Planning and Ordering an Airtex Interior
Do Some Research First
The planning starts by carefully reading the Airtex website. Early on you should order the fabric and vinyl swatch package for about $7.00 + shipping. This is a very nice booklet with real pieces of every fabric and vinyl and was very helpful to me and my wife while we struggled to make the right decisions. Be sure to browse all the sample interiors in the Portfolio section of the website. Look at the Cessna, Piper and other plane examples. They will show you the many variations in color and fabric and you will see the visual difference between standard and premium fabric.
There are many options to choose from in fabric type and color and your choice of vinyl trim color. You can have the whole thing done in vinyl, a fabric with vinyl trim or if you really want the luxury treatment, go for all leather. I choose a fabric solution because I did not want to sit on hot seats in summer and cold seats in the winter. I choose to use the premium fabrics for cosmetic and durability reasons. All the nice looking fabrics in 99% of the sample photos on the website are of the premium fabrics. The premium fabrics add 25% to any choice.
Here is the pricing breakdown as of summer 2013.
| Component | Price | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Seat & Backrest | $660.00 | $825.00 |
| Side Panels | $457.00 | $571.25 |
| Cockpit Rug | $140.00 | |
| Baggage Compartment - Std | $61.00 | |
| Baggage Compartment - 9 cu.ft (to match side panels) | $256.00 | |
| Shipping | $60* | |
| Totals | $1,573.00 | $1,852.25* |
* assumes two shipments for a full interior set including the cockpit and big baggage compartment and using premium fabrics
If your not ordering the big baggage compartment and instead you have the original Ercoupe interior, the seat and backrest kit includes the long rectangular cover over the standard baggage pouch. I ended up using my extra piece for scrap vinyl so I could add finishing touches to the cockpit.
This is the look I was going for. This happens to be an all leather interior but it gives you an idea of what can be accomplished. The price of leather is not even quoted on the website. You can bet it going to be big bucks. If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
Ordering
I would recommend that you order on the phone with a live person. They will send you a summary sheet in a following email. It is important to get everything double and triple checked. Be sure to mention all none stock Ercoupe differences in your plane that you know of. I took a series of detailed pictures and forwarded them to the order taker and specifically asked them to comment on every item. They still got the RH baggage area side panel wrong. I have my master switch located there but they sent a panel with a pocket right where the switch is located. In their favor, they sent me a corrected panel with no pocket ASAP and did not ask for the wrong one back. Always deal with the owner for problems, if you can. He is very responsive and helpful.
They want the order payment up front before they will schedule your order. The wait time is about 45-60 days for the side panels, rugs and baggage compartment, but the seat and seat back backlog could run to almost 60-90 days. So plan ahead 3 month before you want to start the project.
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Brian Sanborn N3044H #3669