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Seat cost

redbowen

Member
Having a hard time swallowing the price on basically 4 seat cushions being $1500-$3000. I visited classic aero today and they make a great product, but I would expect the cost to be 1/4 what they charge. My question is to those that have gone to non-aviation upholstery shops for either just the covers or for the cushions and the covers, where you able to keep the cost down. About how much?
 
Marine upholstery folks??

My wife works for a boat company with an upholstery shop

She does leather on 600k and up boats and she estimated 200 bucks for hides and foam. Not sure on labor but hopefully not 1000 for the 9A
 
I took mine to a custom auto interior guy and provided the cowhides to him. He did a great job sewing everything up and his labor still cost me just under a grand and that was 10 years ago and for only two seats.

The good news is that after 750+ hours the seats still look brand new.
 
I too had a hard time stomaching the cost of seats. Riding in various homebuilt seats that left me sore and cramping after a hours ride I decided the expense might be worth it. I just did a trip with my 76 year old dad in my Oregon Aero seats, over 13 hours in a couple days up to 3 hour legs with no seat discomfort from either of us.
As home builders I think most of us could make really nice seats our 3rd go around if we want to experiment, for a good first time around the various seat vendors have the comfort built in the first round.
 
FWIW,
My classic aero leather seats have 10 1/2 years, 950+ hours. I believe I paid around $1350.
I just had my first issue where a seam has split on both leg arms on the pilot side.
I was able to do a patch job on them to extend the life before committing to new covers. They no longer have the colors I had when built.

With hind site, since 90% of my flying has been from the left seat, I would recommend rotating them on each condition inspection.
All in all, I believe it was a good value when you consider the number of hours & the hundreds of time I've gone in & out for maintenance ...
 
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I had the same experience. I bought $150 worth of foam, built my own and flew it for almost two years. Anything leg over an hour left me in pain that eventually became intolerable. I bit the bullet and bought an Oregon Aero seat at Oshkosh last year at a discount. I have flown many 3-4 hours legs since with no pain whatsoever. When I pay off my mortgage, I will buy the second seat.
 
Hi Bryan,

I'm sitting at home trying to get over the flu, and I happened to see your post. Sorry I missed you at the shop today, but it's better I don't pass this along to anyone else :)

I know you're looking for input from those who have used non-aviation upholstery shops, and I don't mean to butt in on that conversation, but I wanted to shed some more light on the pricing of our products. It's easy to compare apples to oranges here.

We do offer a lower cost seat option that starts at $786 for a ready to install set of seat cushions covered in vinyl ($831 for cloth etc.). That is our Sierra line. We don't have this option for your RV-6 at the moment, but we could adapt it if you wished. I feel that price is very competitive for what you get. It still features materials that are certified to FAA specs, same top quality that is used on our more expensive seats, cnc contour cut foam parts, highest quality foam available (including 1" memory foam), and made by an experienced shop.

There are a few benefits you get from working with an experienced shop. Over the last 14 years, we've made well over 2000 sets of seats for RVs. In that time we've made some significant improvements to our seats more than once. We've also stocked almost the exact same materials for about the last 10 years. Many customers have contacted us years after their seats were made asking us to repair something, or make some other interior accessory to go along with their seats. In most cases, this was no problem (I'm sorry you were an exception Dan).

The last thing I'll mention is that our profit margin is very modest. I don't know of many companies that are getting rich making seat cushions. If I wasn't a pilot and an airplane nut, I would have gotten out of this business a long time ago. Anyway, I hope I didn't rattle on too much. Feel free to drop by again (I'm almost always there during any week day). If not to talk about seats, I'd like to hear about your Kitfox. I'm slowly working on an old Avid Flyer.
 
I have classic aero seats in my -7 and have flown for over 8 hours in 1 day, and many legs up to 3 hours. The seats are wonderful. Very comfortable and worth the money for me, although the price is hard to swallow at first. If I had it to do over again, I'd get the same ones.

Bret here on the board repurposed some seats for his RV. The look great. I have not sat in his plane, but I am sure he can chime in. After hearing how much he has into his, it definitely got me thinking.
 
