Revised 06/02/2019
Page 5
I find the door easiest to latch from the inside when sitting in the left seat. That middle latch can feel nearly
impossible to move if you are at the wrong angle (for instance, when sitting in the right seat, or when standing
in front of the plane reaching over the wing.) It seems easiest to move when in the pilot seat or standing on the
wing facing the door.
The aircraft is equipped with an inflatable door gasket, which can be used to reduce wind noise for the right seat
passenger. There is an unlabeled switch on the panel adjacent to the door which controls the pressure release
valve for the gasket. The pressure is retained in the up position and released in the down position. The door
can be difficult to latch when the gasket is inflated. Hanging by the co-pilot right knee is the inflation bulb.
Squeezing the bulb inflates the gasket. It also gives the CFI or co-pilot something to do!
Seats
The pilot and co-pilot seats are generally left in the full aft position and that setting seems to work best for most
pilots. If you release the seat latch once in the plane, it can be difficult to get the seat re-positioned so that it
catches in one of the stops again. If there are two people in the front, the one next to you can see the stops in
the track and assist by pushing on the back of the seat, but it requires coordination! You would be best not to
release the seat at all; but if you do, it may be easiest to get out of the plane and adjust the seat without any
weight on it.
The pilot seat requires extra effort to stay in any of the stops other than the aft hole. The trick here is to hold
the handle while sliding the seat aft, leaning right and watching the holes until positioned in the desired stop.
Then, reach down and help the pin seat in the hole by pressing on it with a finger. Otherwise, you may think the
seat is securely in the stop until the first time you press a rudder pedal and feel the seat move!
On the pilot seat there is a second handle that controls seat height. This appears to be a spring loaded thing
that will raise the seat when there is no weight on it, and that releases the hold when you pull the handle with
weight on it. I like it lower so I don’t bump my head on the ceiling during turbulence! Experiment with it and
you should be able to find your preferred position.
Comms and ICS
We notice when the pilot is transmitting, the pilot’s volume for others on the intercom is low or muted
altogether.
I have noted the pilot side headphone jack (or my headset) is sometimes not making a great connection. It
seems this is related to the playback side, not the transmit side. This has resulted once or twice in making radio
calls then missing the response. For now, I pay attention to whether I hear myself in the intercom. If not, jiggle
the headset plug a bit until that clears up. I will add this to my list of things to improve when the plane goes to
the avionics shop later this year.
Power, Circuit Breakers
I have had issues twice with circuit breakers and what appears to be a high resistance problem after rain. We
will be working to find and correct this problem.
