Back Seat - Cutting a stock seat in 1/2

[N2523D]

I have seen posts in "the hanger" about people modifying the rear bench seat so it is 1/2 as wide and only seats one person leaving room on one side to access the baggage area easily. Does anyone have additional information on this modification? I was interested in photos of the finished product and any insight people have developed during the modification process. I currently have an extra rear seat and want to build a single seat out of it.

Thanks

Rich

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Rich, I can not recall ever seeing a modified seat. Except of course for the drawing of the one Cessna did for the stretcher option. Look in the back of an IPC for that. Basically it looks like the seat is cut just past half so the center leg is still left. I don't know exactly how the seat back adjuster works as both sides would seem to be required for that unless the fixed the seat back fast somehow.

[170C]

My back seat is a 1/2 seat. It is a factory seat that has had 1/2 of the back & seat removed. I didn't do the mod (and don't find a logbook entry either), but it is fairly straight forward. The seat back adjustment bar is retained. The round tube across the front of the seat & across the back (bottom cushion area) is simply cut off leaving the verticle tube intact that is midway across the front of the seat and the tube that attaches to the floor behind the seat intact. Once upholstered you likely wouldn't notice it had been cut. You can choose which 1/2 to remove, but on mine the 1/2 behind the pilot seat was removed. It makes removing the seat much easier (I had a full seat in my plane at one time so I know the pain of removing a full back seat) It facilitates loading baggage tremendously. Of course you can no longer carry that 4th 170 pound passenger The installation of a baggage door is a better choice if you care to do so although I can load larger items from the main cabin door into my baggage area than a baggage door will accomodate, but I would still prefer a baggage door. I would send photo, but my plane is currently 750 miles away. Maybe at a later time if you aren't in a hurry.

[N2523D]

Thanks 170C. How did they secure the seats together on the side that is now in the middle of the plane? I kind of figured the top bar would remain but cutting off the left half of the bottom and back would remove the pivot point on the bottom on one side.

I am not in a rush with the project so if you have time to take and send a few photos at a later time that would be awesome.

Thanks

[170C]

If I understand your question correctly, the stock (I think) attach point in the middle of the seat (where the horizontal tube goes from the front of the seat toward the back) has a hole in it for a # 10 (I believe) bolt which goes into a nutplate in the floor. It has been so long since I had a full back seat or since I really looked at one installed in a plane that I don't remember for sure that the full seat has the attach location in the middle of the seat. Maybe someone can clear this up for me. Richard Pulley took some photos of my back seat so maybe I can figure out how to post those on here.

Frank

[hilltop170]

Thanks 170C. How did they secure the seats together on the side that is now in the middle of the plane? I kind of figured the top bar would remain but cutting off the left half of the bottom and back would remove the pivot point on the bottom on one side.

I am not in a rush with the project so if you have time to take and send a few photos at a later time that would be awesome.

Thanks

Rich-
As luck would have it, I was ferrying Frank's plane from Texas to it's new home in Tennessee the day of your original post. Again, by luck, I was browsing the 170 Forum while I was waiting on dinner to arrive and saw your post. Since I was still close to the airport, I went back out after dinner and took some pictures of his rear seat conversion. Of course, it was dark by then and there is only one light in Frank's new hangar which didn't provide any illumination inside the plane. All I had was a flashlight so the pictures are not the best but should answer your questions about the conversion. Good luck.

Half-seat on the co-pilot side

Front-center attach point

Seat back pivot, seat belt attach, and rear-center attach point

Top cross bar

Top cross bar detail

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

FYI the top cross bar adjustment using the rear shelf attached bracket as Frank's plane has is only found on serial number 26966 and on. That would be 1956 and after. All other 170s have that adjustment and it's subsequent control rod going to the side wall of the fuselage. The early fuselage mounted adjustment may not work as well as Frank's might and should be considered before any seats are cut.

And of course one would want to consider the legalities of such a mod.

[N2523D]

Perfect...Thank You!!

I have never done a welding project before, but I am hoping my machinist, A&P, Homebuilder friend will help me with the project when he has time so I wanted to have some photos lined up to show him when the time comes.

Thanks

Rich

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

And of course one would want to consider the legalities of such a mod.

Rich, like all modifications, just make sure you consider my sentence above and have that covered.