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Seat Fabric Choices

PilotjohnS

Well Known Member
I am gonna be flying soon and it is time to start think about seats. I plan to eventually use a custom interior from one of the fine companies advertising on VAF, but they all seem to have a long backlog.

I bought the Vans foam kit and am planning to make my own seat covers for the first flight and test period. I figure after the first flight my pilot’s seat will be pretty well soiled anyways so will need new covers.

I have a Jo Ann’s near me. And I used to sew moccasins when I was a teenager ( to pay for my flying, oddly enough) so I am decent with a sewing machine. I plan for just simple seat covers.

What material is easier to sew, gives reasonable durability, and is reasonably priced? And no I am not going to use spandex.
 
Can't talk about price, ease of sewing or any of that. But for comfort, there's only sheepskin. Nothing comes close to it, winter or summer, for years on end.

Dave
 
I spent a lot of time sitting on sleep skin seats. They were great. Current work plane has some sort of thick poly-fabric. It's horrible!

For my plane, I'm a long way from deciding, but am leaning towards sheep skin as well. There's a farm nearby that specializes in such. We'll see what happens when I get there.
 
Leather for me…care and maintenance being the primary driver. RV’s require that both the pilot and passenger step on the seats in order to get in and get out, and even with Allen Nimmo’s exit bar, you still end up pushing yourself with a foot on the seat in order to lever yourself out. I’ve seen a LOT of really grubby cloth interiors on airplanes…dirt, stains, wear, and tears. My plane’s current 10 year-old seats are leather, and only a few minutes with a leather conditioner and a magic eraser has them looking like new. I’m replacing those seats with a new set from the same company (Fightline Interiors) and yeah…there was (is) about an 8 month backlog. My current seats need the foam replaced, but I’m getting completely new seats because I don’t like the current no-bolster design that the original builder chose when he built it.

Speaking of interior grubbiness…it was illuminating to wash a 10 year-old Crow harness and look at the rise water. The seats are subject to the same abuse, or worse.

I can’t speak to sheepskin…appearance preferences can vary a lot. I do know that sheepskin hides dirt better.
 
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Since they will just be temp seat covers, get a cheap material that will simulate the material you want to use after testing. Then you can use them for patterns and make any changes you want. You could use a couple old pillow cases if you want quick!

For the final, I got the nice fake leather upholstery. I like them and they clean easily. I was worried about leather staying wet when I stepped on them getting in.
 
Before you cut up the patterns that Van's gave you with your foam purchase, for making seat covers for the foam. I suggest you go to a Blueprint store and get copies made of the patterns. Then use the copies to make the covers.
Heck get a couple of copies while you're at it.
I did, Art
 
I highly recommend flying by the "sheep" of your pants! Sitting on a sheep is the only way to go.

Mine are DIY home made. SunMate Foam from Dynamic Systems (they make high performance seating materials for aviation and medical applications), woven wool side panels (ebay vendor from the UK) and New Zealand sheep skins. All in, both seats, about $750 for the materials. Just like what I sit on at work.

You need to be up for some involved stitching, and have a capable machine (walking foot) or a friend who has the right equipment.

And honestly, I would not have these if not for doing it myself. But this is a "homebuilt" aircraft, so why not. These seats rock.

Enjoy!
 

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I made my own seat cushions for the same reason you are doing it. I have had some auto upholstery experience in my past and used automotive vinyl. It works fine is cheap and I get so many positive comments I may just keep these seats a while.
 
I spent a lot of time sitting on sheep skin seats. They were great. Current work plane has some sort of thick poly-fabric. It's horrible!

For my plane, I'm a long way from deciding, but am leaning towards sheep skin as well. There's a farm nearby that specializes in such. We'll see what happens when I get there.

After wearing out aircraft cloth seats in my RV-6, I switched to sheepskin. Plan is to put sheepskin in the RV-8 from the very beginning. Any future aircraft that I build will also have sheepskin seats.
 
Cirrus Seats in an RV7

QUESTION - Is it at all possible to install Cirrus SR22 seats into an RV7. Put yoke movement to the side for the minute ...I'm curious about whether it will fit and attachment points.
 
QUESTION - Is it at all possible to install Cirrus SR22 seats into an RV7. Put yoke movement to the side for the minute ...I'm curious about whether it will fit and attachment points.

It looks like a SR22 seat are on a frame & rail system of some sort. You would have to do a lot of adaptation to get the cushions to work in a RV7. Would probably be easier to start fabricating cushions from scratch.
 
I could sit in this all day long :)

@Staunch111 I agree. The current offering from established brands are nice but what are the options if you want to take your interior to the next level? Or just want your plane to look different than everyone elses?

Those Cirrus seats look like they are out of a Range Rover or Porsche. I would like to find seats and other finishes that feel more like a luxury automobile or sportscar, not a C172. I'm working on a -10 and plan to spend a lot of time in it on trips. I think the side panels, headliners and carpet options from the established players look really polished, but who does custom seat work that looks as good as those Cirrus seats?
 
seat cushion fabric

I just made seat cushions (and harnesses) for my biplane and given your question, I suggest Cordura. That's what this seat cushion is made of. Sheepskin as suggested by others is nice but not very easy to sew / work with. The Cordura is a breeze and can be sewn easily with any single needle straight stitch machine. I chose Cordura because it's the same stuff parachute containers are made of. Super Durable, good UV resistance and easily cleaned with a damp rag. Very helpful since we usually step on our seat to get in and out. Paragear dot com should have it or DJ Associates. Good luck.
 

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Bit late to the conversation, but for temporary covers I would second the Cordura. Either 500D or 1000D. Sailrite.com has it pretty cheap by the yard. I make seat covers for Sim Pits and might roll my own for the 7 kit i just picked up when the time comes.
Picutred is my current sim pit with the seat covers I make.
 

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My Own DIY upholstery

I purchased the Vans foam blanks for the seats and used the Jeep neoprene material to complete the upholstery. I came to this solution after looking at the shockingly high price of the custom made seats. Since my plane isn't a show plane, this will do. The neoprene material is easy to clean, then toss it in the dryer to dry.

Here is the picture of the complete seat seat. There was some nip and tuck using hand stitching to fit the seat back but the bottom seat was easy. Not perfect but I am not going to pay thousands for a seat.

Link to the seat cover: https://www.amazon.com/GEARFLAG-Neo...-2007-2017/dp/B08C1YN7JW?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1
 

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I prefer leather for comfort & durability. My wife just redid mine after 17.5 years flying.

NWtIUknm.jpg
 
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The recent accident in Japan reminds me that fire safety should be a consideration in selecting seat fabric. We purchased our seats from Oregon Aero since they know a lot more than we do about the dynamics of a seat during an accident and they also have fire rated fabric for covering. They are heavy and expensive, but they are comfortable and we feel confident that they will protect us better in case of accident than something we found in a local store.

Jim Butcher
 
The recent accident in Japan reminds me that fire safety should be a consideration in selecting seat fabric. We purchased our seats from Oregon Aero since they know a lot more than we do about the dynamics of a seat during an accident and they also have fire rated fabric for covering. They are heavy and expensive, but they are comfortable and we feel confident that they will protect us better in case of accident than something we found in a local store.

Jim Butcher

This is where leather & wool are superior in that they are naturally & inherently self extinquishing.
 
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