Seats need redone...

[WaynePierce]

1985 J with pretty much original cloth seats. They look great but after about 2 or 3 hours you realize they are not your recliner... :-) About how much do I need to budget to have the seats re upholstered?  Who does them or do you use any aircraft re-upholstering company. My seats are fully reclining and they are height adjustable, this is a SE 201.

[StevenL757]

17 minutes ago, WaynePierce said:

1985 J with pretty much original cloth seats. They look great but after about 2 or 3 hours you realize they are not your recliner... :-) About how much do I need to budget to have the seats re upholstered?  Who does them or do you use any aircraft re-upholstering company. My seats are fully reclining and they are height adjustable, this is a SE 201.

Wayne, I’ve used Aero Comfort in the past and they’re top-shelf...in terms of fair pricing, customer service, turnaround time, and overall quality, fit and finish.  You can either fly to KSAT and see them, or send your whole seats and/or cushions to them.

http://aerocomfort.com/mooney/

Steve

[Marauder]

1985 J with pretty much original cloth seats. They look great but after about 2 or 3 hours you realize they are not your recliner... :-) About how much do I need to budget to have the seats re upholstered?  Who does them or do you use any aircraft re-upholstering company. My seats are fully reclining and they are height adjustable, this is a SE 201.

Shop around. A professional shop will run you in the $4k range for leather. Some of these shops have slow periods and you might be able to cut a deal for less. Make sure the shop can provide the burn certificates.

Mine were redone with new memory foam, new headrests made for the back and oversized ones made for the front. I also had new pockets made for the top of the seat backs. Mine were done during the summer (their slow time) and while my plane was in for annual.








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[StevenL757]

Really like the upper and lower pocket idea...

[Bob_Belville]

I had mine done in leather by a local (auto) trim shop. I had him recover the baggage area panels and side walls in the same leather. Seats were $490 in 2012. 

[Lance Link]

My seats are a little thin from age, and I use a cushion on the bottom and it does the trick.  In addition,  you may want to consider sheep skins from Rocky Mountain in San Jose CA.  I don't know why these aren't more popular.  The 172 I learned in had them and they are fantastic.  $500 for a pair.

[Pritch]

Sheep skins are the best way to go.  Cool in the summer and warm in the winter and easy on the rear. (Butt & wallet)

Pritch

 

Edited March 17, 2019 by Pritch
added

[neilpilot]

Don’s Auto upholstery on Union Ave in Memphis.  

[Marauder]

Sheep skins are the best way to go.  Cool in the summer and warm in the winter and easy on the rear. (Butt & wallet)
Pritch
 

Yeah, I really like the leather but I found I like the sheepskin even more.




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[WaynePierce]

Thank you all for the guidance and suggestions.

[StevenL757]

As @carusoam would say...

”the power of MS”.

:-)

[FloridaMan]

11 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

Yeah, I really like the leather but I found I like the sheepskin even more.




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As someone with a Mooney with leather seats and one with cloth, the cloth were infinitely more comfortable than leather. I purchased Aerosheep covers (I think these are the same ones that @Marauder has) for the Rocket and they made a world of difference. My first attempt was a cheap "breathing" seat cover. It sucked. Get Aerosheep. In the summer time leather seats will leave your back and ass covered in sweat and I believe the reason that leather has historically been desirable as an interior material is that people used to smoke cigarettes everywhere and fabrics held odor and did not hold up as well as they do today. But for comfort, sheepskin is the way to go. 

I also got some matching fuzzy dice to go with mine. 

[ArtVandelay]

Be aware to compare apples to apples when looking at prices.
I personally don’t like cord seams, and prefer french seams. Some have two tone, some have embroidery, etc.
These will affect prices somewhat:




Tom

[kortopates]

Another plus one for Aero comfort. We enjoy our Mooney for long trips often doing a couple legs in a day. The first time I re-did the interior I went with a local aircraft upholster that supposedly used a couple densities of memory foam and good leather and I thought great - I'd save my self several hundred dollars and still get a quality job. Wrong! It looked nice but we both still had sore butts flying and suffered for a number of years that way just because of the expense. I did have to do some re-gluing minor repairs many years later and its then I realized I really didn't get multiple densities of memory foam as I thought but a combination of cheap foam with a little memory foam on top. I guess I got what I paid for - barely.

