Is it legal to fly with a front seat removed?

[Skates97]

On 8/31/2023 at 11:43 AM, chriscalandro said:

I wouldn’t want anything capable of sliding around in the front seat position. All it takes is one bump for it to slide into the yoke

I agree, if I were to do this I would use a strap and connect it to the rear seat belt.

[N201MKTurbo]

14 minutes ago, Skates97 said:

I agree, if I were to do this I would use a strap and connect it to the rear seat belt.

here is what you need:

https://www.chiefaircraft.com/pilot-shop/aircraft-safety-security/seat-rail-stops/ati-8701.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Iz27JSKgQMVCw-tBh3OdAKPEAQYASABEgKNzfD_BwE

[N201MKTurbo]

5 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

On the Amsafe equipped aircraft there is a simple wire connection that has to be unplugged before you remove the seat, that will keep the system from deploying, it’s different than an auto airbags in that they aren’t pyrotechnic, they have a high pressure nitrogen tank that inflates the bags. 

You’re right to be concerned if you leave it connected and drop the seat the bags could deploy. It’s been a few years since I installed any but doubt they have changed

At my previous job, we built 6 production lines that produce airbag inflators. One every 6 seconds 24/7. All the new ones are what they call hybred inflators. they have a cylinder with 10000 PSI nitrogen. There are still pyrotechnics, but all the explosive charge does is burst the septum into the high pressure cylinder to let the N2 out. It is a very small charge. So for all you budding terrorists out there, every new car has a very effective blasting cap in it.

[cliffy]

One only has to look at the parachute club world to see about flying without seats in the airplane

Obviously if it was a real problem with the FAA they wouldn't be doing it. 

Just be able to prove the W&B if asked

[PT20J]

When I flew 135, we used an iPhone app to run a quick W&B and took a screen shot before each flight just in case. Seat isn’t on the required equipment list. Weigh it and subtract from the empty weight. What you choose for a moment arm is up for grabs since the seats move.

[A64Pilot]

47 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

At my previous job, we built 6 production lines that produce airbag inflators. One every 6 seconds 24/7. All the new ones are what they call hybred inflators. they have a cylinder with 10000 PSI nitrogen. There are still pyrotechnics, but all the explosive charge does is burst the septum into the high pressure cylinder to let the N2 out. It is a very small charge. So for all you budding terrorists out there, every new car has a very effective blasting cap in it.

Auto air bags are way more powerful than most appreciate. I think the Amsafe are hybrid

Good you might be a redneck if video  

 

[eman1200]

just put an INOP sticker where the seat was.

[MikeOH]

3 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

here is what you need:

https://www.chiefaircraft.com/pilot-shop/aircraft-safety-security/seat-rail-stops/ati-8701.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Iz27JSKgQMVCw-tBh3OdAKPEAQYASABEgKNzfD_BwE

$75 for an FAA/PMA approved "NOT A SEAT LOCK"!??!

Uh, I don't think so!  I'll redneck my own cargo 'lock' thank you very much

[Shadrach]

23 minutes ago, MikeOH said:

$75 for an FAA/PMA approved "NOT A SEAT LOCK"!??!

Uh, I don't think so!  I'll redneck my own cargo 'lock' thank you very much

Holy CB… We all have to choose our battles. $75 for a purpose designed, well finished, adjustable and reusable lock seems like a very good deal.

My time is worth way more than $25hr and it would probably take 3hrs of planning, looking for hardware and screwing around with the installation to come up with a solution that was marginally worse.

[N201MKTurbo]

1 hour ago, MikeOH said:

$75 for an FAA/PMA approved "NOT A SEAT LOCK"!??!

Uh, I don't think so!  I'll redneck my own cargo 'lock' thank you very much

It would take me way more time to make something that I could tie cargo down to my seat rails without screwing them up.

Even though these say “not a tie down”, when I was thinking about how to make a tie down for the seat rails, they looked just like these. 
 

I would probably grind the threads off the end of the eye bolts so they would go into the seat pin holes.