Classic Aero - Leather vs Ultra Leather

I'm trying to decide between leather (the real stuff) vs ultra leather (the fake stuff) for the Classic Aero Aviator package.

I've read the posts from happy owners of each, but I'd like to see/touch/sit for myself. Does anybody in the DFW area have ultra leather seats from Classic Aero that I can check out?

Thanks,

Try searching ultraleather, there was a recent thread about it.

Samples

Call Luke at Classic Aero. He'll send you samples of each.

thanks

I do have samples of each, but I hesitate to make a $2k decision based on a 2 inch square... I really want to sit in some seats! We have fake leather chairs at work, and I HATE them. They're just a tad slicker than real leather, so you are always very slowly slipping down as you lean back. VERY ANNOYING!

DBone said:

I do have samples of each, but I hesitate to make a $2k decision based on a 2 inch square... I really want to sit in some seats! We have fake leather chairs at work, and I HATE them. They're just a tad slicker than real leather, so you are always very slowly slipping down as you lean back. VERY ANNOYING!

Click to expand...

Then get the REAL leather! I have them and they're great! I've never got uncomfortable sitting in them yet, and we fly mostly cross countries for two or three hours at a time. And mine are the "cheaper" Sportsman model..

L.Adamson --- RV6A (flying)

Use Real Leather

On corporate aircraft we use the UltraLeather and IsitLeather for headliners. They don't make cows big enough to go full length in one piece. For seating only the real stuff will do. Not only does it wear much better than anything else, including fabrics, it smells good.

Don

Its been awhile since I had CAD do my seats, but Luke recommended a synthetic product called "Columbia" to me at that time. It looks just like leather, but is tougher, wears better, and cleans up really easily - just wipe with a damp sponge. Oh yeah - it smells good too.

I love mine and get lots of compliments. If it makes you feel better, you can tell everyone it is leather, because they wont know otherwise. Cost, at least when I had mine done, was the same as for leather.

Worth considering.

erich

You may also want to compare the weight of "real" leather vs. "ultra" leather. As I understand it, a typical interior for the RV-10 in "real" leather weighs 10 pounds MORE than the same in "ultra" leather.

Get the real leather. You will not be disappointed.
The leather is far superior than the cloth for the small additional price.

Ultra leather

Dave,

Go to any RV dealer (the big bus kind) and you'll find all kinds of ultra leather to sit on. I have it in my RV (the big bus kind) and it's very nice and comfortable. I have a synthetic leather in my RV-6 and it's not as soft and supple as the ultra leather.

I Have Owned Both

Dave,

I had a set of ultra-leather seats made up locally for my RV9a just prior to completion in 1995. We used multiple layers of varying density closed cell foam along with a high quality grey ultra-leather material to custom fit the seats to my---uhhh--torso. I chose the ultra-leather because it is; incredibly soft, specs indicate greater scuff durability than leather, ease of maintenace and cleaning, and the material is significantly lighter than leather.

I flew the plane for over a year with this interior and was perfectly satisfied but my wife missed that wonderful smell of real leather like we had in the Mooney prior to building the RV.

I finally relented and bought a set of seats in leather (grey with deep red inserts) from Luke at Classic Aero Designs. These seats are also very comfortable, excellent workmanship, look great but they are CONSIDERABLY heavier than the old seats---however, the boss is now happy!

If I had it to do over again, I would go with Luke's ultra leather option with no reservations due to the lighter wt, durability, and ease of cleaning!!

BTW, my brother is happily flying around in his recently finished RV7a with those custom made ultra leather seats.

My two cents worth.

Cheers,

db