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New seat cushions -- Oregon Aero or Fine Line?

I bought the orthopedic foam - Tempur-foam style - through my employer (hospital). Total cost was around $70 for three pieces; 1" soft for the top, 2" medium for the middle and 1" hard on the bottom. They're laminated using 3M spray adhesive and I cut them on a band saw (works *really* well) to fit my seat.

My mother-in-law sewed the seat covers - vinyl and fabric from Air-Tex - and the entire interior, with headliner, probably cost me something like $400. This is two seats, side panels and headliner. Only the front seat bottom has the good foam; the rest is cheaper open-cell foam. Most of my flying will be solo.

Jim Fix can make cushions for around $110 each; you have to cover them. His are similar to mine.

I haven't tried them on either cold days or long flights, as my project isn't yet assembled. When sitting in the pilot's seat and making airplane noises, it sure is comfy, though!

Jon B.
 
Oregon Aero for me. Flew the Cub for 7 hours from CA to E. Wash. with two stops and my back and butt felt fine. They start out hard and then conform to your shape for full comfort.
 
Cub Seats

For me, Fine Line for sure. Jim and Doug Dixon are real supercub pilots, and great upholsterers too. I have been flying with their seats for 20 years, can fly a full 8-10 hours and feel good.

Their website, all though a bit lacking in aircraft info is:

http://www.finelineupholstery.com/
 
I have the Fine line seats. They are great. Don't get black fabric because it collects lint. I put sheepskin on the front and love it.
 
but i still need a burn cert to prove to the faa that they can be legally installed in civil aircraft under CAR3 do i not? i wonder if oregon aero provides a burn cert.

the alaska state troopers that use fineline seats can get past that because they are not civil aircraft. right?

i've got fineline seats too, and love them, but the question was raised while annualing the plane.
 
Oregon Aero can provide burn certificates for their seats.

I bought the tempur foam from a company in southern MN (trying to find the name....) and built up my own seat cushion sets for my C-170. Trust me when I say that there is far more involved in creating a truly comfortable seat cushion set than just slapping some high density foam onto the seat frame, and covering it with fabric.

The Oregon Aero seats contain several different densities of foam, and are carefully designed.

My seats worked out okay (as in not great) after several experiments in layers, bolsters, etc. The foam company I got the foam from provided burn certificates. I covered the seats with Airtex cover set, and those too have a burn cert.

There really is a lot to building a really comfortable seat.

Then again, we're all different. I used to know a guy who took the bottom cushion out of a Cub and sat on a partially inflated inner tube....burn certified, I'm sure.....

But, if you sit on a bad seat cushion for five or six hours in a day, you'll learn an effective torture technique.

But, different strokes for different folks.

MTV
 
Two thumbs up for Oregon Aero!

I have the Oregon Aero Cushions in my Cub and I can't say enough good about them, I give tons of rides to all shapes and sizes and the seats show no wear. the comfort is unmatched and the customer service was incredible! I know everyone likes Fine line too so I'm sure you will be happy with either one but I only have OA first hand knowledge.
 
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Scooter,I agree with you on Fine Line seats.I've sat on them in my SC since 1996 and really like them.I have just ordered a new set for my new rebuild project. Jim Dixon does Fine work!! Larry Garis
 
Ben

If your seat is on fire, I think that would be the least of your worries. Your butt better be out of it by then!

Crash
 
Crash said:
Ben

If your seat is on fire, I think that would be the least of your worries. Your butt better be out of it by then!

Crash
Click to expand...

LOL.... that reminds me of the Peltor helmets, there big push was a Nomex liner? and my thoughts were the same as yours here.... man, if my heads on fire, we are really behind the curve... probably a great idea none the less
 
Crash said:
Ben

If your seat is on fire, I think that would be the least of your worries. Your butt better be out of it by then!

Crash
Click to expand...

yep, i don't disagree as i said that before. point of discussion was whether or not they were legal in the eyes of the feds...not what made sense to us.
 
