my first ever bomber seat project.

So I had to come up with a project for my motorsports fabrication class and I instantly thought of building a bomber seat out of Aluminum. With much needed guidance by my instructor for material selection and tools to use, this is what I got so far. I figured I would post some pictures to see what you guys think.










The material I used was 0.080" thick 3003 aluminum sheet. All the holes are punch and flared using handtools as well as the rounded edge on the seat sides. I hope you like it.

 

looks pretty cool. is it actually sturdy enough to sit in?

-Pete

 

that looks really nice

 

Thanks. It should be sturdy enough after I rivet all the pieces together.

 

Looks good to me!
You may not have enough material there now, but maybe doing a wired edge instead of just the rolled over flange on the side pieces would give a better finish?

Barry

 

Looks great and a fun project, more pics!
THANKS for posting.

 

Will there be any sides to it to help hold it together?

 

Good work. If it does flex a bit more than you want...putting some concave to it will stiffen it up...which I am sure you already know if you are doing work that looks this good.
Nice Job! more pics please.

 

Thanks again fellas. This is the first time I have ever attempted any sheet metal fab work. So hearing positive words gives me a feeling that I am doing something right. The first two pictures are the sides of the seats. As far as a wired edge, it would look a lot cleaner but the rolled edge gives a lot more strength. I got a lot of riveting to do yet. So it is not finished yet.

 

looks good, but you gotta have some kind of sides. doesnt matter how many rivets you put in it will flex like crazy the way it is now.

 

Tooo quick to shoot the messenger guys..

I see the sides laying beside his project seat..

I think he knows what he is doing and playing it cool.

 

Thanks. The first two pictures are of the seat sides. I only get so much time per week to work on this thing and I am being patient. I don't want to rush it and screw it up. I will post more pictures next week.

 

Looking good bud.

 

very nice

 

That's going to be a nice looking seat an you sure can tell who really looks at and studies the photos and who doesn't

The sides look plenty stout.

 

I got the sides riveted on. I only have half of the rivets in so far on the sides.



I know you guys are probably sick of seeing bomber seats by now.

 

Nice work. Can you make me a T6 or DC 3 cheap.

 

Looks good.

 

Nicely done. A super nice project. You're developing excellent sheet metal skills and you'll improve with time and dedication. Seems as though you may have found your specialty for both fun and profit. Please, keep us updated on this and other projects that you undertake. Words and photos.

 

I don`t know how the pilots sat in them for a whole mission, but they sure look good!

 

Looks good!!!..........................And a nice job , on the hammer form, ( construction and utilization).....................Me likey!

 

Very thoughthful and creative Craig, you'll surely get an "A+" when you're finished. Nice!

 

Maybe a few measurements for those wanting to do a simular seat?

 

Pretty cool, and nice work!

I was hesitant to post this up, but you can also hack up an old racing seat too:
http://www.autotraderclassics.com/car-article/Bombs+Away!-78780.xhtml

 

A couple pics of the finished seat. As far as measurements are concerned, I just found some plans online and tweaked them to fit me. I will have to look up the measurements I took for me.

 

I wish I had the skills to do so.

 

Care to share, where you found those planes, perhaps?????

 

I got the plans off of here and tweaked them to my liking. Here you go.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94912
It's post #20.

 

Thanks!