Some fun, Tall people and the Lear.

[Airpiraterob]

how do you fit?
just currious. im 6-3, & not too lanky.

ive met bigger and taller that fit in these things. I tried to wear a lr25 once and..well..it was a little uncomfortable, but 40 minutes later it would hurt.

how do you stilt's do it? practice alot of Yoga?

 

[LR25]

Thats funny you should ask. I was just explaining this very thing to my co- worker.

With the Lears that have the modded middle console, the one that is flat not slanted, it takes grace to get in without cleaning any switches off of the thing when you are 6 ft and have size 13 feet.

I also used a Jepp trip book to slide under one a$$ cheek to stop the numbness after 2 hours.

A guy I used to fly with was 6'5, I am 6'0, when we got out of the thing the line guys would ask how we even turn the yoke, I replied with syncronized breathing.

 

[AviateYou]

Well I am 6'3" and about 265 and if you wear wingtips with no more than a 1 inch heel it works even in a 25. Left seat: left foot first over the center console just parallel of the control column, then left hand on the visor clear of the fire bottle arm switch, then grab your right ankle so as not break any thing on the center console (Lears have very little delicate switches there) and slide on in. The nice thing is that even if the seat locking pin fails you can't go any further back. The Right seat is the same just start with your right foot. Getting out is the same if you do in flight, make sure the PF covers the throttles and control column. And if you wear the New Slates Navy Blue trousers with the really nice sheen on them, it keeps the glutes from going num and cramping it sounds funny but it works. I have flown them for two years and the slacks do make a difference. CHEERS!

 

[rice]

6'3" and 230lbs. The 35 was tight but doable for a couple/few hours. Felt like I needed a shoe horn to get in and out of the 25. But my all-time worst was the 3 or 4 med flights I had to do in the company's back-up MED aircraft, a LR-24. Had to hold on to the top of the horns on the yoke because my knees were in the way. Looking back I'm very greatful I never had a CJ-610 crap out on me.

 

[LJDRVR]

I'm 6'4", 225 LBS and have been flying all of em' except the 24 for about 4 1/2 years now. Not a problem at all. You will be sore the first month or two until your body figures out how to "slouch properly". Quite honestly the most difficult part is figuring out what to do with your elbows. (Seriously!) One other problem seems to be the right seat of the 25 where the emergency brake handle digs into your left leg. Good incentive to upgrade fast.

People always ask me how I fit in a lear, my response is "Mind over matter. I don't mind, so it doesn't matter."

The more you fly them, the easier it gets.

Hey Rob, I see you're an MST3K fan....COOL!

CHEERS!

 

[501261]

I'm 6'3" and 230 and put in my 1000 hours of Lear time. You get used to it. On some of the older 23's and 24's I'd have to take out the seat cushions to get more comfortable. One of the guys I worked with was a lanky 6'5" and he didn't have much of a problem either (he actually showed me how to take out the seat cushions).

 

[Indigo]

Yes! There are SOME good things about being small...

 

[Timebuilder]

Both of my bosses are around six foot three, and they remove the seat back cushion for added room.

I have found that a small inflatable cushion, the kind you would buy at the drugstore if you have a 'roid problem, is a big help in the old design seats. The newer seat, such as in a 55, is far more comfortable.

As above, watch out for those switches. The older style flap handle will try and grab your left pantleg as you get into the right seat. The newer flap handle has the set-to-select detents and has barriers to prevent accidental movement and trouser grabbing. On long trips, use the arm rests to take a little weight off your butt.

 

[LR25]

I think the difference in flap handles is in relationship to what wing you have.

MarkII wing has the detents I believe and have a flap 10 instead of flap 8.

Century III w/softflight have the on off switch for the flaps with a flap 8 setting. Its been a couple years but I tink thats the case.

 

[TMMT]

Yes young grasshopper you are correct, I see the Tel Aviv Torpedo has yet to take your memory from you!

 

[Airpiraterob]

just cause billy lear wasnt too big.....

i understand the price for speed is a tiny tube, but c'mon...

im wondering if the fact that someone tall is flying, a 610 craps out and your knee is in the way. an accident caused by bad ergonomics? has there been a suit over this yet?

just wonderin....

well i dont know if ill ever get to actually fly in one up front....but sounds like taking the cushion out, taking the boot cut out of your pants, wearing racing shoes is the way to go.

 

[LJDRVR]

I had a CJ610 eat itself once on the descent. No problem. I imagine it would be a bit more work during takeoff and initial climb, but it works in the sim. I'm going to shatter bone before I lose control of the AC just because my or someone elses body parts are in the way.

 

[Bill Mostellar]

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane (has it been 5 years since the Lear?).

I flew the C-21/Lear 35 with the seat full forward and full up (what, no adjustable rudder pedals?). I probably could've put it farther back and down, but it was nice knowing I would have the same seat position every time.

When I was instructing at Keesler, we even had one pilot shorter than I; I really enjoyed looking over watching those landings - JVK leaning forward and 'peeking' over the glareshield. JVK was/is an excellent pilot!

As they say "Some get height, other get looks...I got neither" (spouse added that).

I wish you success!

 

[LR25]

Yes young grasshopper you are correct, I see the Tel Aviv Torpedo has yet to take your memory from you!

