Flying Smart : What it Looks Like

People come in all sizes, which is the reason why most pilot seats are adjustable. (In some aircraft, the seat is fixed but the rudder pedals can be moved fore and aft to compensate for short or long legs. In that case, height adjustment may be a matter of using an extra cushion or two.)

Some seats have fore and aft adjustment only, some have vertical adjustment as well, and some even add a third roll axis - tilt.

If you share or rent an airplane, chances are one of the first things that you will have to do when preparing for a flight is to readjust the seat to your liking. It's no different than adjusting the seat in your car. Slide the seat forward or back to the most comfortable position for your legs to reach the rudder pedals - and your arms and hands to work the yoke and reach the power controls and switches and dials. If the seat adjusts vertically, you seek the optimum position for looking at both the instrument panel and the view over the glareshield out the windshield.

Seat adjustment is an inexact science - unless the airplane is equipped with an eye locator. The device is mounted in the center of the windshield, and it functions as a sighting device to assist the pilot in adjusting the seat. The objective is to obtain the optimum eye position for scanning the panel and looking out the windshield and over the nose to see the runway environment on final approach.

In the accompanying photo, the eye locator has three balls arranged in a triangular shape. This allows both left- and right-seat crewmembers to adjust their seats and head position for the best inside and outside viewing angles. The optimum vertical and lateral position is achieved when the near (white) ball is in line with the far (orange) ball.