Jay Honeck
November 8th 03, 03:02 AM
And it only took 15 months... ;-)
When we bought Atlas (our '74 Cherokee 235 Pathfinder, named because he can
lift ANYTHING we can fit inside) in 2002, the only thing I didn't like was
his interior. We immediately replaced the ceiling plastic, but the rest of
the interior was tired, too. A previous owner had done a fine job (for an
amateur) of installing a quality Airtex interior -- but things were looking
pretty worn around the edges. The front seats were especially thread-bare,
and the co-pilot's seat was virtually unbearable -- it felt like sitting on
a toilet.
Our stop-gap attempts at a "fix" were met with limited success. Mary
tailored some sheepskins into custom-fit seat covers for the front seats,
which at least hid the worn fabric. My attempt to fix the co-pilot's seat
by safety-wiring a cookie sheet (really!) to the bottom of the seat, and
stuffing extra foam above it (so that the co-pilot didn't get that "sinking
feeling") didn't work, however. I over-did the foam, and it felt like we
were sitting on a baseball...
So, I realized we needed professional help, and we REALLY wanted leather
seats -- problem was, we had just bought a hotel, and money was tight. What
to do?
We initially met with a local upholstery shop with a stellar local
reputation. Their estimate: $1800.00 -- was just for the seats. This was
well beyond the budget, and would leave nothing for the carpet and side
panels -- so we kept searching.
In August of 2002 we met with our old friend, Frank Goodenow, owner of
Goodenow Upholstery in Clinton, IA. He had done the carpet in our Warrior,
and we had sent a couple of friends his way over the years, so we had a good
working relationship. I explained our problem, and he offered a novel
solution: He would save extra, left-over leather from bigger jobs, and --
eventually -- he would have enough left over to do our seats!
This was a very appealing idea -- we would get leather seats, and only pay
his labor! We immediately agreed, and he started saving up. (We opted for
light gray, partly because it matched our plane, but mostly because he said
it was the most popular shade for business class aircraft.)
Well, months went by, and we became busy with the hotel. We mostly forgot
about the concept, in the heat of remodeling, etc. This past August, 2003,
however, we hit the "One Year" mark, and realized that Frank had probably
forgotten us. So, on our next "Burger Flight" we made a point to visit him.
Amazingly, as we walked in the door of his shop he barely glanced up and
said "I was about to call you!" He had just finished a Navajo, and had
finally saved enough leather!
So, we set up an appointment for a few weeks hence, as he was extremely
backed up, with three planes in the shop. Thus, I found myself in early
September, winging into Clinton. I had called ahead the day before, just to
make sure all was in readiness, and was assured that he was ready to do the
seats...
Well, when I arrived at the appointed time, Frank informed me that he had
run out of time, and didn't have the seats ready. (With Cherokee seats, he
works from a pattern -- so he can stitch them together in advance.) Worse,
he was a tad short of leather after all -- so he'd have to order some! It
would be at least a week before he could get back at it.
Naturally I was upset, given that he hadn't called me, and I had just talked
with him 24 hours earlier. The look on my face convinced Frank that "today
was the day to do the carpet" -- even though that was supposed to be the
last phase of what we envisioned to be a three-part upgrade. (Phase 1:
Seats. 2: Side panels. 3: Carpet ) So, he re-did all the carpet while I
waited -- which turned out to be 7 hours...
The cost was just $200, however -- very fair, indeed.
The following week, I arrived at the appointed time (after calling ahead),
and the seat "skins" were ready. He estimated "maybe 2 hours", so I figured
I'd easily be home for supper. Well, he sort of forgot that he had to strip
the seats down to bare metal, sand and repaint the frames, re-web the seats,
cut the foam, etc. Worse, he had forgotten that my seats had head-rests!
In the end, I was there until after dark (that was the "no runway lights"
post), and ended up spending the night in a local motel.
We left it that he would make the head-rests from a pattern, and call me
when they were done. THOSE would only take a few minutes (ha!) to install,
I was assured.
