a option as the STC is very specific. Also keep in mind that you have to buy four seat tracks which you will modify to use with the STC so the cost of the tracks is around $1000. The installation also requires that the additional bulkheads under the floor that are part of the float kit are in place as the aft end of the installed tracks set on these partial bulkheads. Attached is a photo of a left 206 mid row low back utility seat and a right standard 180/185 mid row jump seat setting in the position they would be in when installed in my 69 180H project. I still think they are the more comfortable choice just can become costly by the time they are installed.
Click to expand...
For anyone thinking about this mod, the above comment isn't quite correct. The locating pin hole in the track is further aft than described. Here are my seats installed. And yes, I know the thread is from 2017. My plane is from 1966 :)




206 seats.jpg
 
Very nice install! I have been running the same for over 30 years in our 180H. IMO these seats offer the most utility allowing single or dual seat options, and both remove/install in a minute or less transitioning to/from cargo runs. These are real seats, unlike the folding "jump" seats. Try getting a paying client to sit in one of those camp chairs for hours on end. I rarely operate with the right forward seat installed thus providing the right rear seat pax unlimited legroom. An additional benefit of this configuration I appreciate is moving the loaded CG aft. The only "problem" I had when I was working my 180 was these seats are so comfortable I had a hard time getting the biologist back in the Cub!
TR
 
Curious what those 206 seats weigh?
I have the BAS (now Lakevue) jump seats in mine--
both those & the Atlee Dodge jump seats are quite light,
as are the stock Cessna jump seats.
 
hotrod180 said:
Curious what those 206 seats weigh?
I have the BAS (now Lakevue) jump seats in mine--
both those & the Atlee Dodge jump seats are quite light,
as are the stock Cessna jump seats.
Click to expand...
There will be a weight difference to jump seats of course. But not much difference to the bench that came out. I will post some numbers in a couple weeks after I weigh them both. The 206 ones are surprisingly light.

Whether the weight delta to little, less comfortable seats is worthwhile really depends upon your use case. If you rarely haul passengers, why bother hauling comfortable passenger seats? Or if flights are generally short, why bother. But if your family has to sit back there while you fly from LA to South Dakota, Or even LA to Phoenix, then the weight takes a back seat (pun intended) to keeping them happy. The bench is also super comfy but less versatile for cargo ops and less room for 6'4" 13 year-Olds to stretch out.
 
I agree. I like the jumpseats cuz I rarely have back seaters.
But if I carried pax back there a lot, I'd stick with the bench.
I modified the bench in my old 170 by using hitch pins & clips in place of the bolts that hold the seat back to the bench.
Made it very easy to pull the back seat out without scratching the windows or tearing the interior--
remove the backrest (two pins), then unbolt the bench (4 bolts) & pull it out.
But still too bulky to stow in the plane when removed.
 
hotrod180 said:
I agree. I like the jumpseats cuz I rarely have back seaters.
But if I carried pax back there a lot, I'd stick with the bench.
I modified the bench in my old 170 by using hitch pins & clips in place of the bolts that hold the seat back to the bench.
Made it very easy to pull the back seat out without scratching the windows or tearing the interior--
remove the backrest (two pins), then unbolt the bench (4 bolts) & pull it out.
But still too bulky to stow in the plane when removed.
Click to expand...
I may put something in the wayback/extended to store the seats securely. Lightweight foam/carbon stringers with short track sections attached, or similar. I guess I can just mold up some carbon tracks for that.
 
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