So yes leather and fabric are only two choices.......but there are many different grades and different qualities that are available, when we think of those two choices.
I have an example that quickly comes to mind when ever the subject of leather quality comes up in a conversation.
A good friend of ours owns a repair station and has been in the aviation business for decades. At the time of our example, I had just started a new interior shop in Connecticut for a major OEM's repair station. Seeing that the shop was in it's growth stage and we were cross training some newly hired employee's, we were on the look out for some side work that we could do, in order to foster relationships with future business customers, such as repair stations or aviation brokers.
So this particular individual had a car, which had from the factory, leather seats. He expressed the desire to have the seats reupholstered but he stated that he hates leather seats. When he was asked why.........he said they were terribly uncomfortable, slippery and made him sweat.....and he just couldn't stand leather seats.
I explained that there were different grades of leather, but he was insistent that he hated leather and as soon as we finished the seats, he was going to sell the car.
Back at the shop, we dug through the leather scraps and spare inventory that we had on hand and we found just enough leather hides and pieces to reupholster those seats.........and even the color that we had worked out well.
This leather was a Spinneybeck Sabrina leather and it was very supple. And because of how this particular leather was finished, it breathed real well. So we reupholstered the seats and dropped them off at his facility.
A few days later when we spoke, he just went on and on about how he loved the way the seats came out and how nice the leather was. A quick reminder to him about how he hated leather seats was rebutted with more statements on how he loved the seats and how they came out.
He stated that this leather was some how different. It wasn't slippery and it was so comfortable.......and he didn't sweat when he was driving.......it was great!
Well we were really happy.....that he was really happy......so it was a success!
And in the case of our example it should be noted that typically, the leather that is used in the automotive industry is of such a low grade that you would probably never even see it being used in an airplane.
But there is a huge difference in the quality of leather over all......and of course the price as well. And just because a leather is inexpensive, does not make it a great deal. At first glance it may seem to be a bargain and yet a more expensive leather may last twice as long as the inexpensive choice. So the selection process should take into consideration, several different view points.......in order to give the customer the best performance......as well as the best appearance.
We could buy some inexpensive, aircraft grade leather in the $4.00 to $5.00 per square foot range and in many cases it will have a heavy finish on it and the "hand", which is how the suppleness is determined or described, would most likely be stiff or not too supple.
Then again we could spend around $15.00 per square foot and get a very nice, supple leather that breathes very well. And the benefit of spending the extra money is not only rewarded in comfort, but in almost all cases, it will last longer as well.
But wait........just spending some extra money on a better grade of leather is not the only point to be made here. Maintaining the leather properly during its life time is even more critical. And we will go much deeper into the subject of interior care and interior maintenance in a different section.....as well as in the blog.
Then there are the fabric's that we choose. We could choose a beautiful but delicate fabric that will look stunning in the airplane.........but it's useful life would be very short and it may appear to be dirty very quickly. And of course there is the extreme in the other direction of picking a very durable fabric that will last a long time.......but would be terrible to look at.
So the choices are wide and the utilization of the aircraft as well as the personal taste of the principle owner is paramount, when making material choices for the upholstery.
Well up to now we have only discussed the appearances of the aircraft upholstery, but we also have to discuss the technical side of seats and divans.
One point that needs to be made is how the industry has changed, as it concerns aircraft upholstery. Back in the day.......and yes we have been around for a while.......we had 9g seats and the topic of upholstery was almost wide open........with all sorts of options and industry accepted methods......to give the customer exactly what they wanted.
Today most airplanes have 16g seats, or at least the newer airplanes, and the regulatory changes have really hampered what we can do.....that is when compared to what we used to be able to do.
And to make it worse, almost all 16g seats are uncomfortable at best. So the customer knows what he or she wants.......and when it comes to the newer seats and divans......it has become a greater challenge, to give the customer exactly what they want.
So the topic about 16g seats and also the care and maintenance will be popular subjects covered on our blog page.
And with that being said, please come back and visit our blog page often to get more information about aircraft upholstery.