I have been pondering this choice as well. I have been leaning towards using the Van's foam for my -6. My mother in law is retired from owning an upholstery business and would be happy to sew covers for this foam.

Any thoughts on the quality / comfort / durability of the foam seat cushions that Van's sells?
 
Seats

Go to Lowes on the Aviation isle in the patio chairs cushion department they have some nice temp cushions for $70.
Bob
 
There are a few benefits you get from working with an experienced shop. Over the last 14 years, we've made well over 2000 sets of seats for RVs. In that time we've made some significant improvements to our seats more than once. We've also stocked almost the exact same materials for about the last 10 years. Many customers have contacted us years after their seats were made asking us to repair something, or make some other interior accessory to go along with their seats. In most cases, this was no problem (I'm sorry you were an exception Dan).

Luke, The samples you sent were close, but no match.
The rest of the covers look brand new, that's why it would be difficult opting for new covers at this time.
 
I bought Van's foam for my RV8, two cow hides locally and had a local upholstery shop make the covers. Labor for the upholstery shop was $500.
I used the extra hide for the glare shield, side pockets, and side wall
 
I actually covered a set of RV7 seats for someone here on Vans for just the cost of material as a test, as I have an industrial sewing machine and novice sewing skills. I had debated about doing more than my own and used this set as a test.

I plan to do my own and that it. I think I had 20 hours or more in just 2 seats (granted I am novice and could do next faster). To do it right and with the quality people expect takes a lot of practice.

If someone around Louisville Ky area wants to sew their own seats though but doesn't have the equipment I would be glad to let any RV owner use it at my hangar.
 
I have classic aero seats in my -7 and have flown for over 8 hours in 1 day, and many legs up to 3 hours. The seats are wonderful. Very comfortable and worth the money for me, although the price is hard to swallow at first. If I had it to do over again, I'd get the same ones.

Bret here on the board repurposed some seats for his RV. The look great. I have not sat in his plane, but I am sure he can chime in. After hearing how much he has into his, it definitely got me thinking.

Thanks, I took some memory foam and shaped it to the seat pans, and reused some covers, they feel great after you warm the cold foam and settle in. sat in them for hours doing the panel and feels great. here is a post from 2 years ago. http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=123563&highlight=pedi
 
Just a reminder to those who wish to go for the ultra-bargain-basement price point on their seating... The quality of foam chosen for the seats can have a significant impact on the potential for injuries in the event of an accident. I understand that few of us really want to contemplate that aspect of the design, but it is a critical aspect, nonetheless.
 
Purchased Vans Foam

Completing my RV 7 i finally got the seat foam from Vans.

It seems adequate and I will get a local quote from a collector car upholsterer to apply flame resistant product. Not sure whether leather or cloth at this point, the cost is the factor as the plane is eating up any beer money and probably bread money soon as i race to finish for first flight in Sept.

For my money I like the Classic Aero products and think them fine and if it weren't for the stupid exchange rate on Canadian money I would go there I think.

Oh of course I haven't flown the seat foam yet, But Ii sit on it lots and make airplane noises..... some of my best flying to date!

Dave
p.s. I do try to support advertisers here and have done many times
 
Luke, The samples you sent were close, but no match.
The rest of the covers look brand new, that's why it would be difficult opting for new covers at this time.

I'm sorry Dan, we just didn't have our current materials program established back then.
 
I used classic aero design when I built my 7A. It's somewhat painful to write that check but as soon as you sit in them the first time.... that feeling is completely gone! My seats are extremely comfortable not to mention very durable as well. I'm a happy customer and consider it money well spent. Another way to think of it.... the only real "extra" cost to have professionals like classic aero do your work is the difference in what you'd pay someone else.
 
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seat cushion material

I don;t think Vans seat foam has the features that Oregon Aero or Classic seats have. These vendor's seats allow comfort for very long trips.The secret is the comforfoam in the seats. Oregon Aero has sold me the uncovered seats. They are pricey. I have purchased the plain comfor foam from seatfoam.com (I have no affiliation with them). The recommendation is to use the blue on the bottom and pink on top. Since you have access to an upholstery expert, you could make your own seats and have her cover them to make the cost very reasonable. And she would probably love doing them for you.
The aftermarket seat makers do custom design the shape of the cushion, but if you have access to one of theirs you can see how they do it.

