Finally Going to Tackle the Interior

O.K. I have threatened to redo the Cherokee's interior for several years
and I am FINALLY going to actually pull the trigger. I had written
previously about my hesitation to go the Airtex route, along with my
equal hesitation to spend $6k+ (and wait several weeks/months) for the
custom job at an "airplane" shop. I checked out a local independent
person who has done some work on the field that I liked. Everyone raved
about how the price was WAY less than Airtex.

A premium material Airtex job (seats, side panels, and carpet), with new
front seat foam&suspension canvas, hat shelf carpet, and a couple extra
yards of material/carpet is going to be around $2700. The local quoted
me $5K!!! Gulp! Not for a plane worth $35k.

Anyway, I looked over the Airtex photos again and called them to ask
some questions. The order person answering the phone knew most of the
answers right off,including my concerns about colors and materials). She
then gave me the number to the shop. The person there knew exactly what
I was concerned with and took his time to fully answer my questions. I
kept asking if I was taking him away from his job. He reminded me that
they were in the DIY business and taking calls like mine were precisely
what they were supposed to do. So, they do sell replacement foam build
ups (multiple layers of different densities) that were precut and shaped
to drop right in... $75 for each front seat. They also sell the
suspension canvas and he gave me the method they use (and glue type they
use) to install it. The back seats just need foam slabs and he said they
could sell it to me, but i would be better off getting it locally (less
cost and no shipping of bulky material). I did consider the auto/boat
shop route, but the thought of getting the whole thing in a box, with
burn certs, already mounted on NEW wall panels (mine are a mess), and
new foam has won me over.

I will report on the results and take before and after pictures.

Mike

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Looking forward to the report Mike. As an Arrow shopper, one thing I've
wondered about is the cost of having the interior redone


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-IA Student-Arrow Shopping Student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Mike,
I need new seat uphostery for my citabria and I'm thinking about redoing
the rest of the interior. As it turns out, Airtext is located near me.
I called them last week and asked if I could stop by. They said sure.
Those folks were great. I got a mini tour of the shop. They showed
me all kinds of fabric and colors. I, like you, felt like I was taking
them away from their work but they really took their time. They even
showed me how to clean vinyl. They use a solvent in combination with a
specific spray cleaner, 409 or fantastic.

Right now I'm debating which colors to go with and whether or not to do
the whole thing. I'm also thinking about replacing the headliner.

Good luck with your upgrade.

Dave
68 7ECA

Mike Spera wrote:
O.K. I have threatened to redo the Cherokee's interior for several years
and I am FINALLY going to actually pull the trigger. I had written
previously about my hesitation to go the Airtex route, along with my
equal hesitation to spend $6k+ (and wait several weeks/months) for the
custom job at an "airplane" shop. I checked out a local independent
person who has done some work on the field that I liked. Everyone raved
about how the price was WAY less than Airtex.

A premium material Airtex job (seats, side panels, and carpet), with new
front seat foam&suspension canvas, hat shelf carpet, and a couple extra
yards of material/carpet is going to be around $2700. The local quoted
me $5K!!! Gulp! Not for a plane worth $35k.

Anyway, I looked over the Airtex photos again and called them to ask
some questions. The order person answering the phone knew most of the
answers right off,including my concerns about colors and materials). She
then gave me the number to the shop. The person there knew exactly what
I was concerned with and took his time to fully answer my questions. I
kept asking if I was taking him away from his job. He reminded me that
they were in the DIY business and taking calls like mine were precisely
what they were supposed to do. So, they do sell replacement foam build
ups (multiple layers of different densities) that were precut and shaped
to drop right in... $75 for each front seat. They also sell the
suspension canvas and he gave me the method they use (and glue type they
use) to install it. The back seats just need foam slabs and he said they
could sell it to me, but i would be better off getting it locally (less
cost and no shipping of bulky material). I did consider the auto/boat
shop route, but the thought of getting the whole thing in a box, with
burn certs, already mounted on NEW wall panels (mine are a mess), and
new foam has won me over.

I will report on the results and take before and after pictures.

Mike

__________________________________________________ _____________________________

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O.K. I have threatened to redo the Cherokee's interior for several years
and I am FINALLY going to actually pull the trigger.

Good luck, Mike.

One thing I discovered while re-doing ours was that it's possible to get a
good job for a reasonable price -- IF you are a patient man and shop around.

