Aircraft Seat Recovering

[AGES]

Any one out there recommend good companies to carry out seat and interior refurbishment, any location in the UK.

[tuscan]

COVERTRIM (UK) LTD

I remeber someone mentioning these guys but I dont know if they ever used them so cant get feedback for you, it was just hangar talk.

[Pilot DAR]

Have a search back at previous posts, this was discussed within the last few months. Be aware that recovering the seats with anything other than "parts" provided by the original aircraft manufacturer, or STC/PMA approved replacement "parts" probably constitutes a design change, which requires approval. In particular, there is a requirement to show compliance with flammability requirements applicable to the aircraft.

Though recovering is commonly done, and there is a very obvious need for that work to be done on older aircraft, it may not be legal. How big a problem is this? probably not that big, though if there were an accident, fire or such, and an occupant of the aircraft were injured, the composition of a refinished interior would suddenly draw a lot attention. I have been involved in investigations of single Cessna aircraft accidents, where there had been a fire, and the composition of the interior was very much in question. Your aircraft does not conform to it's type certificate, and thus is not airworthy, if it has been repaired/modified with non approved parts and materials.

It is the aircraft owner's responsibility to maintian the aircraft airworthy, not the person undertaking the work. When you find the shop you like, ask how the work is approved in accordance with airworthiness requirements.

Once you have found the shop which meets your requirements, I highly recommend leather. It is attractive and very durable, and nearly always meets the flammability requirements. If you protect it properly, it seems to last much better, and fade less than many other materials. The last few aircraft I've been involved with refinishing (two 172's) were both done entirely in leather, other than the carpet on the floor. It's expensive, but you save in the long run.

Pilot DAR

[Shunter]

As far as I'm aware the materials simply need to comply to the required burn/fire resistant standards, just like your sofa does. Some questionable outfits will tell you that the material needs to be properly EASA compliant burn-tested, but the engineer I consulted called bolleaux on this and said you simply need a copy of the certificate for the material. The cynics amongst us might suspect that "EASA compliant burn-testing" simply involves an A4 photocopy and an extra £2k on the bill.

[Pilot DAR]

you simply need a copy of the certificate for the material

There's a bit more to it that. Who issued the aforementioned certificate? Are they an EASA (or equivilent authority) qualified burn test facility? (are they actually doing the appropriate test, in the right environment?) Can you trace that certificate back to the test upon which it is based? Is the certificate applicable to that batchlot of material, in the colour and weight you're actually using? Is the test report and resulting certificate applicable to the way the material is used?

If you test fabric, and it passes, will it still pass when you have glued it to the foam in the seat?

If you have material which has passed the horizontal burn test, is it approved for use on a vertical seat back, or sidewall panel?

How little material becomes too little fuel to be worried about, even if it were to be flammable?

There are many entities who offer certificates for things. Do they qualify to issue certificates? Is the certification against an applicable standard?

So now you're thinking, gosh, what a whole load of nonsense, why should I have to go through that just to recover the seats in my old PA28? Simple answer: Our litigious society requires aircraft to be designed and maintained to be super safe. An airliner has to account for all of the aforementioned. Some of it might not apply to the old PA28, but some certainly does, the right organisation will know which is which. Should members of our society be less safe flying as a passenger in the private PA28 than the new A380?

Hey, I don't make the rules, that's mostly up to the lawyers. But I have to follow them when I approve a mod to an aircraft. If you accomplish work on an aircraft, and use parts or materials other than those specified in the type design (OEM parts catalog), it's possible that you are modifying the plane. Modifications require evaluation for design compliance. For any interior work involving non-metallic materials, flammability is a part of that evaluation.

An organisation who is properly qualified, will have good answers for all of these questions. That does not mean that you can't have the saddle maker down the road sew up some beautiful seats for you, just make sure you've taken appropriate responsibility for what material, and how it is being used - and keep records. A previous post here discussed the fact that during a prepurchase inspection, there was no evidence that the flashy new interior was approved, and it seemed that the sale fo the aircraft was made more difficult because of this.

Pilot DAR

[Lurking123]

Try John Jones at Aviation Interiors, Gloucestershire Airport. All his materials are "CAA Approved".

[LowNSlow]

Ken Bones (01462 686613) provides a very good service at a reasonable price using CAA approved materials (where necessary).

Did a cracking job, in leather, of the seats and interior of my Auster a few years ago.

[gyrotyro]

Seats

Can't remember their name but there is a very user friendly chap at Elstree.

Helped me out once by doing a seat re-cover overnight whilst I was on a visit to the UK.

[AGES]

Guys thanks for all the information, will be looking at all the contacts after the Hols.

Best Regards