REFLECTOR: seats

Wed Apr 18 13:17:38 CDT 2012

>> it feels a lot like everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel. <<

Richard,

I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel (or the seat), I'm trying to avoid building seats. Most builders I've talked to spent many hours and more than $500 per seat (foam, hardware, upholstery, etc.) to get the factory pans assembled and finished. If I can buy professionally-made seats that have more rigid frames and better recline mechanisms for $400 each and spend a few hours building brackets, I'll be ahead in both time and money. (Better appearance, too, considering what my upholstery skills would produce!)

I really respect the work that people have done on their seats. Yours, with the perforated leather and three kinds of foam, sound extraordinary! Will you please post a photo? Also, thanks for sharing your foam source.

Reiff Lorenz, Dayton, OH
XL-RG, 31% complete
Installing the gas springs for the doors

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Richard J. Gentil
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 10:26 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: seats

Just thinking about all the work people are doing to get car seats, reclining seats, etc. it feels a lot like everyone is trying to reinvent the wheel.

I used the factory pans and attach hardware. I put all three densities of Astronaut Foam in the bottom pan and the medium and soft densities in the seat backs.  I covered them in leather. In center section was perforated leather while the edges are solid leather.

Here is a link to the foam:

http://www.wingsandwheels.com/page40.htm

The factory seats are set at an angle as if you were in an F-16 fighter. With the seats out of leather and astronaut foam the hardest part of flying the Velo is keeping from falling asleep. No need to recline you can easily pass out without reclining any further.

I fly an SERG so I do not have the luxury of the extra elbow room of the XL's and I really don't miss it at all.

Richard

Sent from my iPhone 4 Classic

On Apr 16, 2012, at 8:55 PM, Chris Barber <cbarber at texasattorney.net<mailto:cbarber at texasattorney.net>> wrote:
Heck. My regular seats have already trashed the upholstery on my keel. Lessons learned for re-fit after flying.

Sent from my iPhone 4

On Apr 16, 2012, at 7:48 PM, "Reiff Lorenz" <Reiff at Lorenz.com<mailto:Reiff at Lorenz.com>> wrote:

Lou,

Here are the specs on the Corbeau A4. It seems to fit well if you raise it about 2 inches so that the seat hinge is above the side conduit. There isn't a lot of extra side-to-side room, though, so the interior upholstery on the keel will need to be really thin.

Reiff

<image003.jpg>

From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org<mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org> [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]<mailto:[mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]> On Behalf Of Lou Stedman
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 5:23 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: seats

Reiff, those seats look great. Can you tell me what the width is?

From: Reiff Lorenz<mailto:Reiff at lorenz.com>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 2:47 PM
To: Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list<mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: seats

Bill,

Your seats look terrific! I like the combination of the automotive hinge/recliner and the lighter Velocity seat pans. May I ask what Oregon Aero and the local shop charged to pad and cover them?

I've attached a photo of my first attempt at installing the Corbeau seats. I made a temporary seat bracket out of hardware-store angle aluminum. The back is too low and the front is too high, so I'll be re-making it, this time with 6061 aluminum and AN-hardware. I'd welcome any tips that you or others have for me. (What's the best way to cut angle aluminum? My band saw is slow & loud.)

I don't think forward CG will be a big issue for me. My wife and I are both small and we're moving the panel, stick, (and maybe pedals) aft an inch. It's always hard to tell at this point in construction if there will be W&B issues, but I'm currently more worried about aft CG issues with single pilot and full fuel.

Despite all that, I'm really glad that you sent the photo and description of your seats. Until you described your installation, I didn't have a good plan B to my Corbeau attempts. I also like your under-seat storage. That's ingenious!

Reiff Lorenz, Dayton, OH

XL-RG, 31% complete

Installing the RG pulleys and making seat brackets

-----Original Message-----
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org<mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org> [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]<mailto:[mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org]> On Behalf Of William Walker
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 10:14 PM
To: reflector at tvbf.org<mailto:reflector at tvbf.org>
Subject: REFLECTOR: seats

Reiff,

You'll probably regret the Corbeau decision down the road. Most current Velocities run out of forward CG before they run out of useful load. That extra 35 lbs is way forward of the CG.

Besides, there is almost no side-loading in aircraft, and although the Velocity seat pans look Plain-Jane, you would be amazed at how someone like Oregon Aero can make them feel wonderful. Wiggle room is very much appreciated after 2+ hrs in this type aircraft.

I looked at numerous options, even automotive seats, and came up with this solution:

Factory seat pans, Mazda Miata (circa 2002) outer hinges, factory inner hinges, some creative fitment engineering, Oregon Aero seat foams, local interior shop, and could not be happier. They look and feel like factory car seats, they fold forward for easy access to the rear seats, and the seat backs can be adjusted rearward by the hinge lever in easily duplicated notches. (They can also lay all the way back and down if you ever have to sleep in your plane or have the need to engage the autopilot and travel rearward to diagnose wayward gear problems).

Let me know if you are interested and I'll take a few photos and a video to send to you.

Bill Walker

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