carpet templates

[preinke]

I have a '77J that I have been slowly updating the interior on. I bought all new plastic from PlanePlastic and have installed about half so far - not my favorite job rather fly instead. All of the carpet in the front of the back seat was missing when I purchased the airplane in '05 and am looking for templates or old pieces. I've considered Airtex but i wanted to carpet the back seat bottom and have something stiffer than the "paper" backing for side panels. Don't mind the metal floors but I've heard the carpet quiets thing down a bit.

TIA

Paul KIKV

[KSMooniac]

I think you'd be better off tracing/cutting your own templates and getting a local auto shop to cut and sew some carpet from approved materials of your choosing.

[preinke]

I probably will have to do some template forming as the original backseat carpet only covers a bit under the backseat. Having a picture or an example would be helpful for the pieces I need to "invent" Do you have any detailed pictures of the spar cover and the front side carpet placement ?

Paul KIKV

[KSMooniac]

Paul, I'll try to take some pics tonight...I'm headed to the hangar to take care of a few things.  My carpet is a cheapy (perhaps Airtex) that I don't really like.  One of these days I would like to replace it with something higher quality, but have been too lazy to make my own templates. 

[preinke]

I would very much appreciate that. I have been in envy of Joel Ludwigsons interior done in Minnesota but the pics don't have enough detail and I think the panels became custom made.

Thanks,

Paul

[KSMooniac]

Here are some pics of my (dirty) carpet.  Hope that helps!

[MooneyMitch]

Quote: KSMooniac

Paul, I'll try to take some pics tonight...I'm headed to the hangar to take care of a few things.  My carpet is a cheapy (perhaps Airtex) that I don't really like.  One of these days I would like to replace it with something higher quality, but have been too lazy to make my own templates. 

[Parker_Woodruff]

Pay the shipping and I'll ship you all of my old carpet that just came out of the airplane.

[KSMooniac]

Mitch, I have no idea which vendor made the carpet in my plane.  I had some previous experience with some Airtex seat covers and carpets back in the 90s with some 152s and 172s, and I was not impressed with the carpet back then.  I've certainly read quite a few good PIREPs on their stuff in the last few years, so perhaps they are much better, or they have different grades of carpet.

In my case, this stuff is thin, moves around, stains very easily, and the welting is coming loose after just a few years in service.  Some day I'll replace it with something of much higher quality...

[MooneyMitch]

I was half joking about all this anyway Scott.  I do believe Airtex has gone through some changes over the past few years.  My first experience was in 2003 with my F model interior refurbishment.  At that time for me, both the seat material and carpet seemed to be quality.  Again in 2006 with the E model refurbishment, all seemed to be just as good.  In the 06 job, Airtex had changed the backing on the carpet to a foam type material.  This made the carpet much easier to cut for fit than the previous backing. 

As far as the carpet moving around, in the F, I secured it in a few places with previously installed floor snaps.  In the E and R, the carpet is spot glued sparingly in a few key locations.  Between the foam type backing and the glue, the carpet does stay in place.

In an attempt to not sound disrespectful, but from your photos, I do agree that the carpet in your plane does look thin and somewhat poor quality, including the welting and its sewing.  

In support of Airtex, you might consider getting some samples from them now and see what you think.  It is not really a huge expense, nor is it a huge job to replace the carpet.  With that said, when Mooney installed the carpet in our R model, I think the folks used every ounce of glue in the factory that day just on this plane!  Every square inch was glued and it was indeed labor intensive to remove it.  Heat gun and all.  The other planes were not like this. 

If there are others on MooneySpace that have used Airtex, your opinion please.

 

[KSMooniac]

My plan will be to get a local shop cut and sew carpet to my specs, and I'll add some floor snaps to secure it as well.  It is just one of those things on my perpetual wish list.   

(and no disrespect taken!)

[preinke]

Thanks Scott for posting the photos. What holds the spar cover in place ? Also where does the side carpet sit in relation to the floor ? I was planning on using aluminum for backing material for side and spar cover as the little carpet I had on the side was always getting in the seat tracks and lumpy and the backing disintigrated and became mouse fodder. The other list questioned the legality of that when Marty did that to his G .

Thanks again,

Paul '77J KIKV

[MooneyMitch]

Not trying to answer for Scott, but for me, for the spar cover and side panel rebuilding, I used a the white corrugated fiber board which I purchased from AirTex.  I understand that that material can also be purchased at craft stores.  It is very sturdy and lightweight and easy to cut and shape as needed. 

On the newly fabricated panels, I glued thin foam to give the new upholstery material some body.  You could have your local auto shop sew some creative design on the panels for you as well.   See the upholstery photos on my gallery.