When I flew a J-3, I chickened out and sat in the rear seat. Not fun! Take off and landing a particular challenge because of poor visibility over the nose from the back seat. Also, I had to lean forward and squint to read the panel instruments (such as they were). Really only interested in airspeed to set glide. The others really not necessary.
If it ever happened again, I would bring along a bag full of sand for the rear seat, and sit up front.
Floyd