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interior upholstery

I am looking to install leather interior for soon to be completed 14A
Several of the upholstery shops in Oregon are booked out over a
year.
If anyone has contact info for where I might buy quality interior work in
a relatively short delivery time, I would greatly appreciate a response

Tim
RV-14A
 
I ended up having my seats covered at a local auto upholstery shop (hot rod shop). Turnaround was quicker, and I was able to get a custom design. I've been happy with the results.
 
I ended up having my seats covered at a local auto upholstery shop (hot rod shop). Turnaround was quicker, and I was able to get a custom design. I've been happy with the results.

I've always wondered why there is such a concentration on aviation upholstery shops, especially with the current long lead-times.

I've always planned to take mine to a local shop. I just did a quick Google search and came up with at least 15 options within a 20 minute drive from my location.

I could be missing something, but I don't know what that would be...
 
The only thing I can think of is flammability of materials used. A car can pull over and be out of the vehicle in 15 or 20 seconds. We don't have ejection seats to match that evacuation time.

Car upholstery shops may already use fire resistant materials, I don't know. It's what I'd be asking about though.
 
The only thing I can think of is flammability of materials used. A car can pull over and be out of the vehicle in 15 or 20 seconds. We don't have ejection seats to match that evacuation time.

Car upholstery shops may already use fire resistant materials, I don't know. It's what I'd be asking about though.

Understood. That's a material spec I would plan for anyway. It's the experience and skill that you're buying from any type of shop.
 
I hesitate to weigh in on this kind of conversation because my comments may come off as self serving. Hopefully this will just be additional food for thought to anyone looking for interior options.

I think the biggest benefit you get when you go with an established RV interior supplier is the time spent designing the products before you ever place your order. The RV-14 side panels for example took over 6 months to design (including many late nights). In that time things were refined and adjusted many times.

We built a full scale cockpit mockup with parts from Vans for this process. Each one of our parts are designed in solid modeling software and then manufactured to precise specifications. There are hundreds of parts that are laser cut and formed using a CNC press brake. Small details like attachment brackets and installation templates are all included. Over the last 19 years, we've learned a lot about what works, and we're still learning.

It depends a lot on what you are looking for. For some a traditional upholstery shop will be a good fit, for some it won't. I wish I could snap my fingers and reduce the lead times, but the changes needed take time. We're working on it though.


PS: Any upholstery shop can order materials that meet FAR 25.853 along with lab test results. Also most non-aviation flammability specs are far less stringent. If a shop doesn't have material options that meet FAA specs, you could direct them to companies like these:

https://douglassinteriorproducts.com/

https://www.tapiscorp.com/
 
DJ Lauritson quoted me around 3 months lead time when I checked last September. She’s connected with Cleaveland Tools and can be found on their web site.
 
There's a distinction between the seats and panels. The are probably many options for seat upholsters but not the interior panels. Having just installed seat and panels from Classic Aero in my RV-14A, I can confirm the high quality, design, and ease of installation of the panels. There was clearly a lot of thought that went into the design and I was pleased how well they fit with my JD Air canopy latch. Van's includes the parts needed to fabricate the seat backs which I ultimately did not use since the seat back is integrated into the Classic Aero seat.
 
In my opinion, regarding pricing, you get what you pay for

It is unfortunate that Classic Aero's lead time is so high but their quality, workmanship and service is unmatched, again in my opinion.
 
My Classic Aero seats are absolutely awesome. I think if the seat is trying to be on fire I'm probably more flammable and likely toast.
 
Aerosport Interiors

I recently received seats and air-vents from Aerosport Products. https://www.aerosportproducts.com/ These items are of the highest quality available and great additions my new RV-14A. I will be getting a full compliment of side panels and carpeting in the next month or so. Everything was ordered several months ago with a specified delivery time of late January as I knew I wouldn't need it until now.
I don't know what the lead times are from Aerosport Products at the moment but if you give Geoff Combs a call at 614-834-8659. He will be able to give you an accurate estimate.

Aerosport%20seats-XL.jpg


My airplane is now ready for final inspection. This is a service that is provided (here in Canada) by the MD-RA. Unfortunately, due to this provinces Covid-19 lock down protocols my inspection has been postponed indefinitely. There is, however, a light at the end on the tunnel with some restrictions being relaxed tomorrow (Monday Feb. 7th.) Hopefully my inspection can be rescheduled in the next week or two.
Ivan%20with%20C-GMHV-L.jpg
 
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