Kitplanes did a series of upholstery articles in 2010. Starting in the April 2010 edition with "Cover Story-designing men". There were articles in May (Building a Custom Cushion), June (Seat Cover Conventions), and July (Carpets and Panels).
All were written by Mike Manning. I clipped them all at the time. They are great articles to get you started.
 
I feel the price is very fair. I could see if us builders were cranking out tens of thousands of airplanes each year, then the economies of scale would come into play and the price could be lower. But even so, everything about the seats I bought from Classic Aero are top shelf. The quality of the leather is so far and above anything I've seen in any car. These are not some hacks throwing some fabric over some craft store foam.

There is real engineering, ergonomics, and design that they put into their products that are hand build to your exact specifications. I'm a satisfied customer.
 
Caved

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.
 
Seats and all.

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
 
Worth it

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.
 
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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.
 
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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..
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
I decided to go with simple and ordered a set of Noral Seat Cushions to use during the break-in that's about to start. I wanted to be able to experiment with thickness and fit as I'm 6'3" and with a headset, will test the limits of a 14. There is nothing harder than the 747 seat that I sit on for hours on end and all I wanted was something a little softer.
Point is , there are choices out there for less than 200$ to give you time to experiment under various flight scenarios (?) as to what your butt will be satisfied with.
My aircraft will be Utility use 98% of the time and I know I won't win any awards.
But, boy, does that RV7 interior look nice.
Rather have a nice O/U shotgun.
 
Flight Line Interiors.

How about the flight line interiors seats? They seem to be significantly lower in cost. Any feedback from those who have purchased these?
 
How about the flight line interiors seats? They seem to be significantly lower in cost. Any feedback from those who have purchased these?
My RV-8A seats are from Flightline Interiors. Abby was recommended by a friend and I was attracted by the lower prices. However, I was not satisfied and would not go that route again.

Email me ([email protected]) if you need specifics.

--
Joe
 
Flightline seats in my RV9 for over 8 years now. Very satisfied with the fit and finish as well as wearability. Have flown a few 8-hour days with no issues.

Greg
 
Seats

Abby at flightline did my seats. She put a nice cloth upholstery with some temper foam in addition to the basic vans foam set. I was very pleased with her fair prices, and her excellent workmanship. The longest I've flown so far is two hours.
 
Seats

Abby at Flightline did my seats. She put a nice cloth upholstery with some temper foam in addition to the basic vans foam set. I was very pleased with her fair prices, and her excellent workmanship. She and her husband are delightful. The longest I've flown so far is two hours - no discomfort after those 2 hours.
 
I decided to go with simple and ordered a set of Noral Seat Cushions to use during the break-in that's about to start. I wanted to be able to experiment with thickness and fit as I'm 6'3" and with a headset, will test the limits of a 14. There is nothing harder than the 747 seat that I sit on for hours on end and all I wanted was something a little softer.
Point is , there are choices out there for less than 200$ to give you time to experiment under various flight scenarios (?) as to what your butt will be satisfied with.
My aircraft will be Utility use 98% of the time and I know I won't win any awards.
But, boy, does that RV7 interior look nice.
Rather have a nice O/U shotgun.

Shotguns and Dome homes! Awesome!
 
Hi Guys,

Just a reminder that Classic Aero offers several seat models to accommodate different budgets. For RV-7/9 customers we offer our "Sierra" seats:

Vinyl - $786
Cloth - $831
Synthetic Leather (Ultraleather) - $947
Leather - $1287

(prices are for 2 seats)

Classic Aero "Sierra" Seats

These seats feature contour cut foam shapes, and a 1" layer of memory foam. I don't think you will find much lower prices for RV seats than these.

2008-lrg.jpg
 
Love my seats...

I love my classic aero seats. I wish they cost less, but wouldn't do it any other way. They make long trips comfortable and make my airplane look like a BMW, instead of a go-cart.

Somethings I regret spending extra money on, but not my seats!

Michael-
 
Thanks Michael. I'm glad you are happy with your seats. We try to provide options to fit many customer's budgets and preferences.
 
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