What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Aircraft grade carpet is expensive!

P

pboyce

Active Member
The very last thing I need to do on my RV-7A is get some aircraft-grade flame extinguishing carpet. I'm currently using some leftover house carpet which I think I probably could use as tinder at my next camping trip. That stuff burns!

So I got some samples from Douglas Interiors, which carries a full line of FAA certified carpet. I picked a nice burgundy color. Since they don't sell directly to consumers, I had my upholstery guy call them for prices. Get this: a 4' x 6' piece of burgundy wool carpet costs $387 delivered! Ouch.

So I called Abby at FlightLine interiors, who did a great job upholstering my seat cushions and she has some automotive carpet, which apparently has a higher burn rating than regular household carpet. I'm awaiting her samples.

Anyone lick this issue inexpensively?

Regards,

Paul
 
Being that I'm an engineer with the world's largest carpet company, I might be able to help...

1) Buy nylon carpet. Nylon does burn if a continuous flame is applied, but has self-extinguishing characteristics. Don't buy polypropylene or polyester carpet. It burns much more easily than nylon.. (Note, wool has the best flame resistant properties, but isn't easy to find in carpet suitable for an aircraft).

2) Buy dense carpet - preferably a product developed for the commercial market. These products are designed for high wear applications such as offices, shopping malls, schools, etc. and the fibers are packed more densley. The density tends to limit surface area and airflow through the product, giving self-extinguishing properties.

3) Look for a "Class 1" fire rating. This is the top standard for readily available carpet. Anything you'd find in a school, hospital, etc. would have this rating...

4) Hint. Find a commercial carpet retailer and ask to look through their scrap bin.

Now, if you were an engineer for a carpet company, what you could do would be select yarn that matches your upholstry. Then, you'd get your friends in the product development area to run a trial of a carpet fabric you like using the yarn you selected. Finally, you'd have your friends who run the backing pilot plant to put a super-duper, fireproof, cushion back coating on the back of your carpet.

Of course, this wouldn't appear on the books anywhere...

Oh, yeah. And you'd have several sets of replacement carpet made, "just in case".

Probably not an option for most folks on the list.
 
Kyle and Roberta:

Thanks for the info. I went to the Airtex website and they have nylon carpet for $25/yard. That's a lot better than Douglas Interiors who has wool carpet for $119/yard.

I will order their sample guide for $3.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I bought some indoor/outdoor carpet from Home Depot and tested it with a lighter. Poof. I then sprayed it with some flame retardent stuff from Spruce and let it dry. Now it doesn't burn. Supposedly this stuff protects the carpet from UV as well. A lot cheaper than AV grade carpet.
 
Carper quality

Mr. Paul,
Airtaex carpets is of poor quality in the face of the prices they ask for them. Our experience with them has been fading (even parked in a hangar), backing falling apart, and generally poor fitting.
Most of the automotive carpeting is of far superior quality and price.
Suppliers do have fire protection information, and has to comply with fire codes. FYI.
T88
RV10
w/automotive upholstery
 
Kyle Boatright said:
Being that I'm an engineer with the world's largest carpet company, I might be able to help...
Click to expand...
Wow! We must have experts on this forum from just about every field. And custom making your own carpet is just plain cheating. :)
 
Can You Say Group Buy

Gee Kyle, you wouldn't leave all of your good buddies out in the cold would you :) This sounds like an opportunity for another group buy.
 
I went to Carpet One and found some commercial carpet in nylon and Class I. Of the 3 densities, I ordered the most dense one. $29 per square yard. Sure beats $119 per square yard!

She let me cut a small piece from the sample book, which I took home and tried to burn. I applied a continuous flame and and then removed the flame. It will definitely flame by itself, though reluctantly. It seemed like the polyproplyene backing is what was flaming.

My next step is to order some spray fire retardant from Spruce. Voila, homemade aviation carpet!

Thanks guys for the info.
 
Carpet

Hi Guys

The carpet in my RV4 is wool square weave. It is produced for VWs and Porsche and other German automobiles. The carpet is almost a mat instead of a cut pile or loop type construction. I purchase 2 yards from Wolfsburg west (www.wolfsburgwest.com) for $160.30 with shipping. After fitting to my RV4 I had a local upholster bind the edges for $90.00. I am very happy with the results and I would encourage others to do the same.
 
Here is my update: after a 3-week wait for my carpet order at Carpet One, I finally got the carpet I mentioned previously. Gorgeous. Very tight weave, short thick pile.

Taking a propane torch to the carpet showed that it was already flame resistant. I then sprayed it with INSPECTA-SHIELD Fire Retardant Penetrant from Spruce. Now, it just will not flame and hardly smokes!

DIY aviation carpet? You bet!

Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top