Hello all 'master folks. I am seeking insight from other owners about what I believe is not a unique situation. I am a commercial SEL/SES and instrument qualified. If the answers at the end of this post work out I would be willing to get my mel/centerline rating.
First, some background.
My father has been affected by a neuromuscular disease. He is confined to a power scooter and no longer drives. Neither can he walk. However his mind is fine.
The family recently returned from a trip aboard the airlines. The indignity he suffered at the hands of the friendly TSA agent was something that I would not wish on anyone. It really takes two people to get him through security. One to help him remove all his gear and another to receive it after it has passed through the xray machine. It took 45 minutes from the time we got to the front of the check line until we had cleared security.
This incident has prompted me to look into alternative forms of transportation.
I had considered a 206 as the large rear doors would allow loading of the power scooter and other equipment, however getting he cannot lift himself up high enough to get into the airplane. That is how I wound up here at the skymaster forum. I liked the look of the front door, I believe that with the wing strut, landing gear, and entrance door configuration on the skymaster, he could get himself into the airplane.
I liked the look of the passenger access door to the skymaster, but as I got to analyzing the problem, I began to wonder if the baggage door is large enough to fit a power scooter through. Then, as I considered the logistics of loading the family, I figured that if he could get into the copilots seat, I would have to crawl over him to get to the pilot's seat.
So, with that, here are my questions:
1. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation? How did you handle it?
2. Does anyone have experience with loading a power scooter into the back of a skymaster? Could someone out there take a few measurements of the door size and let me know how big it is? I have searched online and cannot find the dimensions.
3. Assuming the scooter will fit into the back, does the copilots seat slide forward far enough that a handicapped individual could crawl into the back seat?
I apologize for such a long, drawn out post. Thanks for reading, and thanks for any insight or assistance anyone can deliver.
Wyoaviator.