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ka6dan

Well Known Member
Who out there has used VAN'S seat foam? Good bad or ugly? What vender would you recommend if not VAN'S?:rolleyes:
 
Great for us

ka6dan said:
Who out there has used VAN'S seat foam? Good bad or ugly? What vender would you recommend if not VAN'S?:rolleyes:
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Raw Kit.

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It worked great for us. We used Van's foam. My wife made the seat covers. She says the plans are just like the RV-6 manual....... very difficult to figure out and not correct... :D

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I tried the Van's supplied foam cushions then tried Oregon Aero.... difference in fit and form is night and day. In this case, I think you get what you pay for.... so it's up to you. Personally, I've flown 4.8 hrs non stop in my Oregon Aero seats and comfort was not an issue.
 
After Ron "Smokey" Schreck made his record setting 20 hour flight where he touched down on every public use airport in North Carolina I asked him what foam he had in his seats. When he said he had Van's foam, I figured it would be good enough for me and couldn't be happier.

One tip for you, have all the seat cushions stitched up separately. That way you can adjust the seat height based on your passenger's requirement. I have had very tall passengers and left off the wedge and had shorter passengers and used two 1" pieces under their seat.

On the other side, I flew a friend's -9A with all the cushions stitched together and it was too tall for me and I'm only 5'-11" tall.
 
Seats

I used Van's Foam. Astronaut foam like the others. Very comfortable and much cheaper if you're retired and on a budget like me.

My wife sewed the fabric and yes the patterns leave a lot to be disired. If you have a good seamstress they'll be able to figure it out.:D
 
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We sell 'em too. Slight difference in sizing as ours have always been made to stuff inside the 'cases' and push out to provide some bolster. Van's altered this when they started having the cushions made so that they would 'fit' without any covering, where ours will not fit unless they are stuffed in the cases or cut down.

http://www.cleavelandtool.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RV9FOAMSET
 
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There is no substitute for Oregon Aero. (of course the owner was just at my house Saturday night, so I might be a bit biased) :D
Seriously though, there is a difference between what they do, how they do it, and the other foam options out there. You can see it in the number and type of layers they use and in the overall construction.
Can you feel it? I am convinced. But how good is good enough? That is where you have to decide to separate some $ from your wallet, or keep a few in there.
If you use Oregon Aero, you simply have the best.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the info. Yes retired yes. $ are a factor but as I plan on some longish flights comfort is also a factor.

Gary great looking seats. Don't think the wife will ever attempt any thing like it.

Vansairforce is a great asset to us builders

Dan J
Paid my dues despite a tour in sunny southeast Asia. Don't think my hazardous duty pay warranted not.
 
My wife wants to tackle the seats, and she is quite able in the sewing skills.
Just a couple of followup questions.
On the provided patterns are they the simple 2 tone scheme you did? or was that extra creativity by your wife?
Looks like the crotch strap comes up and around the foam, rather than through the bottom. Are the foam blanks cut back farther for the crotch strap by default, or can the strap come straight up through the foam?
Anyone here do the Van's foam along with installing seat heaters?
I'm assuming these are held in place with velcro across the seat bottom and the top of the seat back.
 
Van's foam

I purchased the Van's foam seat cushions years ago when we started our (very slow) quick build -8. Farther along we learned of Abby at Flight Line Interiors. Her business is only 45 minutes or so from our home so we visited there. Abby and her husband are extremely nice and super competent, a great example of American ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit. She did our seats with wonderful new materials and included the seat heaters we bought years previously. I think she added a bit of Temperfoam-like material to the seats. They are beautiful and light. Long term comfort remains to be determined, but our initial impression is they'll be excellent. Workmanship is terrific and the seats look nice. Incidentally, she showed us seats with colors and patterns that were very close to those we chose for our -8. The ones she showed us were for a Rocket and were shipped within a few days to that airplane's home in Israel! Her business is international and she has worked hard to make her seats fit well in all the RV's, including the -10 and -12's, going to Oregon and Van's to check measurements and fit. We recommend her work highly. By the way, the seat heaters feel great.
 
bruceh said:
My wife wants to tackle the seats, and she is quite able in the sewing skills.
Just a couple of followup questions.
On the provided patterns are they the simple 2 tone scheme you did? or was that extra creativity by your wife?
Looks like the crotch strap comes up and around the foam, rather than through the bottom. Are the foam blanks cut back farther for the crotch strap by default, or can the strap come straight up through the foam?
Anyone here do the Van's foam along with installing seat heaters?
I'm assuming these are held in place with velcro across the seat bottom and the top of the seat back.
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Bruce - Call David at Oregon Aero. Even if you do not use thier foam, I bet he will have the answers you are looking for. Thier experience goes well beyond the many RV's they have done.
While you have him on the phone, ask what they do differently in their foam blanks. You can then make a value judgement.
 
Wife's work

bruceh said:
My wife wants to tackle the seats, and she is quite able in the sewing skills.
Just a couple of followup questions.
On the provided patterns are they the simple 2 tone scheme you did? or was that extra creativity by your wife?
Looks like the crotch strap comes up and around the foam, rather than through the bottom. Are the foam blanks cut back farther for the crotch strap by default, or can the strap come straight up through the foam?
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1. Yes, extra creativity by my wife.

2. Crotch strap was temporary in the photo. After I did a permanent install (I used Van's brackets and modified them for the smaller -6 opening) the strap comes up in just the correct spot to get in the seat cushion gap. Sorry no pics.
I'll get some when I head to Sebring tomorrow.
 
CROTCH STRAP!!!

OMG Bruce and Gary! You guys just saved me (or more accurately, my girlfriend's mom) A TON of extra work!

Right now she is sewing up the seat covers. She hasn't gotten to the bottom cushions yet but will be there soon. I gave her the cushions out of the -6 and told her to basically copy them.

I TOTALLY NEGLECTED the crotch strap that is in the -7 I am building!

THANK YOU for triggering my brain that this item was missing in the seat bottoms!

That could have been a hassle...

Bruce, I am doing seat heaters too. The directions say that the carbon fiber seat heaters can be cut but right now I am thinking that they won't need to be sliced.

Let me noodle it over and get back to you!

;) CJ
 
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bottom wedge is not really a cushion....

my two bits advice is that the bottom wedge is intended to RAISE the pilot/pax up 2" , so if it's just typical foam, it will compress to maybe 1", and then the seat doesn't sit flat, it 'vee's' into the low spot ....if you can imagine that.
ask for/use some much denser foam for this wedge, and of course add a strip of velcro just to keep it centred when adjusting the seat foam stack to suit.
I might even suggest it be an inch or 2 wider for stability.
 
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Captain_John said:
CROTCH STRAP!!!

THANK YOU for triggering my brain that this item was missing in the seat bottoms!

That could have been a hassle...

Bruce, I am doing seat heaters too. The directions say that the carbon fiber seat heaters can be cut but right now I am thinking that they won't need to be sliced.

Let me noodle it over and get back to you!

;) CJ
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No problem!

I'm looking at this seat heater kit. Anyone have other experiences with buying and installing a kit like this over the seat foam?
 
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