One attractive feature of the mini nimbus is its rather large cockpit,
sometimes even referred to as a 'bath tub' !
This is great for winter flying, and for accommodating those of us who are a
little larger than average, however it does become more problematical if your
not so 'well built'.
As I've mentioned previously, I've sold my share of my Mini Nimbus, happily
to my syndicate partner and his girlfriend. So the glider is staying in my local
club, and I can 'keep an eye on it ' ! But, the new owner has a problem.
She's not so 'well built'. In fact she's quite small really. In fact so small
that reaching the panel, or controlling the flaps properly is next to impossible
without having a large cushion behind her. And of course, cushions and gliders don't
really mix. So what to do.
Well, how about fitting an adjustable seat back to the nimbus, just like in a
more modern glider !
The Discus shares a lot in common with the Mini Nimbus, ok, maybe its not immediately
obvious to the casual observer, but just look at the panel, the fuselage, the
controls, and the seat pan. You could almost think they are the same, and you
could think, 'why don't I copy the Discus seatback, and fit it to the
Mini'.
So that's exactly what we did !!
| Borrowing a fellow members seatback from his Discus, (thanks
Mike), a new glassfibre seatback was made, as an exact replica. |
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The base of the seat was hinged, and then bolted to the
floor of the Mini seatpan. |
| A channel was cut into the seatpan sidewalls to allow the
slider which controls which position the seatpan is in to be
fitted. |
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And finally the whole arrangement was connected up with
'discus' tubing, turnbuckles and wire. |
| The straps can go either thro their slots, or over the top
of the seatback depending on the size of the pilot. |
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