It is also, of course, possible to pay a lot and still be disappointed, and
it's also possible to pay a lot and still have the job take forever.
However, generally speaking, if you want the job done on a specific
timeline, be prepared to pay more.

Our leather interior cost far less than most, because (a) I was willing to
wait while the owner of the shop accumulated enough leather from bigger jobs
(King Airs, etc.), and (b) I was patient. The job took nearly a year, in
bits and pieces, and caused me a great deal of heartburn, but in the end we
walked away with a beautiful complete leather interior for less than what a
single leather seat usually costs at an automotive upholstery shop.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

And you wonder why you have high blood pressure? :-))

Jay Honeck wrote:
Good luck, Mike.
One thing I discovered while re-doing ours was that it's possible to get a
good job for a reasonable price -- IF you are a patient man and shop around.
It is also, of course, possible to pay a lot and still be disappointed, and
it's also possible to pay a lot and still have the job take forever.
However, generally speaking, if you want the job done on a specific
timeline, be prepared to pay more.
Our leather interior cost far less than most, because (a) I was willing to
wait while the owner of the shop accumulated enough leather from bigger jobs
(King Airs, etc.), and (b) I was patient. The job took nearly a year, in
bits and pieces, and caused me a great deal of heartburn, but in the end we
walked away with a beautiful complete leather interior for less than what a
single leather seat usually costs at an automotive upholstery shop.

And you wonder why you have high blood pressure? :-))

Actually, the more I think about it, the less I question it...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay,

Because I have done upholstery work before, I had a desire to do most of
the work. The part I did not want to do was the actual cutting and
sewing of the materials. I also did not want to scrounge up the foam and
webbing, along with cutting and fitting the panels. That part is WAY too
tedious unless you are in a production shop with all the materials and
tools. My partner (the wife) absolutely hates the feel of leather
interiors. Since this limited me to more "common" fabrics and I wanted
to do the install work, Airtex began looking like a better deal. The
hesitation I had earlier about fit and finish appears to have more to do
with the chintzy way Piper designed the seats rather than who makes the
coverings. Yes, I know that a custom upholstery shop can dramatically
alter the seat thickness and contour with custom built up padding, but I
want to keep the plane nearer to a "stock" look, just cleaned up. After
all, a custom leather interior can look a little out of place in a run
of the mill airplane like a 140. As I said earlier, I also hate to wait.
I want to have everything lined up with no question about where I will
source something or not be quite sure about how to perform some
operation or another. Again, the Airtex solution can almost literally
"arrive in a box".

Tried to place the order on Friday, but they were closed.

Mike

Jay Honeck wrote:

Good luck, Mike.
One thing I discovered while re-doing ours was that it's possible to
get a good job for a reasonable price -- IF you are a patient man and
shop around.
It is also, of course, possible to pay a lot and still be
disappointed, and it's also possible to pay a lot and still have the
job take forever. However, generally speaking, if you want the job
done on a specific timeline, be prepared to pay more.
Our leather interior cost far less than most, because (a) I was
willing to wait while the owner of the shop accumulated enough leather
from bigger jobs (King Airs, etc.), and (b) I was patient. The job
took nearly a year, in bits and pieces, and caused me a great deal of
heartburn, but in the end we walked away with a beautiful complete
leather interior for less than what a single leather seat usually
costs at an automotive upholstery shop.



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Since this limited me to more "common" fabrics and I wanted to do the
install work, Airtex began looking like a better deal.

Don't know if this is pertinent, but the shop I used for my interior sews up
the leather seats from patterns, so that when you arrive it's "rip off the
old, install the new"...

Maybe you could have them just do the pattern sewing part, and drop ship the
"carcasses" to you? I have no idea if it would be cheaper than Airtex,
but it might be worth a phone call. It's Goodenow's Upholstery
http://aircraftupholstery.com/ .
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Another alternative for the seats is to remove them from the airplane and
take them to an automotive interior shop for recovering. Purchase
additional matching fabric for sidewalls, etc. This is defined as
"preventative maintenance" under FAR Part 43, Appendix A (C) (11).

--
-Elliott Drucker

Another alternative for the seats is to remove them from the airplane and
take them to an automotive interior shop for recovering.

Interestingly, I found them to be hugely expensive, by comparison to the
aircraft shops.

I mean, I was able to do my whole aircraft for what a local upholstery shop
wanted to charge me for doing a single seat.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"