Review of my Flightline Interior basic Interior Package

I would like to post some pics of my new Flightline Interior basic (frugal) interior package. Let me just say up front that Abby is a joy to work with! We communicated 100% via email throughout this process and I am very satisfied with the results!

I chose to go with the basic interior package that Abby customized for the parts that I wanted. I purchased my seat foam as a second hand (unused) set of the Van's seat foam. Abby had no problem with me shipping the foam to her for the upholstery job.

I decided to just do the seats along with the wedge and boosters, stick boots, arm rest pads and main and baggage area carpet.
Here is a pic of the set all layed out.



The carpet. She includes very light but stiff foam insulation that goes under the carpet in between the stiffeners and the center cover to bring it all up to the same plane.



One of it sitting in the cockpit..



Here are some detail shots of the work she does. Very high quality heavy grade fabric with some serious stitching. Great work around the zippers and the seams. She added this accent colored piping to the design for me. She also included this nice swoose design. in the field of the seat.







She builds in this flap that gets attached to the back underneath of the seat back. This prevents the seat from wadding up under you when you slide into the cockpit.

She puts in these pull cords to pull the corners of the covering up into the shape of the foam.



And installs an additional layer of skrim foam on the covers to protect the main foam and to provide fluff for the embossing.

Here are the "accessory" parts that she did. The wedge goes under the main cushion and the other booster is optional. Abby sews in velcro that is designed to allow all this stuff to stick together and be able to be removed at will.



Another shot of the work...



Here is a shot of the padded arm rest covers. These are not just a piece of foam with fabric. They are made onto some sort of lightweight board. Abby includes a flap that is installed over the bottom metal of the armrest.





Here are the included stick boots. Very nice! Abby includes a zipper and a preinstalled zip tie for the top. The bottom has sewn in velcro and their is some sort of nice smooth silky looking fabric sewn to the inside for a very finished look.

Last but not least is the floor covering. I bought the front and rear parts of the package. She also sells a middle piece that I elected to pass on. This is very light weight. The carpet has a weive that looks like the fuzzie side of velcro. Abby bound the edges for me and installed heal pads. This kit is all precut to shape and includes cuttouts for the standard locations of items like the vent line bulkheads.







These snaps come with mating fasteners to secure the carpet to the spar area to prevent the carpent from pushing forward when entering and exiting the plane.



Overall I am impressed with what I got for the money. I am on a frugal build plan so this fits with that plan very nicely.

Very nice Brian. I'm also approaching the "interior purchase" milestone. Thanks for sharing!

Would it be rude to ask the cost?

Tom,

Not at all...The seat prices are on the website http://www.flightlineinteriors.com/products/rv7/default.asp and the other stuff was priced piece meal. I suggest you contact Abby for that so that you get the most current price straight from the source.

I can assure you that the price was very reasonable.

Abby simply rocks!

Brantel said:

I can assure you that the price was very reasonable.

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Your assurances are no exaggeration, that's for sure.

My first leather seat purchase was from a well known vendor and while the quality is very good, I really felt like I overpaid.
This time around I picked two leather samples from a batch Abby sent me, sketched out the design look I wanted
and had Flightline Interiors do the work. Her feedback was always personal and immediate. No playing "phone tag" or
lost in "phone mail jail." She not only produced a very high quality product that exceeds the quality of my first seat
purchase but beat the price I paid by a few HUNDRED dollars that included armrests not included in my previous purchase.
Also, I left it up to her to embroider "RV-8" on the seats in a manner and style she considered personally tasteful.
When one considers the number and variety of interiors she sells to the RV community, I was naturally flattered when she
asked to post a picture of my seat design and Flightline Interiors's craftsmanship on the RV-8 page of her website.

http://www.flightlineinteriors.com/products/rv4/default.asp

Flammability question

Brantel said:

I would like to post some pics of my new Flightline Interior basic (frugal) interior package.

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What type of seat fabric did you specify. Is it flame retarded to aviation standards or is it highly flammable auto fabric (and carpet). Perhaps the price was cheap because auto fabrics are typically a third the price of aviation grade fabrics.

There is no such thing as non-flamable fabric unless it is made out of some material that simply will not burn. Fabric that meets the aviation specs is flame resistant not non-flamable.

Abby's fabric meets aviation standards as far as I know. There was a long list of certifications on the sample card that this stuff is certified to. There is no choice between what fabric you get, only what color.

Please refrain from putting words in my mouth!

I never said her price was "cheap"!

What I said was that it is reasonable and that I decided on the basic package in order to be compatible with my "frugal" build plan.

By the way, most modern auto fabrics and carpets are flame resistant as well.

Furthermore, there will never be any smoking in my plane, I will properly protect my wiring with properly applied and installed current protection and if there is ever a fire in my cabin that came from the engine compartment, the flamability of my seats and carpet are the last think I would be worried about.

Nice reply,and very nice seats Brian,Bob

RE:Flightline is one of the BEST!!!!

Brian

Thanks for the great write up on your interior from Abby and the great folks at Fightline. She fabed my seats to my notion of what looked good.



My fabric has the following rating info......

Texuede SP
CA Bulletin 117 Class 1
UFAC - Class 1
(Can be Treated to meet FAR Specifications)

OH NO......do mine meet FAR SPECS......

Goodness my whole RV7A according to the good folks at FAA HD....dosen't meets FAA SPECS

Now if I can just finish the last 120 details this under FAA Speced aircraft might get in the AIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frank @ 1L8 ...RV7A... last 120 details.......will it never end

Captain Avgas said:

I respectfully suggest you check on that and report back. I'm sure you wouldn't want to mislead builders on this very important safety issue.

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Your correct, never being one that wants to mislead anyone I did check. But first I must say that this is experimental aviation. The builder is the one who should research any components, materials, and that includes advice someone may be providing him or her for their build. It is up to them to decide if the before mentioned items meet their standards.

I have discussed this with Abby and you should be aware that her materials meet the following standards:

ASTM E-84 Class I
CAL 117-E
MVSS 302
UFAC Class I

and for about $30 you can treat your seats with Flame Stop I-DS which meets or exceeds FAR 25.853.

Now before you go and spend an hour responding with all the minor details of each of these certs, please don't waste your time because I could care less. I am happy with my seats just the way they are.

Abby is upfront and honest as they come. Her sample cards have the certifications written right on them. The builder can decide for themselves.

The meaning of EXPERIMENTAL is supposed to afford you the choices that you make in your build. This argument could cover a myriad of things i.e.: engine, prop and all the way down to nuts and bolts for small things that aren't in compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations.

Abby Writes "The choices in materials are all for flammability, durability and last but not least Affordability. It's things like this that have had me on search for all of these things wrapped into one and can also be covered under FAR 25.83. This is not an easy thing, when it comes to material choices. It can be very limiting. If it weren't an EXPERIMENTAL this would not even be a question."

Brian,

Very nice indeed! I had a hard time choosing on my interior, Abby does great work for sure. DJ at Cleaveland actually ended up with the job and the interior is also very sweet!