Van?s Foam Seat Cushions

Hi Guys,

I am using the Van?s DIY seat foam and I have a couple of questions for anyone who has gone this route.

1) Do I need to make a slot for the front seat crotch strap? It looks like the anchor point is only about 1 or 2 inches from the front edge of the seat. It is a little hard to tell how far back the front cushion will go when it is covered.

2) What is the preferred method for making the recessed area follow the contour of the foam? I was thinking 3M Foam Fast 74 spray adhesive. If I use the spray adhesive, I guess there is no point in having a zipper.

Thanks in advance,

On the seats for the side-by-sides, no slot was necessary.

I brought the foam, hide, and Van's pattern to a hotrod upholstery shop and let them cover the cushions.

I did have them cover each piece separately, so I could add or remove pieces as needed.

The -8 needs a slot for submarine belt. Sent my foam and fabric I sourced locally to Abby at flightlines. She knows how to cover Vans foam. If you don?t have upholstery sewing experience these are quite complicated for a beginner.

I put a slot for the 5th point of the harness for mine in the -7. Whether you need it or not is dependant on the seat position in the 7. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't depending on the size of the pax and the position of the seat back. To determine the range required, I just put the seat in the most furthest forward position (seat back forward, spacer cushions under the seat bottom cushion) then marked the required position, then cut out enough so that I still had a bit of meat left between the cutout and the stick position. You will find that you do use the cutout when you have a kid or svelte lady in the aircraft.
Basically you cut out the foam, then glue some material to the foam just within the proximity of the cutout. Then make the seat coverings like a pillow case, but with a cutout that aligns with that in the seat foam. Velcro at the back so you can take it on and off. Don't glue to cover to the foam so you can easily take it off for washing. I used fabric because it was the lightest solution, yet the canvas I used is still quite durable. It also breathes, which in a hot cockpit can be quite a benefit. There's a reason most of us don't walk around all day in leather or vinyl trousers.
Sewing these things really isn't that hard. I found the key to it is to get the regular diameter thread, but the highest strength stuff you can find, and a sharp needle. I originally used large diameter thread, and it was causing the machine to bog down. I used a canvas type material for the seats, but have even been able to successfully sew vinyl (pitot tube cover, inlet snuffs etc) with a regular machine (please don't tell my mother...) using fine thread and a sharp needle.
I wouldn't worry too much about the material not conforming to the bolsters. Frankly the bolsters are a bit of a hangover from the auto industry and not necessary in something we need. The fabric tends to conform with time to the foam anyway.
I'll see if I can get some pics tonight to help explain this better.
Tom.
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