Replacement bench seating

[oprince]

I've just bought a Taylorcraft and intend to replace the current seating arrangement which involves two thin pieces of foam covered in leather placed on a fabric sling style side-by-side bench seat.

I would be looking at options to improve both the safety and comfort of the seating whilst maintaining a vintage feel and working to a budget. My initial thoughts would be two plywood backed cushions with 4 inches of quality foam connected securely with thick webbing/strapping to act as a hinge and covered in leather. This will permit easy removal for maintenance tasks as well as the back rest to fold forward somewhat to gain access to the baggage area behind.

Has anyone constructed a similar design recently? Does the plywood need to be of a specific thickness, wood or coating?

Many thanks in advance.

[ColinC]

Hi,

I part-own a Taylorcraft too, it is currently being stripped prior to recovering and a general refurb.

Something you will need to consider is that to change from the sling arrangement that is standard, you will need to get a modification approved by LAA engineering. That means that you will need to prove that the new design can meet the appropriate design requirements.

Might it be easier to have, like ours has, seat cushions that have a semi-rigid base (ours is a sort of strong card-like material) and retain the sling? Ours seem comfortable enough.

regards

Colin

[tnowak]

Colin,

The Piper Vagabond has a very similar seat arrangement except the base is 1/4" thick ply and stuck to that are two/three layers of upholstery foam. Then all covered with quality lightweight upholstery fabric.
The rear seat cushions don't have any ply backing and are simply Velcro'd to the sling.
Tony Nowak

[oprince]

Thanks. Intending on keeping the sling and putting the backed cushions on top.