I ordered my finish kit in August 2021 and the front seats finally arrived. The seat foams are still on back order but at least I have the frames.
Unlike the old seats, these require assembly. The box had unfortunately been dropped on something and there was a dent in the seat back skins. I was able to work most of it out so I decided to build on.
The plans have you match drill the seat back skins to the seat back frames after mounting the frame to the base. I didn’t see any reason to wait so I match-drilled the frames up front. This allowed me to deburr and prime all of the skins at the same time.
I chose the prime and paint the skins. I had plenty of satin black Jet Flex left so I used that. The seats will be covered but this should give them more durability.
The seat pans are riveted to the billet aluminum ribs. The space is tight but I had a steel bucking bar that did the job. I mounted each rib to a board clamped in a vise and worked my way across each seat pan.
I didn’t take any pictures of the assembly process but it took a decent amount of time. There are many parts, several with similar sizes, so it was important to double-check part numbers as I went. Note that the plastic washers have two different thicknesses. I missed this initially and had to do some disassembly to swap one for the correct size.
I ended up being short by two blind rivets (they are not the typical LP4-3 rivets). I expect someone miscounted so I’ll contact Van’s to get two more.
I’m very impressed by the quality of the seats. I don’t know how they compare to the prior seats but the fit and finish is excellent, the seats are robust, and the recline mechanism works well.. The billet aluminum parts are black anodized. The seat back frames are black powder coated and are well made.
I had ordered Aerosport Seat Levers several years ago and they continue to be compatible with the new seats. I made a small bushing for the slot in the seat lever to remove some vertical play but otherwise I installed them per the Aerosport plans. I primed and painted them with Jet Flex to match the seats.
I initially installed the seat back recline lever on the tunnel side of the seats but I later moved this to the outside as there was more clearance by the side wall of the cabin.
I then mounted the seat rails, match-drilled the seat support brackets, and test fit the seats. The seats move smoothly on the rails and the recline works well. Time to sit in the plane and make airplane noises.