A couple of weeks went by, and I had received no word. So, I finally called
Frank -- only to interrupt him at his brother's funeral! His brother had
been quite ill, and passed away -- shutting down his business for the whole
week...
The following week -- this is now mid-October -- Mary and I flew to Clinton
again, and he did the headrests while we waited.
The cost for all four seats: Just $360.00. Ninety bucks a seat for real
Scottish leather seats is about as good as it gets -- even if they take
months to do!
Still, last by not least, the side panels needed to be done. The carpet on
the floor no longer matched the carpet on the side panels, and the new
leather sure made those panels look shabby. Unfortunately, Frank was backed
up again, due to the week off for his brother's funeral, so we were unable
to get back in to see him again for nearly a month. It was with great
trepidation that we dropped poor Atlas off a week ago -- how long would THIS
phase take?
Well, it turned out to be only eight days -- not too bad -- and the results
are beautiful. He and his son did the side panels in a matching gray vinyl,
with a darker gray (speckled with a bit of maroon, to match the paint job)
cloth lower panel. We had him upholster over the cheesy plastic chrome
arm-rests, and -- best of all -- we asked him to add a few extra pockets!
We now have all the pockets we need for spare batteries, fuel testers,
flashlights -- you name it -- for the first time. It's really nice not to
have stuff jammed into pockets sideways and backwards...
The results are stunning. The interior now looks like something you'd find
in a nice sports car -- more like something you'd expect in an airplane!
Total cost for the side panels: Just $330.00. Again, incredibly fair!
So, in the end, it took 14 months to do -- but the total cost for an
entirely new leather interior works out to be just $890.00, all inclusive!
This is far less than an equivalent leather Airtex interior would have
cost -- WITHOUT labor!
To say we're happy with the results is an understatement. Our experience is
proof-positive that -- with the right combination of patience, persistence,
and a little luck -- you can refurbish your interior without breaking the
bank. I'll try to get some pix of the new interior up on our website
tomorrow...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
When we bought Atlas (our '74 Cherokee 235 Pathfinder, named because he can
lift ANYTHING we can fit inside) in 2002, the only thing I didn't like was
his interior. We immediately replaced the ceiling plastic, but the rest of
the interior was tired, too. A previous owner had done a fine job (for an
amateur) of installing a quality Airtex interior -- but things were looking
pretty worn around the edges. The front seats were especially thread-bare,
and the co-pilot's seat was virtually unbearable -- it felt like sitting on
a toilet.
Our stop-gap attempts at a "fix" were met with limited success. Mary
tailored some sheepskins into custom-fit seat covers for the front seats,
which at least hid the worn fabric. My attempt to fix the co-pilot's seat
by safety-wiring a cookie sheet (really!) to the bottom of the seat, and
stuffing extra foam above it (so that the co-pilot didn't get that "sinking
feeling") didn't work, however. I over-did the foam, and it felt like we
were sitting on a baseball...
So, I realized we needed professional help, and we REALLY wanted leather
seats -- problem was, we had just bought a hotel, and money was tight. What
to do?
We initially met with a local upholstery shop with a stellar local
reputation. Their estimate: $1800.00 -- was just for the seats. This was
well beyond the budget, and would leave nothing for the carpet and side
panels -- so we kept searching.
In August of 2002 we met with our old friend, Frank Goodenow, owner of
Goodenow Upholstery in Clinton, IA. He had done the carpet in our Warrior,
and we had sent a couple of friends his way over the years, so we had a good
working relationship. I explained our problem, and he offered a novel
solution: He would save extra, left-over leather from bigger jobs, and --
eventually -- he would have enough left over to do our seats!
This was a very appealing idea -- we would get leather seats, and only pay
his labor! We immediately agreed, and he started saving up. (We opted for
light gray, partly because it matched our plane, but mostly because he said
it was the most popular shade for business class aircraft.)
