Aviation upholstery guide
The burn test is a procedure and a result. The "burn certificate" is a piece of paper describing that result. Neither one, standing alone, means a finished aircraft interior is approved. A document is only useful to the person accepting the work if it identifies the exact material and lot supplied, names the specific test procedure run, describes the specimen construction, and reports the actual measured numbers. A document that says only "meets FAR 25.853" tells the approving person almost nothing they can act on.
The burn test is the procedure and result
A flammability test exposes a defined specimen and construction to a specified procedure, then records the result. Under 14 CFR 25.853, Appendix F contains different procedures for different materials and aircraft-interior components.
For a coated fabric such as upholstery vinyl or aviation leather, the procedure is normally the 12-second vertical test, and the published criteria are an average burn length of no more than 8 inches, an average flame time after removal of the flame source of no more than 15 seconds, and drippings flaming no more than an average of 5 seconds. Those are numbers a report can state. "Passed" is not.
The "certificate" is a document, not the test itself
In upholstery sales, "burn certificate" is often shorthand for manufacturer or supplier documentation describing a material's flammability test information. The document may be useful evidence, but the label certificate does not make it FAA approval of the material for every use.
FAA cabin-interior guidance warns that manufacturer or supplier certification alone does not satisfy every FAA compliance requirement. The accepting authority may need additional substantiation, witnessed testing, conformity, or project-specific records.
What a usable document actually contains
Before you accept a document as evidence, look for these. A report missing several of them will make the approving person's job harder, and they are the one who decides.
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Material identification, including colour and lot or dye lot | Ties the paper to the roll or hide that actually arrived. A generic product-line document does not. |
| The specific test procedure cited | 12-second vertical, 60-second vertical, 45-degree, horizontal — these are different tests with different criteria. |
| Specimen construction as tested | Whether the result represents the material alone or an assembly changes what it can support. |
| Measured results, not a verdict | Burn length in inches, flame time in seconds, drippings flame time. Numbers can be checked against the criteria; "pass" cannot. |
| Who tested it, and when | Laboratory identity and date. An undated report cannot be placed in a project timeline. |
| Revision basis of the cited rule | Paragraph lettering in 25.853 has changed across revisions, so the same test can appear under different subparagraph letters. |
Three things a document does not do
- It does not approve the installation. Material evidence is one input to a decision made by somebody else.
- It does not cover the rest of the seat. Cushion foam, fire-blocking layers, adhesives and thread are separate questions, and seat cushions other than flight-crew seats are addressed under a different part of Appendix F than the cover material.
- It does not travel automatically. Documentation is tied to a supply transaction. If it was not requested with the order, it may not be obtainable afterwards.
Ask before the material ships, not after
This is the practical failure we see most. The job is planned, the material is ordered, the covers are cut, and the paperwork is requested at the end when somebody asks for the file. By then the roll has been cut and the lot may no longer be identifiable.
Request documentation at the time of order, every time, even when you think you will not need it. It costs nothing at that point and it is frequently impossible to reconstruct later.
What to confirm with the responsible aviation professional
- Which aircraft rule and certification basis applies?
- Which material or component test procedure is required?
- Must the test represent the upholstery alone or the complete construction?
- How must the supplied material be identified to the record?
- Who reviews and accepts the evidence for the installation?
Carolyn Fabrics documentation boundaries
For Spirit Millennium vinyl, required manufacturer burn-test documentation must be requested with the order and may not be available after shipment.
For Slipstream leather, each full hide includes Carolyn Fabrics-branded manufacturer production-order material-test documentation matched to the shipped colour and dye lot. It records the leather material's FAR 25.853 12-second vertical test results.
In both cases, the documentation is material evidence. It is not approval of an aircraft, seat, or finished installation.
Confirm the exact documentation and approval path with the responsible A&P, IA, repair station, engineer, or other applicable authority before ordering, cutting, or installing upholstery material.