New interior

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Paully

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Hi fellas, I was about to order a new leather interior from Abby at Flightline when someone mentioned to check Airtex… so I did, Airtex is basically 1/2 price for the same order. Anyone out there that has bought a new interior from Airtex? I feel I should stick with Flightline as i have seen the flightline interior in my buddies ECA and it don’t get any better than that from what I see… but I like to check out all avenues.
 
Are you comparing similar materials? Leather is generally more expensive.

I used vinyl - had a nice lady sew them up and give me "burn certs." Still looks great after 20 years.
 
The lady at Airtex said real leather and it was actually ultra leather at flightline which is 200.00 less than real leather.
 
I like Airtex but there fit is not always perfect. I don't have any experience with flightline other than seeing some really nice project photos. I would be inclined to think the fit and finish is better.
 
Ya I think so, my friends ECA , the complete interior from flightline fit like a glove, it is twice the $ though.
 
I've done a Bonanza and a C152 with Airtex. They were both hit and miss on the fit. They both turned out nice but it was a bit of work at times to get it to look right. The material quality and workmanship were good just at times the fit was not. That said, worth every penny I spent.
 
A citabria should be pretty straight forward I think if they have done some at Airtex , but I’m leaning to flightline regardless of cost maybe just for resale down the road, they do the ACA factory seats and side panels I’m told, I’m doing the 7GCBC from end to end other than the engine that has only 200 smoh.
 
I used airtex in my 7GCBC a few years ago. The fit on the seats was good and didn't have any issues. Did the panels myself, only screwed up one panel (the first one I did) where I needed to order some extra material.

I had Flightline do pieces for my RV-8 and the quality was excellent.

My airtex install:

IMG_3904.webpIMG_3894.webp
 
Looks great really, did you go with extra thick cushions or is that just regular thickness? Extra thick is an option at flightline but I wondered if it would raise me up too high? Although it will take a good cushion of any sort to lift my 240 lbs lol.
 
Thanks. I think they are "normal". I don't remember an option for thicker cushions from Airtex. Anything was definitely better than the 1975 originals that were in there..

Chris
 
On another topic… SKYLIGHT ,would anyone out there have a clear diagram of welding placement for the tabs to install a skylight? I got all the materials and STC papers from Rainbow but being a hand drawn installation diagram I can’t really see where there is any measurements on where the tabs or how the tabs get welded on the frame.
 
Paully said:
Hi fellas, I was about to order a new leather interior from Abby at Flightline when someone mentioned to check Airtex… so I did, Airtex is basically 1/2 price for the same order. Anyone out there that has bought a new interior from Airtex? I feel I should stick with Flightline as i have seen the flightline interior in my buddies ECA and it don’t get any better than that from what I see… but I like to check out all avenues.
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity, how much is the Flightline interior?
 
I will send the spreadsheet Abby sent me .. it’s getting old but I just ordered and Abby will let me know, they are doing the citabria stiching in the seat back, ultra leather, and carpet, boots
 
My friend that I sold my old ECA to come today, he has Abby’s interior, you can tell it fit perfectly. It’s the same as leaving the factory really… good for resale
 
You may also want to upgrade your seat frames. When I discussed this with ACA earlier this year they recommended removing the webbing and replacing with the newer "swiss cheese" supports. The steel webbing sags over time.
 
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