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Firestar II Fit?

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R. Hankins

Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 185
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon

Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:31 pm Post subject: Firestar II Fit?

Hello:



A friend of mine is thinking about buying a Firestar II.  He is 6' 1" and weighs 280 lbs.  The plane is out of state and he is worried about fitting into it.  He squeezed himself into my KXP (stock webbing seat) without too much trouble and had plenty of leg room, but was a little unhappy with the headroom.  Is there any difference between the Firestar II and the original in terms of headroom?



I agreed to ask "The List" their thoughts.  If there are any Firestar II drivers of similar size out there, please comment.



Thanks in advance

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Roger in Oregon
1992 KXP 503 - N1782C

John Jung

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 108
Location: Surprise, AZ, USA

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:22 am Post subject: Re: Firestar II Fit?

 	  R. Hankins wrote: 	
		  Hello:



I agreed to ask "The List" their thoughts.  If there are any Firestar II drivers of similar size out there, please comment.



Thanks in advance 	




I am of similar size and I have only one problem with headroom in my Firestar II. I wear a helmet, and the extra height makes it close. Without the helmet, no problem. Also, if I didn't have the chute mounted in the gap seal, it would not be as "close" for the helmet.



John Jung

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John Jung
Firestar II N6163J
Surprise, AZ

George Alexander

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 245
Location: SW Florida

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:39 am Post subject: Re: Firestar II Fit?

Roger:



My stats are: 6'3", 260# and another issue, size 14 shoe.



Headroom in the FS II is not a problem, even wearing a helmet.   (Had an original FS with a solid gap seal where headroom was an issue.  Copied a fix that Dennis Souder had come up with for a friend by putting an inverted 10" pie pan on the underside of the gap seal to give a little more headroom. Worked great.)



The issue for me in the FSII is leg room.  (At 6'1", this may not be as much of a problem for your friend.)  The front seat back rests against the tube that runs side to side of the cage.  This tube is the forward edge of the rear seat, but more importantly, provides support to keep the cage from buckling in case of a nose first impact.  This layout causes my knees to be very high and restricts the side-to-side throw of the stick.   



So far, my fixes have been to: replace the foam in the seat back with the thinnest that I could find and to install a piece of 3/8" brake line toward the rear edge of the windscreen to push the sides out so that I can open my legs to give more room.  This also forces my big feet into an open "V" on the rudder pedals  (  -\-     -/-  )   so my toes don't rub the nose cone.



In the attached image (cropped from one taken by Chris Mallory) you can get some sense of  the head room, the bow in the wind screen and the position of my knees.  



Since I would not likely ever put anything other than gear in the "back seat", am looking at possibly moving that tube a few inches aft in a way that will not violate the integrity of the cage.   Would also have to reconfigure the seat bottom to clear the pullies/cables.  Have discussed alternatives with several knowledgable people.  Work in progress.

 

All said and done, I feel very comfortable with the current setup and it's worth whatever it takes to fly this FSII.



 	  R. Hankins wrote: 	
		  Hello:

A friend of mine is thinking about buying a Firestar II.  He is 6' 1" and weighs 280 lbs.  The plane is out of state and he is worried about fitting into it.  He squeezed himself into my KXP (stock webbing seat) without too much trouble and had plenty of leg room, but was a little unhappy with the headroom.  Is there any difference between the Firestar II and the original in terms of headroom?

	
 	  Code:

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George Alexander
FS II R503
E-LSA N709FS
http://www.oh2fly.net

HShack(at)AOL.COM
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:53 am Post subject: Firestar II Fit?

In a message dated 9/8/2006 9:41:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, gtalexander(at)att.net writes:

  	  Quote: 	
		  Headroom in the FS II is not a problem, even wearing a helmet.   (Had an original FS with a solid gap seal where headroom was an issue.  Copied a fix that Dennis Souder had come up with for a friend by putting an inverted 10" pie pan on the underside of the gap seal to give a little more headroom. Worked great.) 	


  

  

 I'm 6' (at) 270 lb.  When I wore a helmet, it would hit the bottom of the metal gap seal.  My solution was to pop rivet in the biggest opaque plastic mixing bowl I could get from Wal-mart.  Worked pretty good, but helmet would still hit some.