Larry Garis said:
Scooter,I agree with you on Fine Line seats.I've sat on them in my SC since 1996 and really like them.I have just ordered a new set for my new rebuild project. Jim Dixon does Fine work!! Larry Garis
Click to expand...

Jim retired a few years ago. Probably enjoying some good Abilene weather right about now. Doug is the man behind Fine Line and he's done a great job with the business. Right now he's getting ready to run the Iron Dog again (he and his partner took second last year) so be patient.

Good luck, Doug!

Stewart
 
Has anyone done business with Fine Line recently? Just wondering what the current pricing is for cloth seats. I sent an online quote request about 3 weeks ago, but no response. I have thought about Oregon Aero, but a little turned off on price and the fact I have to remove and ship my seats to them. Don't they just snap on the bottoms and slip over the backs?
 
Call Fine Line at 907-349-4442 and talk to Johnteal or Doug. They're busy with some big projects but airplane seats are still a regular part of their business. I saw Cub seat cushions in the completed work area a couple of days ago. It never fails to impress me how light their upholstered cushions are.

You don't need to send your seats to them. They have patterns. If you've got modifications that affect the cushion size or shape Doug will talk you through measuring them. He measures local planes himself. Like my custom rear seat in my -12. Perfect fit.
 
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Mush said:
Has anyone done business with Fine Line recently? Just wondering what the current pricing is for cloth seats. I sent an online quote request about 3 weeks ago, but no response. I have thought about Oregon Aero, but a little turned off on price and the fact I have to remove and ship my seats to them. Don't they just snap on the bottoms and slip over the backs?
Click to expand...

Yeah they snap right in nicely. I got mine a year or so ago and they were around $800-$900. I've had mine modified by a local shop a couple times so that the rear stick does not hit the front of the rear seat cushion. I'm happy with them. The seat material isn't certified flame retardant.
 
We made the front seat bottom cushion from the three-layer 3" Temperfoam from Spruce and Specialty. It is very comfortable, and even conforms to butt shapes at temperatures above zero...eventually.

Poor Steve Pierce, I never even considered his poor bony butt when we flew from Anchorage to Fairbanks and then Valdez and back...he was sitting on a thin, crummy make-believe cushion. No wonder he was so fidgety!

In any case, the Temperfoam is advertised to meet the burn tests, seems like it cost $70 for a 2'x2' piece.

The Fine Line products that my customers have in their airplanes are first class. The turn-around time is prompt. Oregon Aero sure has a lot of great information on their website about ergonomics and fit.

Vickie
 
tamarack said:
Poor Steve Pierce, I never even considered his poor bony butt when we flew from Anchorage to Fairbanks and then Valdez and back...he was sitting on a thin, crummy make-believe cushion. No wonder he was so fidgety!


Vickie
Click to expand...

He was just trying to figure out how he was going to tell Cathy that he was moving up here!
 
Mush said:
Has anyone done business with Fine Line recently? Just wondering what the current pricing is for cloth seats. I sent an online quote request about 3 weeks ago, but no response. I have thought about Oregon Aero, but a little turned off on price and the fact I have to remove and ship my seats to them. Don't they just snap on the bottoms and slip over the backs?
Click to expand...

On top of that, when I spoke with Oregon Aero in November, they told me they can no longer make seat cushions for certificated cubs. They have a STC for Husky's but they haven't got one for the cub. They told me only way to get Supercub cushions is experimental and they need the "N" number.
 
STC? So Oregon Aero must do something to alter the seat frame. Makes sense if they require the frame for upholstering. Comments?
 
sierra bravo said:
STC? So Oregon Aero must do something to alter the seat frame. Makes sense if they require the frame for upholstering. Comments?
Click to expand...

Stewart

I was at their shop in November, and was told that since they manufacture replacement seat cushion under an STC by type and Model their new DAR would no longer allow them to sell a set for a certificated Supercub. They said they could sell me a set for my "experimental" Supercub as long as I had the appropriate "N" to put on the invoice. That struck me as strange, but I wrote it off to Federal Bureaucracy and decided I will by Fineline this summer instead.

Dale
 
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