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Bet you can't guess

bret

bret

Well Known Member
Where I got these free seats, some mods were required......but Free!
6a3effa1217be47f3192d760ab5b9ad7_zps2ff15f05.jpg
 
From an old office, office desk chairs.

Interesting idead as my better half asked if I HAD to use aircraft seats.
 
Not that I'm cheap, well OK, maybe a little, But I just could not see myself spending 3-6K on (aircraft seats) I'm sure they are real nice and all, but I'm 230 and just wanted a little more.......what's the word.....a.......girth in a seat.
 
They look great first of all!

But!!! You asked us to guess and that was the first thing that went throughmy mind ;)
 
So there we were, my wife has a nail salon and she was replacing her pedicure chairs and I was like HEY! Can I have those? And there ya go. At 2.5 Lbs each I am done with the seat thing :D
 
Flammability rating?

Just one question, and I hope you have considered this...have you determined the flammability rating of the materials in the seats? Sorry to be a party pooper, but for me, that would be the first consideration. [P.S. It's funny how folks jump to conclusions. In this thread I never said the material should meet aircraft certifications. I just said that in my 172, the replacement headliner material was provided with a test report indicating it met the required certification. Toxicity of off-gasses is just as much a concern to me as flammability, but I didn't mention that. Yes, as builders of experimental aircraft we are free to put anything we want to in the upholstery and carpeting. In some states you could weave a fabric from marijuana and then get really high!
 
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Yes, I was waiting for that question, going to do a test this weekend, but I am hoping it will burn and not stick......as in melt........
 
Testing

bret said:
Yes, I was waiting for that question, going to do a test this weekend, but I am hoping it will burn and not stick......as in melt........
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I noticed when I replaced the headliner in my 172, the material was supplied with a certification which included results of flammability testing. Those seats look really comfortable, so I hope you get good results from your tests. :)
 
rv7boy said:
Just one question, and I hope you have considered this...have you determined the flammability rating of the materials in the seats? Sorry to be a party pooper, but for me, that would be the first consideration.
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Maybe this is a dumb question, but if any fire has reached the seat area, does their flammability rating really matter? Wouldn't you be pretty much toast either way?
 
Sit in them for a few hours without getting up. Then you will know why people spend so much on seats.
 
JonJay said:
Sit in them for a few hours without getting up. Then you will know why people spend so much on seats.
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Actualy I have, while getting a pedicur.......What? you never had a pedicure? dawing fire retardent suit.....
 
Fireproof...

Not that I necessariy disagree with the fire certification idea, in principle, but where do you draw the line? How about a thought exercise...

If you require aircraft certified fabrics, do you:

...use a certified engine?

...use certified avionics?

...use AN hardware (yes)

...use aircraft wire (yes)

...if you did have a fire, how do you mitigate the fumes in a small enclosed cockpit? Even WITH certified fabrics?

It is an individual risk/reward decision that has to be made by every builder.

The only way to be 100% safe in an aircraft, is to be in a car...no wait, boat, no wait, golf cart, bicycle....you get the idea...
 
Fire Retardant Materials

UnPossible said:
Maybe this is a dumb question, but if any fire has reached the seat area, does their flammability rating really matter? Wouldn't you be pretty much toast either way?
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Not so fast...

It would be a real shame to have a small, seemingly insignificant ignition source (failed cell-phone battery, electric short, etc) result in a severe cabin fire because materials were chosen poorly. Anyone remember the night club fire in Rhode Island a few years ago?

Skylor
RV-8
 
skylor said:
Not so fast...

....Anyone remember the night club fire in Rhode Island a few years ago?

Skylor
RV-8
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Yes, and I don't think he will have a pyrotechnic display in his cockpit.

As someone who has lost a family member to a dorm fire, I agree, if the fire hits the seats, it really isn't going to matter what they are made of.

Where do you draw the line? Why not use fire sleeve on the fuel lines? How about the brake lines? That brake fluid is flammable.

Great job on the peddi seats!
 
With all the concern, last night I took my propane torch to a sample of this seat material and lit it. It just lit like a small slow flame that did not progress out of control. It also did not turn into a plastic type sticky mess. No noxious smoke, just a small flame that I blew out. No out of control flame. I see some on here thinking that this would be like the road runner show where one small spark and the coyote is standing in a pile of ashes and all charred up. Not at all. If I can blow this out with my mouth, I can certainly pat it out with my bare hand (witch I did also) or a fire extinguisher. :D
 
N941WR said:
Yes, and I don't think he will have a pyrotechnic display in his cockpit.

As someone who has lost a family member to a dorm fire, I agree, if the fire hits the seats, it really isn't going to matter what they are made of.

Where do you draw the line? Why not use fire sleeve on the fuel lines? How about the brake lines? That brake fluid is flammable.

Great job on the peddi seats!
Click to expand...

Or, backup double wall pressure rated for the oil cooler lines. ever see HP oil sprayed on a hot header. and why not develop an oil bypass shut off to the oil cooler incase of an oil line leak.........ect ect ect.......
 
Come on, guys, let's be realistic here. Most of those concerns could be avoided by simply installing an ejection pedicure seat.

Edit: Are you going to install massagers on the rudder pedals? :)
 
jimx1169 said:
Another (expensive) idea that would be cool to see in an RV.

https://vimeo.com/83282613
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Not that expensive to DIY these, most road racing suppliers will see you a bead seat kit. I've done several of them, it isn't hard.

They end up looking like race car seats upholstered in gaffer tape and/or nomex, and most RV's have nicer upholstered seats.....they'd also be less comfortable, since an RV is big enough to let most of us move around a little, have a sandwich, etc. A bead seat is for cockpits that are too small to allow for more than one position.
 
Call Sign

You realize we all get to pick your call sign?:D
Very brave to discuss a pedicure with all this testosterone.

I am thinking:
Nails
Sugar Scrub
 
3261 views in two days, I should have my wife advertise her shop on VAF! Come on in guys, get your wife a gift certificate for a mani, pedi, or tan for leaving her by herself for all those years while you were in the garage building a plane. Or, I could start a thread on what I did with all that plexi from the tanning beds??..:D
 
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