So just a couple years ago I finally went to Hector at Aerocomfort. After all the discomfort I really wanted to ensure I got comfortable seats and just didn't want to take any more chances. I am sure there are other really good upholsters available. I even found one locally that was more expensive than Hector at Aerocomfort and he walked me though his process of building up multiple layers but I was done gambling and paid the shipping to get my seats re-done by a proven quality shop with excellent track record. Just wish I did it the first time!

[FloridaMan]

I don't have any experience getting upholstery work done on my airplane, but @kortopates has a good point. Your ass is going to be spending a lot of time in that seat. I'm pretty cheap, but the years have taught me that the amortized cost of comfort is generally an excellent investment in well-being and in health. Discomfort in the most natural of positions often means that you shift your position to less natural positions and put unnatural stresses on other parts of your body. Lower back injuries are often caused by sitting for extended periods of time. 

[laytonl]

I’ve used local auto shop upholsterers on several airplanes with good results.  Many of them are aware of the flame test requirements.  Lee

[glenn reynolds]

I'll offer the ultra low budget option:  I bought two seat cushions from aircraft spruce, they are three density layers of memory foam and have burn certs,  I paid a mobile upholster to come the the airport and change the bottom cushions.  Cost about six hundred bucks total and comfort wise it's great.  It doesn't look any better but I can fly cross country in one very long day and still have a behind.  

[bradp]

To be or not to be... that is the question.  

Joking aside aero comfort is highly rated. 

Local auto shop will do the work but don’t want any of the regulatory BS. They’ll like it better if you supply the raw material.  Anything automotive will adhere to CAR-3 but you’d be on your own to do the Part 25 certs.  

[Hank]

5 hours ago, bradp said:

To be or not to be... that is the question.  

Joking aside aero comfort is highly rated. 

Local auto shop will do the work but don’t want any of the regulatory BS. They’ll like it better if you supply the raw material.  Anything automotive will adhere to CAR-3 but you’d be on your own to do the Part 25 certs.  

Since our planes were certified under CAR-3 (at least us Vintage types), are the Part 25 certs required?

[bradp]

No. But this can be an issues when someone who doesn’t know the difference is scouring log books when you’re selling or some cranky IA wants to argue about it. 

[Hank]

31 minutes ago, bradp said:

No. But this can be an issues when someone who doesn’t know the difference is scouring log books when you’re selling or some cranky IA wants to argue about it. 

That's part of why I have the TCDS saved in several spots . . . . It comes in handy from time to time.

[PT20J]

On 3/19/2019 at 8:53 PM, glenn reynolds said:

I'll offer the ultra low budget option:  I bought two seat cushions from aircraft spruce, they are three density layers of memory foam and have burn certs,  I paid a mobile upholster to come the the airport and change the bottom cushions.  Cost about six hundred bucks total and comfort wise it's great.  It doesn't look any better but I can fly cross country in one very long day and still have a behind.  

Back 25 years ago with a 78 J, I wanted comfort on a budget. The seats were so uncomfortable that I went to a store selling orthopedic back support seat cushions and bought one.  It was terrific. So, I bought an Airtex seat kit with vinyl trim and fabric inserts (fabric is cooler in summer than leather or vinyl) and I took the seats and the orthoropedic support and the Airtex upholstery to a local airplane interior shop and told them to duplicate the back support shape in new foam and cover with the Airtex upholstery. It was very inexpensive and the seats looked nice and were cool and very comfortable. 

Skip

[mark21m20c]

I purchased foam from Dynamic systems inc Leicester NC (they will send free samples so you can get a good feel ). I used Sunmate med firm for base and med for top layer. I purchased covering material from douglas and had local auto guy put it together.https://www.sunmatecushions.com/pages/high-performance-cushions-for-aircraft-seating-applications

 

[Gatlin Gun]

Ok, related but sorta not...  My seats aren't too bad but the rest of the interior (panels, carpet, etc) need some TLC.  recommendations?  Price average?

[gsxrpilot]

11 minutes ago, Gatlin Gun said:

Ok, related but sorta not...  My seats aren't too bad but the rest of the interior (panels, carpet, etc) need some TLC.  recommendations?  Price average?

There are lots of options here. But AeroComfort in San Antonio is the nicest option. At some point down the road, my 252 will get a new interior. And when that time comes, Hector will be the only option I consider.