Seats

[Hawkertech]

Finally getting ready to order, what are the plus and minuses of the different seat materials. Velour, Cordura, Synergy Suede.and temper foam,(may just be the padding in the seats) I wish they explained more on the order forms.

[efwd]

IMHO you will likely notice how comfortable, or uncomfortable the seats are because of the foam not the fabric. I spent the money to get the memory foam and I think many people do. I bet that if you looked backed at our posts on how comfy the Kitfox seats are, its because of the memory foam not to mention the geometry of the seat pan. As for aesthetics, You probably have heard, you get what you pay for. I have the synergy suede and I like the feel as well as the appearance. Im not so sure how it would look if I were out in the dirt with my plane all the time. Im not certain of how easily the suede will clean up. Probably requires a bit more effort than the cordura would.

[Hawkertech]

Thanks, I know from experience Sude can be a pia to clean, Most of the Corporate jets I worked on had them, we had to take extra care not to get our dirty hands on them. And thats what I thought, the foam is the padding just needed confirmation. And I did search for "Seats" but nothing cam up

[DesertFox4]

Synergy suede is the choice for me after seeing how Stick & Rudder’s seats all looked after hundreds of students sliding in and out of the cockpit plus all the folks at Oshkosh that tried on the fit of the Super Sport. After a thousand plus hours of instruction and 600 plus students you could not tell the seats from brand new. My foam choice was the good stuff, Temper foam. After a couple hundred hours in the factory demos and many Kitfox with this set up, the comfort level is unmatched. Allow a little extra time for manufacture and delivery of your seats.

Mine are shown below. 2” Temper Foam in seat bottom cushions and 1” in seat back cushions. My seats are identical to the seats Kitfox Aircraft had in the factory Speedster. Quality is top shelf.
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[Hawkertech]

[QUOTE=DesertFox4;88628] My foam choice was the good stuff, Temper foam. After a couple hundred hours in the factory demos and many Kitfox with this set up, the comfort level is unmatched. Allow a little extra time for manufacture and delivery of your seats.
QUOTE]
Don't have to worry about that looks like after May 2021 for delivery. That is how many orders they have.

[efwd]

Well, truth be told, this stuff is significantly easier to clean than real suede you find in corporate jets. I bet if I sprayed solution or just plain water and then followed up with a wet/dry vac, this material will look great and certainly won't behave like Suede after drying. DF4 is right. I had forgot about Stick and Rudder and how much use they get on their airplanes. Yeah, they did look really nice still after lots of ingress and egress. Thanks for the photos DF4. I love those. ;)

[rcbif]

Anybody have a ballpark price for just the completed seat cushions? I plan to do the rest of the interior upholstery bits myself.

[efwd]

I needed a 1" thick seat bottom to facilitate flying will tall friends. It cost me no less than $200 for just the bottom cushion.. May have been slightly more, I don't recall exactly. Again, that's the fully upgraded foam and fake Suede fabric. One call to the factory and you will have the accurate cost.

[Hawkertech]

Well, truth be told, this stuff is significantly easier to clean than real suede you find in corporate jets. I bet if I sprayed solution or just plain water and then followed up with a wet/dry vac, this material will look great and certainly won't behave like Suede after drying. DF4 is right. I had forgot about Stick and Rudder and how much use they get on their airplanes. Yeah, they did look really nice still after lots of ingress and egress. Thanks for the photos DF4. I love those. ;)
I finally remembered the name of the suede on the Jets, Ultra Suede, what a pia those were if they got dirty, what was worse is they also put it on the wall panels.

[tracstarr]

Personally I'm doing all the interior myself. You can buy really great foam (memory foam if you want) at a fraction of the cost. It's going to be a lot of work, but I also have a local upholstery old timer willing to show me the ropes. He's helped source materials as well. I'm going to go with a high end marine grade fabric. I was hoping leather originally, but damn it's expensive for quality. All in I'll probably be at $500 and be totally custom. This is going to include the dash, seat pans and cushions with covers. Hopefully it turns out as good as I'm hoping. Will be starting on it this weekend as long as nothing gets in the way.

[n85ae]

For those of us too cheap to buy anything we can make ...

Made these myself, bought the material AND the sewing machine for less than commercially upholstered
seats. These are heavy Cordura, and I wash them with a bucket of soapy water and a scrub brush on plane
wash day.

This is the machine, it sews this material easily just need to lube the thread with silicon spray to
prevent fraying. Took a little practice to learn to sew, but if you can build a plane ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/REX-RX-607Z-Zig-Zag-and-Straight-Stitch-Portable-Walking-Foot-Sewing-Machine/293322299854?hash=item444b5f19ce:g:fpcAAOSw7FRWXco f


I bought Memory foam skins from a foam manufacturer in Florida for about $10 per 1" x 4' x 6' skin. They cut it off
the foam blocks when they make the foam. Works fine for upholstery, but looks ugly and they can't sell it
for manufacturing sales.

You can cut it with a knife easily, but I discovered that the bandsaw cuts it like butter, and makes perfect cuts.
The seat bottom is three laminations. one medium density, and two soft density foam. Then glued together
with spray adhesive.

Cordura is backed by 1/4" sew foam which is spray glued to the cordura before cutting.

The lower seat cushion is a good 3" thick, but you sink into it quickly, and it's good for hours at a time.

Jeff


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[desertdave]

Incredible work Jeff.

[efwd]

How fortunate you are to have an upholstery guy at your disposal. Those look great. I would have made my own as well if I were in your position. Nice Job.

[n85ae]

I am my upholstery guy, I taught myself how to do it ... That was the point. It's not that difficult.
Plus it saves a TON of money, and I ended up with a sewing machine for my trouble.

Kitfox trailer was how I learned how to weld, and ended up owning a welder :)

Jeff

[airlina]

Jeff, noticed you didn't say anything to the forum about your blue jean restoration business. You did a great job on the seats, a true homebuilder you are. Bruce N199CL

[efwd]

Oh, got you confused with Tracstar I think. He has an upholstery guy to lean on. Jeff, your seats look fantastic for having learned yourself. I once sewed a Grim Reaper gown for Halloween. Based on that, I didn't think I could get seats done as well as you have.

[n85ae]

Here's a seat I was working on for my Zenith 801. Basically I just sketch everything out with pencil
and paper as panels. Then I trace these onto the Cordura with white chalk pencil. I then staple the
panels together with a paper stapler, then sew them and trim off the stapled section.

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[patrick.hvac]

Hello!
Can anyone share seat pan details?
Looking for seat back angle. depth of floor. Distance from butt to fuse frame, etc.
Need to fabricate a pan for a S7 but dont have one to make a mould.
Appreciate any help I can get. Thanks!
Pat.