Seat cost

[roadrunner20]

Originally Posted by Luke D

I'm sorry Dan, we just didn't have our current materials program established back then.

No worry Luke. I'm happy with the seats & their longevity.

[keijidosha]

When I bought the RV-4, it had a board to sit on. I also blanched at the price for custom seats, so I picked up a set of used -4 seats from a guy on the field that had just upgraded. They were in good shape, well made, and comfortable to sit on.
Until I started flying cross country. Leg pain after an hour, intolerable after 2. Not much wiggle room in the -4. I put up with the pain for a year trying cushions, gel seat, and pads.
Finally caved and bought the Oregon Aero seats. They are comfortable all day.
Make your own seats. It might be OK. But if you end up with a comfort issue, custom seats are worth the price.

[Robert Anglin]

I agree with Brad on this one. You can buy the foam and patterns from Van's and do it yourself. We let Cleveland Tool do ours. She runs airshow deals at times. At Oshkosh she was willing to do it all plus a buster cushion for I think it was around 1,100 dollars. It turned out nice. Seats are going to get stained and torn a little. Make them strong and cleanable with the good aircraft fire resistant foam. Just what we did. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888

[Malndi]

Bryan we flew our 6A around for a while sitting on triple layer memory foam seat cushions with standard Vans seat backs. We thought the memory foam was probably as good as it gets but we still found it uncomfortable. Decided to install Classic Aero seats and the comfort question has simply gone away. To give you a sense of proportion, the price we paid in USD was roughly doubled by the time exchange rates, local taxes and shipping across the world were added. Despite the hit to our bank balance, after a long flight we still remind ourselves that the outlay on quality seats was worth it for a level of comfort that has increased our flying enjoyment more broadly. Still no regrets for prioritising good seats over an autopilot and panel upgrade.

[redbowen]

So I guess the next questions are, which seat? Sportsman, Aviator or the economic Sierra? Is the sportsman as comfortable as the aviator? I sure like the aviator seat but could do an ADSB upgrade for the same price. In all honesty I am really trying to decide between the sportsman and Flightline interiors seats or having vans foam covered by a local shop. I bought my RV6 last year and the seats are terrible. I took them apart today to see how they were made and there is nothing that I can use. They are junk. So I need to do something soon. If anyone has upgraded and has a set of gray seats laying around let me know.

[Turbo69bird]

I have been in boating for years, I've seen guys get the entire cockpit, back seat and v berth cushions done very nicely for $3000. I've also seen ( deep pocket ) guys pay $20k,

The seats (for vans) in question are very nicely made( Though ive never sat in them) but there's not much to them in comparison. It's about 1/10th the material.

I'd love to buy new seats, but I just can't justify the cost in comparison.

That being said I've seen guys spend $3000 on one race car seat when you can buy one for $169 so it's really all about what value you personally put on them and how deep your pockets are, unfortunately Ive got shallow pockets 😳

It's nice to know CA has a less expensive line for guys like myself though I actually didn't know they offered them at that price. Of course they need it for the six now..

[Alan Carroll]

Originally Posted by Robert Anglin

I agree with Brad on this one. You can buy the foam and patterns from Van's and do it yourself. We let Cleveland Tool do ours. She runs airshow deals at times. At Oshkosh she was willing to do it all plus a buster cushion for I think it was around 1,100 dollars. It turned out nice. Seats are going to get stained and torn a little. Make them strong and cleanable with the good aircraft fire resistant foam. Just what we did. Yours, R.E.A. III #80888

+1 for DJ Lauritsen at Cleveland Aircraft Tool. DJ did my seats over 10 years ago; they are very comfortable for long flights. It was very easy to customize the colors, amount of lumbar support, etc. I suspect that having the seats adjusted to fit your own anatomy is actually a lot more important than where you buy them.

Looks like the current base price from Cleveland is $1150 for cloth, which personally I prefer over leather (considerably lighter and more breathable). The seats (well mostly the front seat) have held up perfectly for 1000+ hours; there are some minor stains on the cloth if you look very closely but no obvious wear, unravelled seams, etc.

[diamond]

I'm curious if anyone has ever used deer hide for seat covering? I've had several pairs of deer gloves that have worn very well over time. Deer hides are also readily available seasonally and probably not too expensive, especially if you know a hunter.

[Gisnar]

Took the automotive upholstery course at the local community college. Had a good time and have now sewn two cars and an aircraft.
Not hard and much cheaper as most of the cost is labor. You can mail order FAA approved foams and fabrics or most of the larger cities have supply houses that either have it in stock or can order. Just got some foam at Perfect Fit McDonald's in Seattle. Great folks to deal with and happy to sell me a few yards of what I wanted.

[diamond]

Originally Posted by Gisnar

Took the automotive upholstery course at the local community college. Had a good time and have now sewn two cars and an aircraft.
Not hard and much cheaper as most of the cost is labor. You can mail order FAA approved foams and fabrics or most of the larger cities have supply houses that either have it in stock or can order. Just got some foam at Perfect Fit McDonald's in Seattle. Great folks to deal with and happy to sell me a few yards of what I wanted.

That's awesome, but what type of special equipment does one need to do this? and cost?