Aeroprakt Limited has recently announced the availability of a factory-installed option of a revised instrument panel with cut-outs along the bottom edge to help accommodate those pilots and passengers with long legs – see photos.

Although I am 1.88 metres (6′ 2″ in imperial) tall, I have never found a problem with the leg room in either the A22 Foxbat or A32 Vixxen aircraft. However, a friend, who is exactly the same height as me, has often complained about the lack of knee room for him in the A22 Foxbat. Apparently, I have a longer body and shorter legs; he has a shorter body and longer legs – one reason I advise all potential aircraft buyers to actually sit in the aircraft on their shortlist, to check knee/leg room and head clearance. A particular height or body weight does not guarantee a comfortable fit even if an apparently identical size friend fits perfectly!

Many thanks to Aeroprakt, therefore, for introducing this ‘long leg’ option on the A22 Foxbat. The pictures clearly show the panel cut-out modification, which is only available on stick control versions of the aircraft. As yet, this option is not available for the A32 Vixxen, neither is it easy or inexpensive to retro-fit to existing aircraft as there is a significant change to the instrument panel support structure.