My original fibre-filled seats went missing (long story), so I had new seats made some years ago using confor foam. They have three layers of different firmness foam and are cloth covered. As Pat says, the foam is not cheap - mine cost GBP600 the pair. Since being in Aus, I've had a set of (real) sheepskin covers made - the maker still has the pattern if anyone is interested.
Michael From: Patrick Barfield Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 5:38 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [DOG mailing list] Confor Foam Cushions Ditto everything Ian said about confor foam. Through my work (BAE Systems) we have just upgraded our fleet of CT4 aircraft in Tamworth to comply with the latest FAR 23 standards for 19g crash landing using 10cm of confor foam when most engineers were saying we'd need to redesign the entire seat with crumpling structures etc. The confor foam passed the sled tests with flying colours (pun intended). I'm so impressed that I'm now going to get a quote through our local ex-RAAF Life Support technician Sandy Allen in Tomago near Newcastle to manufacture a set of confor foam cushions for my Dimona to replace the cushions which I think are filled with coco fibre or similar stuffing. You can read up on Confor foam at http://www.aviationsupplyonline.com/custom.em?pid=548924. The best solution is probably a laminate of different firmness layers and I might even look at a comfy lambswool cover (attached with Velcro for ease of laundering) for added comfort. If anybody else is interested, I'll let you know how much and provide Sandy's contact details. Be warned - Confor foam is not cheap but as Ian says if you need it you will wish you had bought it. Regards, Pat Barfield -----Original Message----- From: Ian Mc Phee [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, 27 April 2011 10:23 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [DOG mailing list] Fuel Filter michael Interesting as I have missed seeing same (i did not tick it off at going on to AUS register 5 years ago) but ours has it re-positioned to the bulkhead so all is good On another matter I have always felt strong about confor high density foam. Recently found NZ must have confor foam used in gliders there and in UK an AN (or whatever) came out 5 years ago which highly recommended its use. I think time has come to consider same when you are thinking of new cushions upgrade to slow release foam seats. The hk36 which crashed here a few years ago (the other now defunct club) one guy is still not walking I gather. The Hk36 comes out of factory with nice soft foam cushions but no use in a crash. Then there was the ASK13 at Boonah and the guy has back problems - hopefully he will be OK. We had an ex airline pilot crash one of our falkes years ago (was having blackouts we found 2 years after the crash) It had confour foam cushions and he recovered and has gone sailing and as a doctor friend who works on rescue helicopter "that foam seat saved him". Ian M