That was the other aka I was looking for, I couldnt remember all of them from Flight Safety.

 

[Rough67]

I'm 6'7" .. do you think ill fit in a Lear 60 .. ? (may be in my future)

 

[BenderGonzales]

You thinking about quitting Chickentaco already Rob? Didn't one of the flightinfo guys just get you that job not long ago?

 

[FlyingPieceOfSt]

I used to fly a Lr24/25/31/55/60 and on the 20 series had a female pilot who was so little that she would sit indian style on the seat once in cruise flight with the seat all the way forward to the first click on the seat rails.

You could have stuck a Flight Engineer behind her seat!

Ofcourse, she thought all Lears were very roomy.

 

[HMR]

Anyone ever notice that the tallest and/or fattest pilots at the FBO are usually Lear drivers?

(Followed closely by BE20's and Citation II's)

 

[UGAflyer]

I'm 6'7" .. do you think ill fit in a Lear 60 .. ? (may be in my future)

I'm 6'5" and 220 and fit in the 60 just fine..wish i actually flew it. You would probably be fine. The first time i got in the 31..well it took about 5 minutes and involved many circles and bending and starting over, but now no problem..just takes a little practice. not exactly comfortable though. i think the 25 is easier to get in than the 31

 

[Rough67]

ok thx

 

[mushroom]

A crappy flight is when you have to fly a Lear 36 from the Toronto area, overfly the U.S., and land somewhere near Mexico City-ish. Ugh. I think that was about a 4-hour trip in that plane (or maybe even more..been a few years and I can't remember what their range is), the one with the bigger center tank. Couldn't feel my ass for quite a while after that one.

Not to mention the ox-yoke quick donning O2 mask you had to wear around your neck in the 20 and earlier 30 series. Moo!

 

[Koslen]

I sat on a cushion for the first year untill my butt got used to it. After 2 years the pain went away completely but I still walk funny and my knees never fully recovered. I have never flown anything as much fun since and would gladly shoe-horn myself back in a 23,24, or 25 just for the fun of it.

 

[con-pilot]

I am 6ft 5ins tall (220 pounds) and I have flown the 24, 25, 28 (yes a 28) and the 35.

I liked the 28 the best, cause ya had to be on the ground or on short final an hour and 45 minutes after takeoff. Which meant I didn't have to sit the blasted thing very long.

I had to stop and refuel twice once going to OKC from DCA in a 28 one night.

(One could eek out 2 hours in a 28 if one got an unrestricted climb to FL 510 and could make a idle power descent at destination.)

 

[Peanut gallery]

Depends where your height is?

I spent about 6,000 hours in various lears back in the 70,s and 80's. I am 6'3" but most of my height is in my torso relative to other tall folks. So I felt like I was having to bend my head more than most people but I felt pretty good in the leg department.
The problem of having more height in your legs means that your knees get higher and can interfere with the movement of the wheel. I really noticed this when I was giving type ratings occupying the right seat. Giving v1 cuts was particularly hard since you were trying to stay out of the way and also being ready to counter an incorrect rudder input.
If you notice the thrust lever quadrant is actually located right of the center by about two inches. This takes up some of the sideways room that you might use to stay clear of the controls, and also makes the sore cheeks problem worse on the right side on a longer flight.

 

[DX Rick]

I'm 6'7" .. do you think ill fit in a Lear 60 .. ? (may be in my future)

I am 6'7 300lbs and I can slide into any lear or citation jet no problem. I just can't fit in any twin recips, expect for the seminole.

 

[Timebuilder]

Jeeze...I just realized that my post above was made almost three years ago.

The 60 is a larger cockpit, even a little larger than the 55 if I recall correctly. I was only in one of them.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that post was made during my last 14 days as a working pilot.

I thought that job was a blessing when I got it, and I didn't fully realize that it was my last flying job. I felt experienced, marketable.........nope.

A dozen operators, a clean rcord, not a bite. I guess I don't sound like a 22 year old on the phone.

 

[Publishers]

I am 6'5" and 260..... The old lears were awful whether you were in the front or back.... My head still leans over 15 degrees. You used to be able to tell the captain from the co pilot by which way his head leans. Frankly who wants to bring their own roid pillow or have detailed instructions on how to get in the seats. My couple of hours in a 747 were more to my liking. The electric seats ought to be mandatory in all aircraft.

 

[G100driver]

I am 6'5" and 260..... The old lears were awful whether you were in the front or back.... My head still leans over 15 degrees. You used to be able to tell the captain from the co pilot by which way his head leans. Frankly who wants to bring their own roid pillow or have detailed instructions on how to get in the seats. My couple of hours in a 747 were more to my liking. The electric seats ought to be mandatory in all aircraft.

No wonder you are management now.

I did not know that you actually ever flew for a living. I assumed by all of your anti-pilot posts that you were JUST an office lacky.

What's next, you have applied for a job at the FAA.

 

[Dinger]

I'm 6'5" and 210, Single white male....looking for serious....oh...er...um, sorry....wrong forum

 

[landlover]

I am 6'7 300lbs and I can slide into any lear or citation jet no problem. I just can't fit in any twin recips, expect for the seminole.

why arent you playing o-line in the nfl?