Tall guy question!

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mrandmrskoch

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I’m 6’6 and want to get my license. I want to know which planes will work for me. I would like to take longer family trips. Which planes have the most legroom and can seat a minimum of 5?
 
You’re going to need to give one up.

Also.. price range? How long? Any idea of load?


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Nathan Hyland said:
You’re going to need to give one up.

Also.. price range? How long? Any idea of load?


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Distance isn’t as big of a deal as comfort. Ideally I’d like my cake and eat it too. Longest distance with largest load capacity. Around $500k
 
You considering multi engine (and aware of the maintenance)? Do you already have your PPL?


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Nathan Hyland said:
You considering multi engine (and aware of the maintenance)? Do you already have your PPL?


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Just beginning. No ppl yet. Trying to figure out if I/we can fit without spending crazy amount of money. Less maintenance would be ideal.
 
mrandmrskoch said:
I’m 6’6 and want to get my license. I want to know which planes will work for me. I would like to take longer family trips. Which planes have the most legroom and can seat a minimum of 5?
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"minimum of 5" what? 5 full size, adults? 2 adults and 3 kids? How big are the kids?

How far is a "longer trip"?

Paved runways or back country strips? Coastal areas or mountains?
 
I think I would start in a school with a C172 for training. If you are tall but not wide it should work fine. After you get the PPL, start the instrument rating. If the end goal is longer trips, that IR will be very useful, and lower your insurance costs too.
As for the other requirements, I don't have experience with these planes but I would start on the simpler side and research a fixed gear, six seat Piper or Cessna. If you out grow those planes and really do make long trips often, I would move up to a twin engine plane. (side note, twin training was really fun)
 
donjohnston said:
"minimum of 5" what? 5 full size, adults? 2 adults and 3 kids? How big are the kids?

How far is a "longer trip"?

Paved runways or back country strips? Coastal areas or mountains?
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2 adults 3 teenagers, that are growing! Chicago to Florida. Florida to Bahamas. I want a plane to explore the country for vacation time with the family. Mostly paved runways I’m sure.
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
I would kick the can down the road.

Get your PPL first. The info and experience gained will give you more realistic context for this thought process.
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All these questions to my question and not one recommendation of a plane that suits a taller guy with a large family. I know there’s a lot to think about, but my main concern is fitting and comfort without spending a million dollars.
 
Mongoose Aviator said:
I would kick the can down the road.

Get your PPL first. The info and experience gained will give you more realistic context for this thought process.
Click to expand...
Tough to spend $15,000 and then find out no planes fit the criteria. Not looking to spend tons of money on a jet just to fit. Was hoping to get feedback on a few planes that are reasonable in price and can fit a large family, and room for legs.
 
farangutan said:
I think I would start in a school with a C172 for training. If you are tall but not wide it should work fine. After you get the PPL, start the instrument rating. If the end goal is longer trips, that IR will be very useful, and lower your insurance costs too.
As for the other requirements, I don't have experience with these planes but I would start on the simpler side and research a fixed gear, six seat Piper or Cessna. If you out grow those planes and really do make long trips often, I would move up to a twin engine plane. (side note, twin training was really fun)
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. Thanks
 
mrandmrskoch said:
I’m 6’6 and want to get my license. I want to know which planes will work for me. I would like to take longer family trips. Which planes have the most legroom and can seat a minimum of 5?
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Cessna 207.
 
mrandmrskoch said:
Chicago
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Well now you’re speaking my language!

Big picture there are aircraft that fit your numbers, but they might not be maintenance light. In single engine world 206/207 or Piper’s M series might align best. But overall my first thought was Twin Bonanza, maybe a 300 series Cessna. Aside from the 206/7, those aircraft require some experience and lots of proficiency - think year 3 of your journey.
 
I don't have a direct answer to your question, but will offer this advice: find out what makes you tall. Just saying you are 6-6 doesn't tell the whole story. Google "The Flaw of Averages" and read that.

For example, I am 6'3" (and claimed 6-4 in my youth). But I have come to learn my height is more in my torso than in my legs (e.g. wake up from gall bladder surgery with an extra incision and the surgeon's explanation is he couldn't reach my gall bladder with the normal incision and implement, and so had to go in in a different place. Also explains why I could never run fast, which doomed my NFL career.) So it is not just about legroom, it is also about sitting height and headroom. That's why the USAF has a sitting height requirement for pilots. Armed with that knowledge, you'll be able to make a better assessment of how you fit when you do get a chance to sit in different planes.

Or...just get a Caravan... Dodge or Cessna, either one.
 
I'm 6' 5" 320lbs (think NFL lineman build) I did my training in a 172 with no issues at all. I currently own a 206 that works for what I do perfectly, but its primarily just me and my wife that fly so I fill the tanks we throw bags in the back and have a 4 plus hour range usually 3 hours its time to stop and stretch.

Here are the numbers for my airplane

Useful load: 1385 lbs
Fuel 87 gal 522 lbs

Leaves 863 lbs for everything inside people and bags.
 
mrandmrskoch said:
All these questions to my question and not one recommendation of a plane that suits a taller guy with a large family. I know there’s a lot to think about, but my main concern is fitting and comfort without spending a million dollars.
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You do realize that "all these questions" are critical in order to answer your question, right? Your original question is pretty much "I sometimes have to carry stuff. What kind of car should I buy?"

