Automotive seats

[KRviator]

After a year flying my RV-9 for a year with nothing more than a sewed-by-yourself set of seat cushions, I was on the lookout for a new set of seats to begin the process of finishing off the RV. Unfortunately though, a nice pair Classic Aero seats are out of reach for the moment, so the search began.

 

An epiphany was had one day recently when being driven around by the KRviatrix. She has a fluro yellow Suzuki Swift Sport (which, by the way, is the only thing besides the Great Wall of China that can be seen from space!) with those form-fitting bucket seats. A tape measure was brought out, and with fingers crossed, measurements taken. Give or take an inch, they looked like they would fit, and as she forbid me from knocking off her seats that day (wimmen! :p), a set was purchased from eBay for $300.

 

The obligatory before shot.

 

 

Now, first off, a word of warning: these seats are fitted with SRS Airbags on the outboard sides. I would recommend you carefully remove these before putting them in your plane. Cut the wire near the base of the backrest, and you can unzip the upholstery from the backrest, and unbolt (2 small nuts) each airbag & set them aside somewhere safe.

 

To use the seats in your RV, you have two choices depending on your height. If you are tall, you will need to remove the seat base cushion from its' steel frame and simply sit on it as you would normally. The foam holds its shape quite well without it. For shorter pilots, you can leave the steel foam base in place, it only weighs a pound or two, which has the added advantage of keeping a pair of steel hoops in place to hold the seat foam against your thighs as well, but you do tend to sit up 1-1.5 inches higher than otherwise. If you are choosing this option, remove the height-adjustment mechanism and as much extra weight as you can. You will need to drill out 2 x pop rivets on each 'side-track' as well, until you are left with a thin sheet-metal form that does nothing more than hold the foam in shape.

 

Either way, you will need to trim about 2" from the rear of the seat base to enable a better fit, and you will also need to remove a 6" x 6" portion of foam from the forward-centre portion to allow full aft control movement. The seat still looks normal by doing this, but you would be better served by having an automotive upholsterer sew a U-shape there - something I will be having done in a few days.

 

For the back rest, remove the steel frame completely by unzipping both sides, unclipping the headrest sockets from their steel supports and removing them and then removing the entire steel frame from the foam. It is then a simple process to insert your normal backrest into the seat foam, and install that in your RV.

 

Working on the Coey's seat. If you find they are a little too high, you can trim an inch or two from your aluminium seat back to bring the backrest down to suit you.

 

 

You can use the Suzuki headrests with these seats if you so desire, by using a pair of Adel clamps rivetted to your seat back at the appropriate spacing to capture the legs of the headrests, then installing the plastic sockets for the factory look and finally sliding the headrest into position. One benefit of these seats too is they come with a map pocket sewn into the back side.

 

You will need to trim a little foam away from the outboard shoulder area if you have a tip-up, to allow the aft canopy frame to clear without snagging the seat fabric & tearing it. For a little more backrest angle, you can also cut away a little bit of foam from the seat where it rests against the F-705F channel.

 

I didn't weigh them, but would guess the total weight was no more than 10-12 lbs.

 

Once you have done this, which will take you all of an hour for both seats if you're having a good day, you will end up with something like:

 

 

And for eagle-eyed readers: NO - I do not have them in backwards! The canopy lock is on the right because I fly my -9 PIC from the right side.

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Hi KR - Its really great when people come up with alternative solutions (lateral thinking) - WELL DONE

 

Just a thought - I had my automotive cushions recovered in leather. Researched upholsterers in my area, SW Sydney, - price estimates varied wildly $700 - $1300. The cheapest quote people were by far the most helpful in selecting type and colour of leather (went for old English sports car look) did some re sculpturing of the "naked" foam for a better fit and I ended up with a product that looks new & custom fitted.

 

 

[boleropilot]

another one of my hobbies is playing with old cars - Renaults, if I can get 'em - I have a 16TS and a 10

 

the seats in the 10 (50 years young next year - gonna have a party and invite every 10 in Oz) are ripped to bits and re-upholstery quotes have been horrendous - it's the labour that kills it

 

so, just like thee, KV, I asked Mrs Google what could be done - "Search on eBay, and you shall find what ye seek" she said - and she was right !

 

the number of small hatches of very little vintage (and low km) being wrecked is astounding, and I expect to find a very nice full set of seats for around $200 - some of them have never had a bum in the back

 

natch I will be putting the originals aside in case the next custodian decides to take the car back to original...

 

but hey KV, those Suzuki seats were designed by experts and manufactured to withstand automobile crash situations - and to top it off, they are comfortable and are fantastic value - they look brilliant in the RV!

 

two tone grey with red stitching - brilliant - you'll be grinning from ear to ear on your first flight with those babies bolted in

 

 

[Deskpilot]

Hi KR. I notice the your control stick is in touch with the leading edge of the seats. Did you have to cut away any of the under-lying frame etc, to get full stick movement? With my rally seat conversion in my Thruster, I've had to cut away the seat AND modify the stick. I still haven't got it right and might have to modify my seat cover as well.

 

 

 

[KRviator]

those Suzuki seats were designed by experts and manufactured to withstand automobile crash situations - and to top it off, they are comfortable and are fantastic value - they look brilliant in the RV!two tone grey with red stitching - brilliant - you'll be grinning from ear to ear on your first flight with those babies bolted in

Coupled with the livery of the RV, polished with red & yellow decals, they look great! One of these days, I'll finally paint the cowl & fairings!

 

Hi KR. I notice the your control stick is in touch with the leading edge of the seats. Did you have to cut away any of the under-lying frame etc, to get full stick movement? With my rally seat conversion in my Thruster, I've had to cut away the seat AND modify the stick. I still haven't got it right and might have to modify my seat cover as well.

To get full up-elevator, I did, yes. I removed a 6" x 6" cube from the front-centre of the seat cushion - you can kinda-sorta see the depression left behind. I took the cushions to an auto upholsterer for him to cut the fabric out around that and marry it up around the cutout so it gives it more of a production look. I should have them back in a couple of weeks, and hopefully, I'll have the registration transfer from RAAus to CAsA finalised by then so can actually make use of them!

[Deskpilot]

Thought so/. Did the same to mine today. Plus, the seat is double skinned so I cut away a wide groove in the bottom skin so that I could get it to sit lower. I'll do the mods to the cover myself. I'm fairly handy with a sewing machine. Made me first wife's maternity wear, my kids dresses and my second wife's wedding dress. I'm not just a pretty face ya'no.