Champ Seat webbing

E

Eric Brown

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Apr 7, 2021
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167
Location
Belle Plaine, Mn
Hey guys;
What is attaching the steel seat webbing to the seat structure on the Aeronca seats ? They don't appear to be welded. The webbing will peel off of the frame except for a small piece in the middle of the attachment point. A spot weld ? The way the rest of the steel webbing wraps around the seat frame and lays down, it would appear to be an adhesive. What adhesive was that good in the 1940s ?

Thanks
 
Eric,
My '46 has the steel webbing (.025"x1.0") welded on the side edge. It wraps around the seat tubing and the weld is on the side of the tubing.
I replaced several strips and found it easier to locate the strip on the front side with a 1/8" rivet and then weld the edge.
Chris
 
Eric Brown said:
Hey guys;
What is attaching the steel seat webbing to the seat structure on the Aeronca seats ? They don't appear to be welded. The webbing will peel off of the frame except for a small piece in the middle of the attachment point. A spot weld ? The way the rest of the steel webbing wraps around the seat frame and lays down, it would appear to be an adhesive. What adhesive was that good in the 1940s ?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Instead of welding someone may have tried brazing them on, or someone “repaired” them with an epoxy. Have seen that before….🤦‍♂️
 
Drawing 7-457 shows the seat webbing as either .016 or .018 X 1" depending on which web on the back or bottom of the seat. The seat back and the 3 left to right webs are all .018 and the 2 fore and aft bottom webs are .016.
I measured my 7AC seat webs as the same as the drawings. A number of my webs were cracked/broken and fixed with pop rivets over the years. Remember the seats were designed for about an average guy of 160lbs back then, most of us are probably a lot more than that now. I believe the stock thickness is under designed for todays pilots.
Would anyone know if they increased their web thickness during a restoration and ran it through the Feds for approval?
And yes they were all welded at the web ends as they wrap partially around the tubing.
 
To me it was a simple repair noted in the airframe logbook thus "...gas welded replacement seat webbing strips adjacent to original locations due to old webbing being unservicable. Materials were 4130 1" x .025 strips and ER70S6 welding rod."
Prime, paint, blah blah blah...
No need to bother the nice folks in OKC with the small stuff...
I caution against trying to put the new strips over the old locations. You're not supposed to new weld over an old weld which means you have to grind the old weld off the seat frame...and you would not be the first one to destroy an old seat by grinding thru the thin perimeter tubing. BTDT.
Chris
 
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