There are planes which would meet your posted criteria but would be totally unsuitable for what your actual requirements are.

Having said that, a Cessna 206 would do what you want. When we were living in Chicago, we made the trip to Florida more times than I can count in our 182RG. The 206 with a turbocharged engine would make for a nice trip.

You will definitely need an instrument rating though. I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we made the entire flight VMC.
 
mrandmrskoch said:
Tough to spend $15,000 and then find out no planes fit the criteria. Not looking to spend tons of money on a jet just to fit. Was hoping to get feedback on a few planes that are reasonable in price and can fit a large family, and room for legs.
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I think it's reasonable to ask you to do some homework before we do some homework for you. I'm pretty sure it's all to common in any industry to have a new person come in, do no homework, and ask the community to do it for them.

As an example, my wife and I are combined 300lb after a heavy meal, we'll carry 70lb of luggage, and our mission is far and fast, with a plane that costs under $200k and we don't want to have to maintain two engines. We live in mountainous areas. With all of that, *searching for other threads*, I easily found a few good candidates for planes.

No PPL, no history in GA, not enough data points to go off of. You say you want answers instead of questions. We'd need answers to questions before anyone suggests a half million dollar aircraft.

There's a 99% chance all these answers go nowhere and we're talking to someone who just had a short-lived epiphany. For me, that's fine, it can be fun. But help us help you a little :)
 
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I have two pilot sons - one professional. They are 6'5" and 6'7" respectfully. They are tall and thin - with most of their height from their legs.

Any Cessna (except 150/152) will fit them. 172 tight, 182, 206, 210 just fine.

Mooney - they fit. Long legs and skinny - perfect Mooney.

Bonanza - not so good. Would be even worse if they were fat.

Commander - good for the 6-5, not so much for the 6-7.

You probably will want to use an in ear head set and not the typical "over the head style" like the Bose A20. My professional pilot son quit using the over the head type about a year ago and he will never go back. Got him an inch of headroom for some of the tighter cockpits he flies.

But - get your PPL in a 172 and then worry about buying an airplane.
 
mrandmrskoch said:
but my main concern is fitting and comfort without spending a million dollars.
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Yes, such planes exist. A Piper Lance might work well for you, or a Cherokee 6 if you want fixed gear. Forget about a new airplane; we’re talking the used market here.

BUT, the only way to really know is to go sit in some airplanes. Some nameless guy on the internet, who has never even seen you, cannot possibly judge what you might consider comfortable. Get out to the local airports, meet some people, look at some planes, sit in a few, maybe beg a ride or two.

The even bigger BUT is that you’re putting the cart before the horse. You don’t yet have the knowledge to ask the right questions. And answers we give you today could well be a plane you will hate when you actually fly it and learn its handling characteristics.

And then there’s the family. Have they been up in a small plane before? Some people just don’t like it and find the experience frightening. Some people are afraid to fly with a rookie pilot. Are you sure your family wants to fly with you?

And there are a host of other considerations that might drive your plane selection. Insurance is a major one. Maintenance, parts availability, storage, etc., all come into play.

While you think you’re asking a simple question, the truth is there is no simple answer.

Let me suggest a simple (and free) start. Take this online course: https://kingschools.com/your-first-flying-lesson-new . Then download the FAA’s free texts, the Pilot’s Handbook Of Aeronautical Knowledge (“PHAK”) and the Airplane Flying Handbook (“AFH”), and do a little reading. Finally, meet a few pilots and bum a ride or two.

None of that will cost you a dime (unless you help pay for some of the avgas), but you will end up much better informed and able to ask more meaningful questions and assess the answers.
 
I’m 6’5” and don’t fit in a 172. Last time I went up I wore no shoes, half of me was in the open space between seats, and the seat back was tilted so that looking normally I was facing the ceiling.

Tilted the seat up a bit and canted head over 30 degrees or so. Not conducive to training

Shoes equals failing free and clear controls test

Three point harness kills me, locked seat position is a problem

Etc

So, does the op have a conehead or extra ribs or is perfectly proportional…
 
The advice to actually sit in various aircraft is really important. I'm only 6'2", and a lot of torso (32-33" inseam), but a lot of the "larger" airplanes are actually pretty tight for me. "Larger" airplanes doesn't necessarily equal "roomy cockpit".

For example, the Cherokee 6 line has been recommended. In that airplane I have the seat all the way back, and wish I had a little bit more room. Surprisingly, it's the same for the Cessna 340 and 421. And the 421 is one of the largest "normal" GA piston airplanes out there!

The Malibu line was also suggested. They are good airplanes, and I have a few hundred hours in them, but they aren't particularly roomy up front. Again, for me, the seat is all the way back. Also, getting to the front will likely be a problem for someone taller than me. It's rather acrobatic.

You want 5 seats, and since you have teenagers, that means you've got 5 adults. This is actually pretty limiting, more than you'd think. 5 adults in any "normal" 6-seat airplane isn't real comfortable for long distances. And even if they do all fit, you're not going to be able to fly very far with the fuel you'll be limited to.