Well, months went by, and we became busy with the hotel. We mostly forgot
about the concept, in the heat of remodeling, etc. This past August, 2003,
however, we hit the "One Year" mark, and realized that Frank had probably
forgotten us. So, on our next "Burger Flight" we made a point to visit him.
Amazingly, as we walked in the door of his shop he barely glanced up and
said "I was about to call you!" He had just finished a Navajo, and had
finally saved enough leather!
So, we set up an appointment for a few weeks hence, as he was extremely
backed up, with three planes in the shop. Thus, I found myself in early
September, winging into Clinton. I had called ahead the day before, just to
make sure all was in readiness, and was assured that he was ready to do the
seats...
Well, when I arrived at the appointed time, Frank informed me that he had
run out of time, and didn't have the seats ready. (With Cherokee seats, he
works from a pattern -- so he can stitch them together in advance.) Worse,
he was a tad short of leather after all -- so he'd have to order some! It
would be at least a week before he could get back at it.
Naturally I was upset, given that he hadn't called me, and I had just talked
with him 24 hours earlier. The look on my face convinced Frank that "today
was the day to do the carpet" -- even though that was supposed to be the
last phase of what we envisioned to be a three-part upgrade. (Phase 1:
Seats. 2: Side panels. 3: Carpet ) So, he re-did all the carpet while I
waited -- which turned out to be 7 hours...
The cost was just $200, however -- very fair, indeed.
The following week, I arrived at the appointed time (after calling ahead),
and the seat "skins" were ready. He estimated "maybe 2 hours", so I figured
I'd easily be home for supper. Well, he sort of forgot that he had to strip
the seats down to bare metal, sand and repaint the frames, re-web the seats,
cut the foam, etc. Worse, he had forgotten that my seats had head-rests!
In the end, I was there until after dark (that was the "no runway lights"
post), and ended up spending the night in a local motel.
We left it that he would make the head-rests from a pattern, and call me
when they were done. THOSE would only take a few minutes (ha!) to install,
I was assured.
A couple of weeks went by, and I had received no word. So, I finally called
Frank -- only to interrupt him at his brother's funeral! His brother had
been quite ill, and passed away -- shutting down his business for the whole
week...
The following week -- this is now mid-October -- Mary and I flew to Clinton
again, and he did the headrests while we waited.
The cost for all four seats: Just $360.00. Ninety bucks a seat for real
Scottish leather seats is about as good as it gets -- even if they take
months to do!
Still, last by not least, the side panels needed to be done. The carpet on
the floor no longer matched the carpet on the side panels, and the new
leather sure made those panels look shabby. Unfortunately, Frank was backed
up again, due to the week off for his brother's funeral, so we were unable
to get back in to see him again for nearly a month. It was with great
trepidation that we dropped poor Atlas off a week ago -- how long would THIS
phase take?
Well, it turned out to be only eight days -- not too bad -- and the results
are beautiful. He and his son did the side panels in a matching gray vinyl,
with a darker gray (speckled with a bit of maroon, to match the paint job)
cloth lower panel. We had him upholster over the cheesy plastic chrome
arm-rests, and -- best of all -- we asked him to add a few extra pockets!
We now have all the pockets we need for spare batteries, fuel testers,
flashlights -- you name it -- for the first time. It's really nice not to
have stuff jammed into pockets sideways and backwards...
The results are stunning. The interior now looks like something you'd find
in a nice sports car -- more like something you'd expect in an airplane!
Total cost for the side panels: Just $330.00. Again, incredibly fair!
So, in the end, it took 14 months to do -- but the total cost for an
entirely new leather interior works out to be just $890.00, all inclusive!
This is far less than an equivalent leather Airtex interior would have
cost -- WITHOUT labor!
To say we're happy with the results is an understatement. Our experience is
proof-positive that -- with the right combination of patience, persistence,
and a little luck -- you can refurbish your interior without breaking the
bank. I'll try to get some pix of the new interior up on our website
tomorrow...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"