  

 The final solution was to completely remove the bottom & front of the metal gap seal, extended by 4" & installed the chromoly "bow" (included with kit to attach full enclosure windshield).  Fabricated a new windshield out of .090" lexan that attaches at the top to the "bow".  Formed an aluminum filler to go between the new windshield & the gap seal.  My new windshield is shaped pretty much like the old "shorty" windshield- except taller.  Wind doesn't push my head back all the time & my head has lots of room.



  

 Howard Shackleford

FS II

SC

  [quote][b]

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David.Lehman

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 265
Location: "Lovely" Fresno CA

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:19 am Post subject: Firestar II Fit?

Howard...

  

 Would you please send me a picture(s) of that setup...

  

 Thanx...

  

 David



 

 On 9/8/06, HShack(at)aol.com (HShack(at)aol.com) <HShack(at)aol.com (HShack(at)aol.com)> wrote:  	  Quote: 	
		     

   In a message dated 9/8/2006 9:41:21 AM Eastern Standard Time, gtalexander(at)att.net (gtalexander(at)att.net) writes:

  	  Quote: 	
		  Headroom in the FS II is not a problem, even wearing a helmet.   (Had an original FS with a solid gap seal where headroom was an issue.  Copied a fix that Dennis Souder had come up with for a friend by putting an inverted 10" pie pan on the underside of the gap seal to give a little more headroom. Worked great.) 	


  

  



  I'm 6' (at) 270 lb.  When I wore a helmet, it would hit the bottom of the metal gap seal.  My solution was to pop rivet in the biggest opaque plastic mixing bowl I could get from Wal-mart.  Worked pretty good, but helmet would still hit some. 

  

 The final solution was to completely remove the bottom & front of the metal gap seal, extended by 4" & installed the chromoly "bow" (included with kit to attach full enclosure windshield).  Fabricated a new windshield out of .090" lexan that attaches at the top to the "bow".  Formed an aluminum filler to go between the new windshield & the gap seal.  My new windshield is shaped pretty much like the old "shorty" windshield- except taller.  Wind doesn't push my head back all the time & my head has lots of room. 



  

 Howard Shackleford

FS II

SC



  	  Quote: 	
		  do not archive

	


 



	


-- 

ô¿ô  "Attitude is everything ~ pick a good one"...   [quote][b]

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Ã´Â¿Ã´

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to the society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute."

--- George Bernard Shaw

HShack(at)aol.com
Guest

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:15 pm Post subject: Firestar II Fit?

In a message dated 9/8/2006 11:24:54 AM Eastern Standard Time, david(at)davidlehman.net writes:

  	  Quote: 	
		   Howard...

  

 Would you please send me a picture(s) of that setup..

  

 Thanx...

  

 David

	
  

 Will send pics in a few days.  I don't have camera right now.

  

 Howard Shackleford

FS II

SC

  [quote][b]

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Don G

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 156
Location: Central Illinois

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:31 pm Post subject: Re: Firestar II Fit?(headroom)

I had a similiar problem with my FireFly. I solved it with a solid alum center gap seal section with no bottom. I also hinged the top surface midway...or actually right above the wing attachment pins so it can be easily raised up to get to these pins. Works very well.

Gained 7 inches of headroom, now I can take off my headset and raise it above my head and place it on a hook I fashioned in the upper rear of the cockpit. I can reachup and take off my hat and scratch my head and never touch the top!. Here is a link to my FireFly site and the "modifications" page.  scroll down for several pics of this mod.



http://www.geocities.com/dagger369th/modifcations.htm

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Don G.
Central Illinois
Kitfox IV Speedster
Luscombe 8A
RV9A

R. Hankins

Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 185
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject: Re: Firestar II Fit?

Thanks to all for the good information.  George, the picture was very helpful.  Howard, please send me a copy of your set up also.  I will pass the information on.



Thanks again,

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Roger in Oregon
1992 KXP 503 - N1782C

R. Hankins

Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 185
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon

Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:20 pm Post subject: Re: Firestar II Fit?

Don,



Was typing up my thanks while you posted your info.  Great picture of some very useful mods. 



Thanks



Do not archive

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Roger in Oregon
1992 KXP 503 - N1782C

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