Whenever my wife has me drive her car, I always have to adjust the seat since she’s 5’-2”. That includes adjusting the seat back because she likes a causal recline and I like it more straight up. Turns out her setting is about the same as the GlaStar.
While sitting in the cockpit the other day, I started looking at what it took to get to all the controls and the shoulder harness setting to allow enough movement. Reaching the fuel valve required additional loosening of the harness. So, to kill two birds with one stone, I looked into what it would take to incline the seat back more forward and Ace Hardware and Aircraft Supply had a solution.
The “Plastic Pads,” more like rubber, fit the bill of about the right diameter and not too thick. They’re a part number 55932. The seat back had to be unbolted from the seat track slides to get access but that was easy. Just mounted them with #10 screws and locknuts and it was done. It gives a little under 2 inches of forward position which is about all I wanted.
Then the issue of the overhead cage brace came up. When in this position, the brace is 2.5 inches above my head which is within striking distance in turbulence. This possibly explains why the seat back was set at the original angle by Stoddard-Hamilton. To cushion the blow, 1/2” pipe insulation, which happened to have 5/8” ID, was wrapped around the brace. Much more comfortable angle now and the shoulder harness doesn’t have to be loosened excessively.
