Interior Upgrade Question

There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.


-Brian
N33431

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 16:50:39 -0600, "Brian Sponcil"
wrote:


There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.

The pilot can replace the interior of the plane. There are burn
requirements for the materials used, I think they are spelled out
somewhere in the FARs.

-Nathan

"Brian Sponcil" wrote in message
...

There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and
while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out
my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots
can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure
or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the
primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.


-Brian
N33431



I replaced my 150's decorative furnishings "mike holder" with a custom one
that's a cup holder and a GPS

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:35:41 -0800, "NW_PILOT"
wrote:


"Brian Sponcil" wrote in message
...


I replaced my 150's decorative furnishings "mike holder" with a custom one
that's a cup holder and a GPS

Best one I've seen yet! As far as the burn certs, remember that came
off of anything once living is approved, but I would have the pleather
looked at. HAHAHA cupholder/GPS. Good one!

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 16:50:39 -0600, "Brian Sponcil"
wrote:


There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.

If you ask 5 different people, you will get 5 different answers.

If your aircraft was originally type certificated under CAR3, there is
no current defined standard for burn resistance.

Upholstery fabric for institutional use (hospitals, nursing homes,
etc) typically has official "burn" certification. If you can find a
local upholstery shop familiar with these materials/requirements, you
would be easily meeting/exceeding CAR3 material requirements.

Seat removal/reinstallation is seldom considered to be outside of the
list of acceptable preventative maintenance tasks.

A straight seat cover replacement/reupholstery would likely also be
acceptable. Modifying/repairing the seat structure itself would be a
no-no.

Talk to the guy/gal that has been signing off your inspections, get
their opinion. After it gets through a couple of years in service, no
one will know the difference anyway.

TC

Brian Sponcil wrote:

There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.

How convenient....I was on the phone with the Denver FSDO/Airworthy
Specialist this morning for this exact same topic.

Key words -- "replace v repair" as you've already noted. If it's
just a repair then there's no issue IF (please note the emphasis)
you use the EXACT same hardware(screws or attaching hardware) to
re-install into the EXACT same location. This means you may NOT
drill new holes to attach the interior panels, you may NOT change
the materials (plastic - leather). If any of this is a replacement
then it becomes an A&P signoff to remain airworthy AND the materials
(fabric, leather, etc) must satisfy the burn requirements.

You may remove anything and everything. But there's a limit on
what you can re-install yourself without the A&P signoff.

If the automotive shop uses materials that satisfy the burn rqmt
and can provide documentation, that's one issue out of the way.
Only thing that's left is for an A&P to bless it. Then you can
put the seats back in.

Call your local FSDO and get their official position and/or the
AOPA legal office for peace of mind.

"Nathan Young" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 16:50:39 -0600, "Brian Sponcil"
wrote:


There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and
while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out
my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them. FAR 43.100 states pilots
can:

(11) Repair upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit
when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure
or
operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the
primary
structure of the aircraft.

Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather" (or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"? I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.

The pilot can replace the interior of the plane. There are burn
requirements for the materials used, I think they are spelled out
somewhere in the FARs.

-Nathan

Most good upholstery shops can get FAA approved materials and for not too
much more cost. It's much about weight and toxic fumes when burned. CYA
Dan

Nathan Young wrote:
: The pilot can replace the interior of the plane. There are burn
: requirements for the materials used, I think they are spelled out
: somewhere in the FARs.

I thought the burn requirements were only necessary if you were part 135. For
part 91 I didn't think there were any requirements.

True?
-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Almarz wrote:


Best one I've seen yet! As far as the burn certs, remember that came
off of anything once living is approved,

No, you still need to have the cert. The shop will have the paperwork.

Brian Sponcil wrote:

There's an auto upholstery shop in town that is very well regarded and while
talking with him regarding my car I got to wondering if I could pull out my
Cherokee seats and have him leatherize them.

Yes.



Hmmmm. Does "repair upholstery" cover "replace with leather"

Yes.


(or pleather
for that matter)? Does taking out a seat constitute "disassembly of a
primary structure"?

In the vast majority of cases, no.


I'm pretty sure other people have done this but I was
just wondering how "legal" it is.

Perfectly.