I am looking to buy a 1973 8KCAB Decathlon project. I am 6'6'' tall and 180lb. and was checking to see if anyone out there has ever mod. the seat to make more leg room. It is tough for me to find a plane that I can fit in comfortably and still build taildragger time. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
Thanks

Hello. Any chance you are still looking for a project 1973 8KCAB?

Jacob,

A friend of mine is a little more vertically blessed than you are. He bought a Super Cub, and he had a mechanic move the seat back aft a few inches, and got that field approved. He also went to a pretty thin back cushion and a thicker but still thin high density foam bottom cushion. That did the trick for him. The down side to that is that moving the seat back aft in one of these airplanes (tandem seat) is that the front seat back will now block full movement of the rear stick. So, he had to assure the FAA that the airplane would never be used for dual controls, and he installed a "sorta" permanent rear stick stub cover. You may or may not be able to get something like that field approved these days, but it's worth exploring with an IA and talking to the FAA.

The problem with lowering the seat is that it doesn't gain you any distance from the pedals, and your knees MAY wind up in proximity to the instrument panel. You need to both move aft and down some ,but aft is more critical. This guy was 6 foot 8, by the way.

MTV