Experience w/ Atlee Dodge and others?

Thank you,

Mack:

Think if you do some searches, been quite a bit of info discussed on this topic previously.

That said, I have the Atlee Dodge seats in my 180 and I really like them. A lot of times, I am traveling with 2 or less and they stow up nicely. When I have the kids along, it takes just a few seconds to setup. I have had 280lb guys in the back with them, and while they are not really comfortable, they are tolerable for "big folks".

The 180 I have now is my second, and the Atlee Dodge seats were one of the first improvements that I did.


Good Luck, Larry

I believe our folding seats in the 170 are the BAS seats. I like them alot, however I've never compared them to any others because the plane came with them installed. Easy to fold up, pretty comfortable for me or my wife (Noreen spend a good amount of time coming back from Oshkosh this year to Utah sleeping in the back on those seats). Mine do not have any additional padding, just the stretched fabric that is tight across the back and the bottom, covered in some sweet feaux brown fur slip covers that match the lovely brown interior of 170SB. They fold up pretty tight to the side panel because there is not padding on them.

The BAS seat covered in luxurious light brown faux fur:


Noreen has her feet up on the cooler behind the pilots seat here. It looked pretty comfy back there.

I'm really happy with my Lakeview/BAS seats. Very light and a snap to install. They do fold very flush on the sidewall and weigh next to nothing. Now nobody ever sits in mine, but the Doc in the next hanger has had loads of folks sit in his all the way to Idaho from Flagstaff, frequently. His wife says they are better than the factory seats. They are cheaper than the Altee seats and after comparing them side by side, I liked them better. They suit me, but you may like other features in the Altee seats.

I usually never take more than one Pax, but should I ever need to throw a couple more in the plane, to escape a zombie horde for example. Then I can just fold these down and seat the two escapees without fear of being cited. We all know the Feds are zombies.

I have the BAS seats, upholstered with 1 inch of tempur foam in the bottom and 1/2 inch in the back. I've never sat in them in the air, but they're not bad. No complaints from the kids in 16 hours of flying to Oshkosh. Easy to stow.

As mentioned before... do a search. Lots of info already discussed here.

That said, having experience with both, here is my take: BAS are nice and easy to install compared with the FA Dodge. If you are not doing the install yourself, bring your wallet as the Dodge has quite a bit of labor involved. The craftsmanship is very different when you compare the two side by side with the BAS looking much flimsier. The upside of this is the BAS are lighter, but side by side, the Dodge are way way more beefy and much better made. The Dodge provides tons of hard points for tie downs as well as stow much nicer (flatter to the side.) Anyone who has ever ordered from Dodge knows what to expect as far as quality.

Most folks go with BAS, I think probably cuz of the cost. I have never read any complaints about BAS, but folks typically never bad mouth stuff after something is done and they have already spent the cash. For me, having tested both, I went with the Dodge for my Skywagon project. IMHO there is no comparison.

Some pics of the install... http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/n ... ?start=320

FWIW, I don't find the seats on the BAS website now. A search turns up what look like the BAS seats on the Lakevue website: http://lakevueaeronautics.com/.

Cary

While the BAS/Lakeview seats may cost less than the Atlee-Dodge, neither one is inexpensive. You'd think that one or both could come up with something as part of the STC'd installation to hold the seat in the stowed position, other than a bungee- which is the only thing I've ever seen used for that.

BAS are now Lakevue.

I have pair of center row seats out of 206/210 mounted in 3-4 th position .Much more comfortable than the Atlee dodge seat's. STC for there use comes from Kenmore Air harbor. Slide in on seat rails or use rails to hook in cargo net(s) .Seats go in or out easily with difference in mission.Sometimes 1-2-3 or 4 seat set up. I also have Cessna stretcher to snap in the left or right side. "Cockpit" divider aka cargo net at back of door frame keeps stuff in back .

Yes. Lots of folks like the C206 seats. FYI, the Kenmore Air STC is only for the 206 and not the 210s. FWIW, I had a set of 210 seats in my Skywagon. Didnt like it at all and pulled it out for the FA Dodges. They were big, heavy, and took up TONS of space. Way happier with the Dodges. As far as comfort goes... yes, the Cessna seats were more comfy, but for me, weight and space were more important than the once or twice a year I will have more than one pax in the airplane.