If I want to replace/install carpet or any other upholstery item in my airplane, how do I make sure it's in compliance with any FAA flamibility requirement?

what's the plane. Depends which rules it was certified under. The old CAR3 planes have no flammability requirements for the interior.

I want want to use fabric that passes the flammability requirement and have the documentation. It is readily available however may cost a slight bit more. Sometimes you can find fabric that is marine and aviation approved.

Chas: '61 bo. It needs a complete interior.

Chas: '61 bo. It needs a complete interior.

+1 what Scott said, you would be surprised how many local upholstery shops have materials available that meet the FAA burn certs. Vehicles don't want flammable stuff either...

Thanks again. Big help!

if you order from an aircraft supply co you will get burn certs with the upholstery. if not then to make sure you should send out a sample to a testing facility. contact me and i can give you someone that is certified and can run the tests for $50 per cert. flat fee. he is the cheapest and fastest I've found. fabric from an aircraft supply place is about $60 per yard but is 54" wide. as far as the card that comes from the local upholstery shop the question is if you sell the aircraft will the buyer accept that or would the fas for that matter.
Aaron Hansen
kings av lead interior
208-681-3828

When I had my 182 I had a new leather interior installed by a local upholstery shop, not an aviation place. He did the work and I signed it off, referencing the card that the samples were attached to. Not too long after I had that installed the FAA did a PACE program at our local airport. A little safety briefing and then they would inspect your plane if you wanted, walking around it with you and pointing out anything they thought needed attention. I brought my logbooks and specifically brought up my interior. He thought that was great, no issues what so ever.

It's like bringing in your airplane seat and telling them it's for a boat because the shops too paranoid to stuff it with your customer supplied materials if you tell them otherwise.

Realistically, older part 91 planes under CAR have some generic "manufacturer claims flammability resistance" or something generic like that. So basically anything ever made unless you're sitting on straw bales.

Under the new FARs, actual testing/certification from the manufacturer is required.

I don't know the cutoff year, but its' somewhere around the 1980s

However, unlike a starter or a battery, this is one area in aviation where it really won't cost you 4X to get the "aviation" grade stuff. It is only marginally more expensive, if hardly at all.