I know there are a good number of folks with the atlee dodge folding rear seats, read a good amount of reviews on them (not the most comfortable rear seat, but that is not its main mission). I was looking at other options and came across these seats from
Airframe Innovations.

http://www.airframeinnovations.com/airframe-repair-kits/Cessna-180-185/rear-utility-seat

has any of the BCP'rs installed these? Would love to get a pirep if someone has.

These are essentially the stock Cessna jump seats that were an option on some 180/185s. I have a set that was installed in my 180 via a field approval. I don't like them at all, they sit too far forward and are very uncomfortable for adult size pax. I put put my small kids back there in car seats and I have to basically have my seat locked into the position I'm going to have it in for flight. I can't slide the front seats back far enough to make it easy to get in and out. I even removed the seat backs on the jump seats so the car seats can sit back a couple more inches. I had Atlee dodge seats in my 170 and I liked those a lot more. I think they are more comfortable and you can slide the seats back on the rails if you want.

Take a look at these 2 pictures. The atlee dodge seat bottoms do not extend forward of the door opening. Also, the seat backs are at the rear of the window. My Cessna jump seats have the seat bottoms extending a couple inches forward of the door opening. The seat backs are near the middle of the window and seem more upright as well. The extra inches in leg room (or car seat room) make a big difference. Slide the atlee dodge seats back a bit and it makes a huge difference. The tracks for the atlee dodge seats are also great for tying down cargo and stiffening the floor.

I them in my new to me 180. I have not tried them out yet, bang for the buck pretty good deal if you look around you might find some stock ones cheap. Get some tubing and make a offset so the seat back sits 2-3 inches further back will help with adults.
DENNY

DENNY wrote:I them in my new to me 180. I have not tried them out yet, bang for the buck pretty good deal if you look around you might find some stock ones cheap. Get some tubing and make a offset so the seat back sits 2-3 inches further back will help with adults.
DENNY

I've thought about making an offset for the seat backs like you are talking about.... that would help for sure. They're still too far forward for my purposes.

robw56 wrote:These are essentially the stock Cessna jump seats that were an option on some 180/185s. I have a set that was installed in my 180 via a field approval. I don't like them at all, they sit too far forward and are very uncomfortable for adult size pax. I put put my small kids back there in car seats and I have to basically have my seat locked into the position I'm going to have it in for flight. I can't slide the front seats back far enough to make it easy to get in and out. I even removed the seat backs on the jump seats so the car seats can sit back a couple more inches. I had Atlee dodge seats in my 170 and I liked those a lot more. I think they are more comfortable and you can slide the seats back on the rails if you want.

Take a look at these 2 pictures. The atlee dodge seat bottoms do not extend forward of the door opening. Also, the seat backs are at the rear of the window. My Cessna jump seats have the seat bottoms extending a couple inches forward of the door opening. The seat backs are near the middle of the window and seem more upright as well. The extra inches in leg room (or car seat room) make a big difference. Slide the atlee dodge seats back a bit and it makes a huge difference. The tracks for the atlee dodge seats are also great for tying down cargo and stiffening the floor.

Great info Rob. I see what you are talking about them sitting up close to the front seats - how they extend past the door opening and are not adjustable - see that clearly in your last photo and also when I look at the ones of the just the frames on their site (now that its has been pointed out). That would be a no go for me too as I like to slide my seat all the way back to detangle my legs as I try to get in an out, Also I imagine it would not be comfy for any rear passenger. Thanks that kind of real world info - was what I was looking for. Now if the Atlee dodge seats would just have a 50% off sale

corefile wrote:Now if the Atlee dodge seats would just have a 50% off sale

You could always just buy one!

You can take a look at my (Wannabe) FORE SALE gallery.
There is at least one photo of a raw - utility covered Atlee D seat.
Used to joke I installed it in case I needed to haul out a couple Cub guys
Mostly used it for flight bag shelf and lunch counter.
Rode in that seat for two hours while checking out a couple other pilots.
More comfortable than I had ever expected.

