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Leather or Fabric seats?

JwWright57

Well Known Member
hi all - i'm going through my order for the interior bits and am undecided about leather vs fabric seats.

What did you pick? Any feedback would be great. (definitely getting the Confor-foam Upgrade)
 
Fake leather (ultraleather) holds up better, easier to clean, and doesn't get as hot or develop those little wrinkles leather tends to. The only thing that it's missing is that genuine leather smell, which is nice :)
 
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Leather covers/cushions from Oregon aero, 10 years old and still look like new, couldn't be happier with them.
 
Sheepskin for me

I've never understood why more people don't choose sheepskin. They are never hot nor cold, they wick away the sweat and are very durable. Mine are sheepskin upholstery not covers.

After 14 years of use they have faded a bit over time due to the sun but not terribly noticeable. I think after 14 years of use the foam cushions could probably stand to be firmed up. My original supplier retired, so I just ordered some new seats (foam and sheepskin upholstery) from Flightline Interiors in Wisconsin (ask for Abby). The folks at Oregon Aero also offer sheepskin. There are probably others but these are the two I spoke with.

Chris
 
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I got the cloth covered seats from Flightline with the comfor foam. I just flew to Oshkosh and back with my older brother and put about 40 hours in the seats over the week and felt very comfortable on the whole run, both in hot and cold (over the Sierras) temps. I am very satisfied with my seats and would choose the cloth again.
 
Covers

They used to have sheepskin in the seats at work. Some of them were pretty nasty by the time they were replaced...

I am going with synthetic leather...
 
I went with sheepskin. I don't have them yet, but are being shipped from Germany. I am surprised by the many sheepskin responses because when I was trying to decide I couldn't find any planes with it in it. Leather is hot and that was a no go with the wife.
 
I've seen sheep skin covers, but I don't think I've ever seen sheep skin upholstered seats. I'd be interested to see pics if anyone has them.
 
Most of the planes at work have sheepskin. Personally, I don't care for it, but there's no denying that it's not as hot as leather.
 
Of all our planes, the one with the most comfortable seat is the RV-3, and it is sheepskin. That one was upholstered that way by Oregon Aero, and has held up very well. We have cloth on the two-seat RV’s, and have had to re-do the seats in the RV-8 due to sun/sweat damage completely disintegrating the cloth over the years (that’s an airplane that lives in a hangar or with a cover on when outside - sun exposure is just during flying...).

I have leather in the little jet because that was what they had available, and so far, its fine - got gray to make it less hot. It is comfy ad holding up very well.

Overall - I love the sheepskin best - cool in summer, warm in winter.

Paul
 
I got my seats from Classic Aero in leather. Haven't flown them yet, but very pleased with them. To make the decision between cloth, synthetic leather, and leather, I got samples of each from Classic. My BMW seats are synthetic leather and I initially favored this material, but the actual samples of synthetic leather from Classic were very thin compared to the leather, and the cloth didn't look/feel very durable. Considering that we step on the seats to get in and out, possible rain on the seats when doing so, normal wear and tear, I thought the leather would be the most durable, albeit also needing more cleaning and maintenance. Suggest you get samples of the material from your vendor before you make the decision.
 
Another vote for sheepskin..

DJ at Cleveland Tool did mine and I think they are fantastic...for all the reasons already given.

Super work done for me by DJ, lots of care to send me material samples, etc., to make sure I was happy with what was going in.

Replaced some ?Corinthian Leather? fake leather seats that came with my ship...hot...sweaty...did I say hot?? Plus the foam was a lower grade, which made for a sore fanny.

Spend the $$$ and do it once....

And a PS...I ride on sheepskin at work too, and yes they can get nasty if someone?s sweaty backside is in them 12+ hours a day. Mine have been in my RV for the last 3 years/300 hours and look like they did when they arrived at the house. Not a valid comparison, to compare to something in commercial service IMO...
 
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