Tall pilot looking to buy a time building plane

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Chad Lindsey

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Chad Lindsey
I just received my commercial certificate and I’m currently looking at planes to buy to build time but the only problem is that I’m 6’6

I did all my training in a 172 and I fit well enough but honestly I’m ready to fly something different but I know there aren’t a lot of options out there for a guy my size.

I’ve been looking at Piper Cherokees and Grumman Travelers but both are looking like they would be on the tight side if I was even able to fit. I’m pretty new to the GA world so any ideas you guys have would be awesome
 
GeorgeC said:
Welcome to PoA. Al Mooney was 6'5"...
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Wow... that was faster than usual :D

It depends too on your torso/leg ratio and if you're tall & skinny or tall & fat (like me).

I can tell you that this is the one thread where "Bonanza" is not the answer.

You will fit in a cherokee 6/ lance. I'm 6'4" and I have a couple notches to go back yet. Club seating models have substantially less leg room, but I believe you can remove the middle seat and move the stops to regain it.

I often hear 182's recommended for big guys, but I don't have any personal experience.
 
Jim K said:
Wow... that was faster than usual :D

It depends too on your torso/leg ratio and if you're tall & skinny or tall & fat (like me).

I can tell you that this is the one thread where "Bonanza" is not the answer.

You will fit in a cherokee 6/ lance. I'm 6'4" and I have a couple notches to go back yet. Club seating models have substantially less leg room, but I believe you can remove the middle seat and move the stops to regain it.

I often hear 182's recommended for big guys, but I don't have any personal experience.
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We’ve owned both the 172 and the 182RG. If OP fits “well enough” in the 172 then he’d like the 182 better. I think the interior cabin height is about the same, but the 182 is definitely roomier. If you’re tall you have longer arms too and need the elbow room. My husband (6’2”) says definitely don’t get a Baron. Oh he loved our Baron but I guess the head room is shorter than our Cessnas.
 
Try on a Tomahawk. Pretty big on the inside.
 
a 182 should fit you good! I'm short at 5'7 and I'm almost too short for the plane with its high panel. I have several friends over 6' and they fit comfortably in it, the ability to lower the seats, combo'd with the high panel, and lot of leg room makes it great for tall folk.
 
What are you building time towards? I ask because the destination airplanes may be tight for you too.. I know nothing about airliner cockpits if that is the goal but I can tell you that a lot of bizjet front seats are too small for people our size (I am 6'6" also). I can't fit in a Phenom 100 or 300 front left seat for example and not many of the pre-2010 Citations.
 
I’m 6’4 and it was tight in my 172. The top of the head-band frequently touched the head-liner. I have several more inches of head-room available in my Cardinal RG and could gain even more by tilting the seat-back further back. I also have more room for my legs under the panel and the yoke.

I did not fit in any of the pipers I tried or the few V-Tails I could afford. I fit length-wise in the few Mooney’s I checked but it was tight enough width-wise that my wife and I would have had to stagger seats. She’s petite. I’m not.

Gary
 
Chad Lindsey said:
I just received my commercial certificate and I’m currently looking at planes to buy to build time but the only problem is that I’m 6’6

I did all my training in a 172 and I fit well enough but honestly I’m ready to fly something different but I know there aren’t a lot of options out there for a guy my size.

I’ve been looking at Piper Cherokees and Grumman Travelers but both are looking like they would be on the tight side if I was even able to fit. I’m pretty new to the GA world so any ideas you guys have would be awesome
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Welcome to POA. Good luck with your training. A Commander 112 to 115 would work for you.
 
GaryV said:
I have several more inches of head-room available in my Cardinal RG and could gain even more by tilting the seat-back further back.
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Cardinal with articulating seat. Highly recommended. And if you don’t need speed, the fixed gear versions can be very affordable.
 
Socata TB-10 could also be worth looking at. Not so many around in the US, so they are a little harder to find, but prices are relatively reasonable for such rather newish airplanes (in GA terms), most were built in the late 90s or later. Parts supply is supposed to be very good and the Lycoming O-360 is known for making very little trouble. They‘re not super fast airplanes, but the fixed gear keeps the insurance costs in check for a low time pilot.
 
For the Traveler (AA-5) it might depend on how your height is distributed. The seat will go really far back in a Grumman if you have long legs and arms. I'm 6'0" and have quite a bit of clearance with the canopy. You might try finding someone to let you test fit in a Grumman. The AA-5X series is pretty much all the same for fit.
 
Yeah, the rapidity of the Mooney response is pretty comical but it's true. Problem is, they cover a wide range of airworthiness vs neglect. Also, there's a lot of shops that hate working on them and the company keeps going bankrupt. Frankly, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with one. But being completely objective: the performance per dollar can be very attractive.

That said, I'd be looking at a fixed gear C177. Big, wide-opening doors, lots of space, decent performance, and ease off insurability.

Just make sure the spar had been inspected properly.
 