By only having just the one rear seat it was easier slide my butt in for loading.
The re-enforced back bulkhead was so I NEVER had to worry about loading beyond the rear CG limit.

Chris C

Anybody have an opinion on the Atlee seats vs. those made by LakeVue Aeronautics? I've been thinking about replacing my stock Cessna seats for a while but have not gotten around to it yet.

Here's a couple more photos I found that demonstrate the additional room you can have with the atlee dodge seats.

Car seat on atlee dodge seats part way back on the tracks


Same car seat on Cessna rear jump seats (back rest removed to gain a few inches)

slowmover wrote:Anybody have an opinion on the Atlee seats vs. those made by LakeVue Aeronautics? I've been thinking about replacing my stock Cessna seats for a while but have not gotten around to it yet.

Check out this old thread: https://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/atlee-dodge-vs-lakevue-jump-seats-12344

I have Atlees and really like them, easy to fold , to remove with no tools .
If you have taller passengers they might hit the ceiling.

Comfort I dont know, but my passenger friend travelled from Costa Rica to Seattle and didnt complained once, actually if you see the picture he might have liked them

Apparently they put whomever sits in them to sleep!!

I found a craigslist listing for some 185 rear seats if anyone is interested pm me.

To just add to what has already been said (in support of)...my plane has the factory Cessna jump seats. It's really a "30 minute" seat for adults or a kids seat. Adding an Oregon aero cushion does help extend that a bit. Aside from the small seat and comfort issue, it's mainly about the far forward position. It's just not ideal. If money was no object I think the Atlee Dodge set up would be a huge improvement.

Main benefit to the stock Cessna seats is that they are light and it's about a 3 minute job to R&R.

Bill

I think the problem with the Cessna seats is that they were designed to be the middle row seats for six place seating not the back seat for a four place configuration. If they were not that far forward there would be no leg room for the fifth and sixth seats. I agree they are seats for when a 45 minute ride takes the place of a week long hike.

Tim

We have a set of the Cessna jump seats that came out of a Skywagon II and would like to install them in a ‘61 185. Is there an STC that cover this or is it a field approval?

The 1985 Cessna 185 I flew for years had those stock seats, but there were two sets of attach points in each side wall, one in the position Rob illustrated, another further aft. Those seats were never bolted into the front points, and a lot of people rode in them in the aft location.

As noted, that forward location was for use with the kids seat aft.

I never had complaints from pax in those seats.

But, if it were me, I’d buy Atlee’s seats....hands down. Nice thing about them is they take up almost no space when stowed. These Cessna seats take up a fair bit of cargo space when removed.

MTV

Quickdraw1 wrote:We have a set of the Cessna jump seats that came out of a Skywagon II and would like to install them in a ‘61 185. Is there an STC that cover this or is it a field approval?

No STC for this and a field approval may be tough. That said, according to some, this falls in the DADT realm (don't ask dont tell.) Some would tell you to just install them and not worry about it again.

Bigrenna wrote:

Quickdraw1 wrote:We have a set of the Cessna jump seats that came out of a Skywagon II and would like to install them in a ‘61 185. Is there an STC that cover this or is it a field approval?

No STC for this and a field approval may be tough. That said, according to some, this falls in the DADT realm (don't ask dont tell.) Some would tell you to just install them and not worry about it again.

Thank you for the info Bigrenna!

Do you or any members know what parts one may or may not need if someone wanted to in stall them?

I installed a single Cessna jumpseat years ago in my 170.
Field approval, an IA friend handled that for me.
A nutplate in the aft doorpost is required, the seat bolts to that and to the nutplate used for the stock bench seat side attach.
You also need seatbelt attach points.
I used the nutplate in the floor for the stock bench seat aft attach for the inboard belt attach,
and for the outboard attach I installed a brownline type cargo ring pad.
If I was to do it over again, I would use the (Cessna) parts called out in the BAS jumpseat install instructions for the outboard attaches.
They're tabs that rivet in between a bulkhead & the skin (see below).

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