Shoulder harnesses installed!

[ragedracer1977]

Wow, this was a much bigger project than anticipated.   Still working on the rear belts. Had to pull the back seat to even get the old ones out.  About halfway through I thought maybe the old seat belts maybe weren't so bad,  but I kept at it! Up next, dropping the plane off in Chino to have the front seats reshaped and recovered, the yokes wrapped, and then when it comes back, new carpet!

[MIm20c]

Amazed you could put them in without sliding down from the top.  Looks nice!

[RLCarter]

Looks nice and I feel your pain, shoulder harnesses was one of the 1st things I did, rear lap belts were replaced so they matched per the wife

[Marauder]

Since we are talking about seat belts, when I was at Sun N Fun I stopped at the Hooker booth. I asked them about double strap shoulder belts and they told me that their commercial shoulder harness setup could be field approved easily in a Mooney. This is the shoulder belt type where it drapes over both shoulders. He told me that in Mooneys they attach to the upper part of the steel cage after making a slit in the upper headliner to bring the single belt through. 

Anyone done this?

 

[J0nathan225]

I'd be interested in knowing a ball park for the cost of the reshape and redo of the seats, I'm thinking about doing that soon too. 

[Mooneymite]

8 minutes ago, Marauder said:

Since we are talking about seat belts, when I was at Sun N Fun I stopped at the Hooker booth. I asked them about double strap shoulder belts and they told me that their commercial shoulder harness setup could be field approved easily in a Mooney. This is the shoulder belt type where it drapes over both shoulders. He told me that in Mooneys they attach to the upper part of the steel cage after making a slit in the upper headliner to bring the single belt through. 

Anyone done this?

 

. No.  I'd be interested to find out where/how they attach before I committed.  Definitely more apealing than the single diagonal belt.

[Marauder]

Attached here:

[Marauder]

13 minutes ago, Mooneymite said:

. No.  I'd be interested to find out where/how they attach before I committed.  Definitely more apealing than the single diagonal belt.

I’m going to do some research on this. Will let you know what I find out.

[Stephen]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

Since we are talking about seat belts, when I was at Sun N Fun I stopped at the Hooker booth. I asked them about double strap shoulder belts and they told me that their commercial shoulder harness setup could be field approved easily in a Mooney. This is the shoulder belt type where it drapes over both shoulders. He told me that in Mooneys they attach to the upper part of the steel cage after making a slit in the upper headliner to bring the single belt through. 

Anyone done this?

 

I added the standard shoulder belts, but would rather have that arrangement. 

[ragedracer1977]

2 hours ago, Stephen said:

I added the standard shoulder belts, but would rather have that arrangement. 

My plane had 4 points.  I would not recommend them. Mine were likely not legal (nothing in logbooks, no TSO tags, etc) and actually useless when I saw how they were attached... mostly they were uncomfortable.  Either they were so loose that you might as well not be wearing them or tight enough that you couldn't reach comm2 or change the fuel without taking them off.  I wouldn't have 4 points again.

 

 

[ragedracer1977]

3 hours ago, J0nathan225 said:

I'd be interested in knowing a ball park for the cost of the reshape and redo of the seats, I'm thinking about doing that soon too. 

4-5 AMU.  We're adding headrests, custom perforated leather, and wrapping the yokes to match.  I know I could get it cheaper somewhere else, but my wife is dead set on this place.

[cctsurf]

2 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

My plane had 4 points.  I would not recommend them. Mine were likely not legal (nothing in logbooks, no TSO tags, etc) and actually useless when I saw how they were attached... mostly they were uncomfortable.  Either they were so loose that you might as well not be wearing them or tight enough that you couldn't reach comm2 or change the fuel without taking them off.  I wouldn't have 4 points again.

It would seem that if you had the 4-points installed in that manner, you may not really have a position to speak from on whether a correctly installed 4-point system would be good or bad.

I would think that installing the 4-point system with a inertial reel in the position mentioned above would be a GREAT option over the inertial reel being installed on the side of the cabin where it's in the way of entry and egress.

Edited April 25, 2018 by cctsurf

[Guest]

8 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

Wow, this was a much bigger project than anticipated.   Still working on the rear belts. Had to pull the back seat to even get the old ones out.  About halfway through I thought maybe the old seat belts maybe weren't so bad,  but I kept at it! Up next, dropping the plane off in Chino to have the front seats reshaped and recovered, the yokes wrapped, and then when it comes back, new carpet!

I hate the be critical of your metal working skills but that is a horrible looking cut out.  More effort is needed in smoothing the edges and adding a radius to the corners.  Sharper jagged edges are the start of cracks.

Clarence

[ragedracer1977]

1 hour ago, M20Doc said:

I hate the be critical of your metal working skills but that is a horrible looking cut out.  More effort is needed in smoothing the edges and adding a radius to the corners.  Sharper jagged edges are the start of cracks.

Clarence

If it cracks it cracks.  It doesn’t do anything.  And we had to balance the risk of cutting/nicking the actual structure of the plane vs having pretty cuts on non structural 032 aluminum.

[ragedracer1977]

2 hours ago, cctsurf said:It would seem that if you had the 4-points installed in that manner, you may not really have a position to speak from on whether a correctly installed 4-point system would be good or bad.

I would think that installing the 4-point system with a inertial reel in the position mentioned above would be a GREAT option over the inertial reel being installed on the side of the cabin where it's in the way of entry and egress.

The fact that they were poorly installed doesn’t change the way you wear them.  I looked at my plane this afternoon and thought about having an inertial reel on the ceiling.  Seems like a bad idea.  Seems like you could whack your head on it a lot, in just getting in and out, and in turbulence.  

But, it’s certainly a personal choice.  I don’t see the need for 4 points, they’re very restrictive and therefore would likely not be worn properly most of the time. 

[Mooneymite]

At work I always have a 5 pt system and feel naked without.

Looking at the proposed attachment member, I don't see how an attachment can be made without causing exterior bumps in the skin above the structural beam....

However, if it can be done, I will be interested in doing the installation.

[FloridaMan]

Shoulder harnesses can save your life. I will not fly an airplane without them. 

[MikeOH]

49 minutes ago, David Herman said:

Snip...

. Phew ... it’s a tedious job. You’d never imagine how hard it can be to get that “O” Clamp around the frame? Not for the feint of heart. 

You aren't kidding!  I installed mine about a month ago and it was ugly...the passenger side was worse than I expected, but I couldn't imagine the horror the pilot's side was!  Honestly, when I finally got the clamp around the frame I have no idea how, but I sure was happy.  Probably had 10 hours in the project by the time I was finished....maybe more.

[1964-M20E]

When I went to install my shoulder belt low and behold the clamps were already there.  Really I guess someone in the past removed the shoulder belt??????  This took a long dreaded job and made it much easier.

No inertial reals so during flight the shoulder belt is removed for comfort and to switch tanks.

[zaitcev]

On 4/27/2018 at 6:56 AM, 1964-M20E said:

No inertial reals so during flight the shoulder belt is removed for comfort and to switch tanks.

I once had an engine out on my Carlson and landed in a desert pasture (it's New Mexico, where cows eat spiky and dry plants, it seems). When it became clear that landing was imminent, I tried to tighten my shoulder belt and found it an impossibly demanding task 100 ft off the ground. Right before flaring I gave up and just landed as-is. Fortunately, nothing happened. Ever since I only have belts losened only just enough to reach radios, at all times.