Part of it might depend on what else you want to do with the plane, if anything, besides time building. I love pa-28's, for a lot of reasons, but they're not the roomiest, and they only have one door. I'm "only" 6', so the height isn't a problem, but left to right two full sized people are pretty close to each other, and more so in the back. But, of course the bigger the plane, the more $/hr in fuel, more or less. Whatever you do, I'd suggest rent/borrow/ride-along in whatever you're thinking about before you go. Sometimes in the air comfort isn't the same as on the ground, and vice-versa.

Also consider what you're building your time for, and how you'll be doing it. If you're going to be doing primary instruction, then I'd look to 172's and PA-28's, as they're easy and relatively inexpensive to maintain. At 6'6, if you're anywhere halfway warm and doing 2 person flights, I'd look into a 180 rather than a 150, if you go the PA-28 route.
 
If you’re not excessivel wide, a Mooney will fit you well. In fact you will be able to get the seat back TOO far.
 
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I have two tall sons - 6'7" and 6'5". I have a Beech Sundowner for them to train in and a Commander 114B to travel.

Both of these low wing airplanes offer good headroom for tall pilots and no "shoulder touching" for the two occupants in the front seats. I would never want to own a plane where I was in contact with my co-pilot when I flew.

Also - any of the Cessnas are great for tall pilots - 182 or 206. My boys love the 206. They claim that is the roomiest of all.
 
GaryV said:
I fit length-wise in the few Mooney’s I checked but it was tight enough width-wise that my wife and I would have had to stagger seats. She’s petite. I’m not.
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Weird. Isn’t the Mooney wider than a 172 or 182?
 
6’2” with 34” inseam and never felt crowded in my Grumman Tiger…..seat goes back so far I cannot safely reach pedals.
 
It's funny that different people have completely different leg length. Had a girlfriend that was maybe 5'9, with a 36" inseam. I had to adjust the seat forward when I got in the car, and I'm 3" taller.
 
bflynn said:
Weird. Isn’t the Mooney wider than a 172 or 182?
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Its the shoulder width, the windows pinch in a little. If you stagger the seats a notch you’ll be fine.
It’s the sports car position (low seat, legs outstretched) that’s not comfortable for some. You either love it or hate it.
 
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Yes, I’ve had a sports car around, although not my daily driver, for most of my adult life and feel quite at home with my legs outstretched. What I do not like is sitting on a bar stool with the rudder pedals below me and the panel three feet away as in a 172.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
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Morgan3820 said:
Baby beeches. Tall and cheap
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I think this is good suggestion! I haven’t been in one in ten years, but I flew one with a friend who was a good sized, tall football lineman type and we both fit very comfortably. Wonderful flying plane too, just not fast. At the time the only plane I had was my 140, so the slow part didn’t catch my attention.

My observation is anecdotal, but I have seen a number of them over the years and all that I have seen have fallen into one of two categories: either hangared in show car condition or rotting into the ground on a ramp. I’ve never seen one in average condition.

Since the OP said nothing about wanting speed, a Musketeer or one of the variants might be just the answer if he can find a good one,
 
Since OP wants to build time, how important is time in a retractable vs fixed gear? And how important is cross country time?
All things being equal if 2 candidates, one with 1500 hours in a 172 that rarely left their state vs one with 1500 hours in a Mooney that’s been to almost every state, and some international travel (Caribbean, Canada, etc)…. I know which one I would hire.
 
Note in the Piper Cherokee line, the early models are shorter than the later versions, I think mid-70s? About the time they went to tapered wing and Archer/Dakota names.
Beech Sierra, similar to Musketeers, are pretty roomy. As mentioned, all highly indivdual with respect to legs vs torso size. One really needs to 'try on' various models.
 
I am currently in the process of buying an AA-5, 6'3", and broad-shouldered. I feel like I have to duck to get the canopy past my noggin, but then there's plenty of headroom. As mentioned a few times before, the seat adjusts all the way back. Not mentioned earlier, but worth the text, the Grumman is faster than the "other" 150HP certified models.
 
RudyP said:
What are you building time towards? I ask because the destination airplanes may be tight for you too.. I know nothing about airliner cockpits if that is the goal but I can tell you that a lot of bizjet front seats are too small for people our size (I am 6'6" also). I can't fit in a Phenom 100 or 300 front left seat for example and not many of the pre-2010 Citations.
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This. I used to work nights on the ramp for a large FBO for extra $$$. One night, I got a chance to sit in the front seat of one of their Lears. I squeezed myself into the seat and any desires I'd ever had of moving up to flying biz jets instantly disappeared.
 
bflynn said:
Weird. Isn’t the Mooney wider than a 172 or 182?
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Yes and no. The number Mooney puts out is from the widest spot. But that's not where you need the width. They "cheat" when they say how wide it is.
 
EdFred said:
Yes and no. The number Mooney puts out is from the widest spot. But that's not where you need the width. They "cheat" when they say how wide it is.
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Exactly. As I posted earlier, I have two giant sons. They easily fit in a Mooney and could fly one very comfortably - alone. Leg room is almost unlimited - that seat goes back a long way. Shoulder room - not so much.
 
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