You're probably really going to need to be in the cabin-class twin arena to do the flights you want comfortably (and that's assuming you, the pilot, fit up front).

You have a budget of $500k, which is good, because you're going to be looking at some serious hardware to accomplish what you're asking, to do the trips you want to do, without having to stop more than once enroute. (In my experience, passengers don't like stopping once, let alone more than that.)

I don't mean to be a downer, but realistically, 5 adults is a lot for a piston GA airplane, especially when they're likely all tall as well. Get into turbine equipment and it's easy, but not for $500k.
 
RussR said:
You're probably really going to need to be in the cabin-class twin arena to do the flights you want comfortably (and that's assuming you, the pilot, fit up front).
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I suspect he’ll need an instrument ticket, and a twin means a ME rating, too. That $15k for training probably won’t do it.

The amount this whole exercise is going to set him back would buy an awful lot of 1st class airline tickets.
 
You might be able to make a Cirrus SR22 (G5 or better) work if your kids aren't too big and are willing to sit close. I am also 6'6" and there are a lot of planes that have too tight of a pilot seat for me (PA46 I'm looking at you). We only have 2 kids and they're small so don't have the pax issue but another friend of mine has 3 teens and he flies the whole family from Oshkosh to FL (and many other trips) quite often in his SR22 G5 so it can be done - but it will be tight. A real six seater (Bonanza, PA32, C206/207, etc) would be better although many of those are older and slower and will likely be tighter up front for you.
 
I don't know many families that are keen to do those trips at the speeds 500k gets. I suppose unless we're talking like a CE500 or something which is a different category of OpEx than I think most are assuming -- for example, the person happy to feed a citation would have probably just done the PPL and not blinked at the 15K. that makes me think OpEx are somewhat worth consideration and we're talking about piston singles. Most of which are gonna hover somewhere 200kt or less.

Tall and thin seems to favor cessnas and mooneys

Tall and "linebacker" favors the baby beeches (BE19/BE23/BE24) and the larger cessnas. I wouldn't put someone 6'6 in a Bonanza, but I've seen it done in the 33/35, not the 36. At 6'2 and "linebacker" the 36 is about my limit for headroom, and some are so plushly upholstered that I need to kick my head sideways in flight.

Body types are all over the place. You need to go sit in some airplanes. See if you can bum a ride at your local airport or on your local facebook pilot group.
 
RudyP said:
You might be able to make a Cirrus SR22 (G5 or better) work if your kids aren't too big and are willing to sit close. I am also 6'6" and there are a lot of planes that have too tight of a pilot seat for me (PA46 I'm looking at you). We only have 2 kids and they're small so don't have the pax issue but another friend of mine has 3 teens and he flies the whole family from Oshkosh to FL (and many other trips) quite often in his SR22 G5 so it can be done - but it will be tight. A real six seater (Bonanza, PA32, C206/207, etc) would be better although many of those are older and slower and will likely be tighter up front for you.
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Can he get one for his $500k target? They seem to run in the $700k range.
 
Half Fast said:
Can he get one for his $500k target? They seem to run in the $700k range.
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I had not looked at values in a while and they do seem to have gone a little crazy but there are some in that general ballpark and I believe the market is getting softer.
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RudyP said:
I had not looked at values in a while and they do seem to have gone a little crazy but there are some in that general ballpark and I believe the market is getting softer.
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Yeah, might be within spittin' distance anyway. Don't think I'd try for the one in Johannesburg, though. :)
 
schmookeeg said:
Tall and "linebacker" favors the baby beeches (BE19/BE23/BE24)....
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Just thought I'd chime in about the importance of body shape and cockpit shape.

I have a BE23 and love it, but it would probably be more comfortable were I "tall and linebacker." At 5' 3" I'm more of the "short fireplug" shape. Even with the seat all the way forward, I have to use cushions below and behind me to get a proper sight line over the cowling. That means I'm shoved into the space where the cockpit begins to curve inward and I'm actually a bit cramped, despite being in a plane that's known for it's large and comfortable accomodations.

There's just no way @mrandmrskoch can know whether a plane will be comfortable without actually sitting in it. And it would be wise to have the spouse and kiddies try it on, too.
 
6"5, broad shoulder man here. 172 and Warrior for my PPL, no issues at all, other than rubbing shoulders with my instructor... but he smelled nice enough that wasn't a problem. There are many airplanes that will fit you fine, but as you know with cars they may never fit you as if you were 5"9... But you will be fine. I have flown a Cherokee 140 quite a bit as well... no real issues there. Useful load is something I look at, as I am 260 pounds... so that eats that up. Good luck with the PPL!
 
Another question is, how long with the kids be around and wanting to travel with you? So do you REALLY need 5 places?

As mentioned, how do all 4 family members feel about traveling in a light plane? Many people have these plans, and then find the spouse/SO is NOT willing to travel by light plane.

If you haven't done it, at least do a discovery flight/first lesson. Maybe YOU might not like it.

YES, there are planes that will fit you, but you may have to compromise other ways.
 
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