I used the 3x16x18 Temperfoam for the seat bottoms. These seats
were made as two pillows, the seat 13x16 and the thigh support
9x16. The rear couple of inches of the seat pillow was filled
with regular foam since it is below the backrest foam so is not
actually used to sit on, just as a filler. The width of the
standard Temperfoam block was ideal for the Mark I seat pan so
there was no waste of the ($) Temperfoam.
These two pillows are connected by a couple of cloth straps
(slightly slack) which snap onto the bottom surface of the pillow
covers. The idea is to tip the thigh support pillow up when
boarding so the pilot doesn't step on the pillow but on the
carpeted thigh support while sliding down into the seat and
moving ones feet onto the floor (meanwhile doing the "Europa
Wriggle"). The forward edge of the pillow (pointed up during
boarding) contacts the back of the thigh as you slide down,
flipping the pillow into position. Works fine in practice.
The backrest pillows are standard foam about 1 inch thick and are
quite comfortable. Another detail here: the top of the backrest
(the headrest area) is covered with Naugahide (plastic) to make
it slippery and avoid fabric wear -- an extension flap from the
top of the headrest fabric is secured under the seatbelt anchor.
This keeps the pillow from pushing downward as one slides down
into position. The down side to this approach is that the
backrest pillows are not easily removable -- they are tilted
toward the center while installing the spar pins then dropped
back into place. (Snaps could be used to secure backrests to
make removal easier.)
The Temperfoam is very comfortable in use -- even after a couple
of hours one doesn't feel the need to shuffle position to relieve
numbness in the posterior. However, in cold weather it is like
sitting on a slightly soft board until the foam warms a bit.
Head to canopy clearance is fine in warm weather but is
noticeably reduced in cold weather.
The only difficulty encountered in working with the Temperfoam
was that it is very stiff compared to regular automotive foam so
it was difficult to compress the foam to get it into the pillow
covers in the normal way. Try to plan any Temperfoam
installation for warm weather since it gets considerably firmer
and more difficult to insert into the covers at lower
temperatures. My installer placed plastic sheet around the foam
to make it more slippery in order to wrestle it into the covers.
Regular automotive foam was not used over the Temperfoam because
I thought it might insulate the Temperfoam in cold weather making
it less conformable from body heat -- hard to say if this is a
legitimate concern. Also, the 3 inch thickness was ideal for my
body size vs headroom -- your mileage may vary...
John N44EU Newtown, CT
. Sunmate doesn't meet FAA flame tests (but homebuilts need not)
and gets stiffer with
> cold temps.
>
> From the samples I've played with, I suggest designing around
the
> middle densities, 1" each of pink and/or blue, with optionally
1/2"
> ordinary urethane stitched in with the top fabric and affixed
to the
> sides (wrapping fabric around pure temperfoam doesn't work
well).
> Regards,
> Fred F., A063
>
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