Murphy's Leather Seats for the Rebel
Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2012 8:52 am
In the past there have been several inquiries to this list, me included,
about the upholstery offered by Murphy Aircraft Mfg. for the Rebel. I
recently purchased Murphy's leather seats for my Rebel, so I thought I would
post these photos showing how they looked, and how they are constructed. I
was told Murphy offers the leather in only two colors, gray and beige. I
purchased the beige. It has the more traditional natural leather look IMO.
According to Stephan at MAM their upholstery is 'one size fits all' in that
it is supposed to fit both the Rebel and Super Rebel seat frames. However,
when I received them, I found that while they fit the Rebel seatframe nicely,
the two velcro flaps on the rear edge of the seat cushion will have to be
modified to fit around the seat roller framework. I advised MAM of the
problem. I was told no one had ever brought it to there attention before.
Apparently the Super Rebel seat-frame is built slightly different than the
Rebel and that is where the discrepancy lies. So I was told. Anyway MAM told
me they are going to work with the their supplier to correct the problem in
the future. They offered to alter mine to fit, but I didn't want to hassle
with sending them back and will do it, or have it done, locally.
In my opinion the upholstery is nothing special. But, for $600.00/pair I
doubt I could have done any better elsewhere. The seats certainly appear to
be quite servicable. It just seems like there was not much effort put into
either the design, or construction.
For example, the seat cushion attaches to the bottom seat frame by tabs which
have adhesive backed velcro attached. That is, the velcro is attached to the
leather tabs only by the adhesive. It is not stitched to the tabs. Likewise
the corresponding piece of velcro is attached to the bottom side of the
aluminum seat pan with the same adhesive backing. I will be suprised if this
attachment system stands up to time without the velcro separating from the
adhesive. Perhaps other builders have some experience with this?
Stitching appears to be just single stitching. Some of the edge stitching
along the bottom tabs is pretty sloppy.
On the plus side, the seat back slips fully over back frame, with a nice
pocket on the back that has an elastic top edge.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass along this information for anyone contemplating
a similiar purchase. Since I am not yet flying, I cannot speak to 'comfort'
issues of the upholstery.
Roger Hoffman #687R
Eugene, OR USA!
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about the upholstery offered by Murphy Aircraft Mfg. for the Rebel. I
recently purchased Murphy's leather seats for my Rebel, so I thought I would
post these photos showing how they looked, and how they are constructed. I
was told Murphy offers the leather in only two colors, gray and beige. I
purchased the beige. It has the more traditional natural leather look IMO.
According to Stephan at MAM their upholstery is 'one size fits all' in that
it is supposed to fit both the Rebel and Super Rebel seat frames. However,
when I received them, I found that while they fit the Rebel seatframe nicely,
the two velcro flaps on the rear edge of the seat cushion will have to be
modified to fit around the seat roller framework. I advised MAM of the
problem. I was told no one had ever brought it to there attention before.
Apparently the Super Rebel seat-frame is built slightly different than the
Rebel and that is where the discrepancy lies. So I was told. Anyway MAM told
me they are going to work with the their supplier to correct the problem in
the future. They offered to alter mine to fit, but I didn't want to hassle
with sending them back and will do it, or have it done, locally.
In my opinion the upholstery is nothing special. But, for $600.00/pair I
doubt I could have done any better elsewhere. The seats certainly appear to
be quite servicable. It just seems like there was not much effort put into
either the design, or construction.
For example, the seat cushion attaches to the bottom seat frame by tabs which
have adhesive backed velcro attached. That is, the velcro is attached to the
leather tabs only by the adhesive. It is not stitched to the tabs. Likewise
the corresponding piece of velcro is attached to the bottom side of the
aluminum seat pan with the same adhesive backing. I will be suprised if this
attachment system stands up to time without the velcro separating from the
adhesive. Perhaps other builders have some experience with this?
Stitching appears to be just single stitching. Some of the edge stitching
along the bottom tabs is pretty sloppy.
On the plus side, the seat back slips fully over back frame, with a nice
pocket on the back that has an elastic top edge.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass along this information for anyone contemplating
a similiar purchase. Since I am not yet flying, I cannot speak to 'comfort'
issues of the upholstery.
Roger Hoffman #687R
Eugene, OR USA!
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