M016576 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Posted July 12, 2012 I have read that you can replace the seat belts in an aircraft as preventative maintenance (ie pilot signs off the logbook). I was wondering how far that could go... Does the replacement seat belt have to be OEM, or could I use an AMSAFE FAA TSO-C114 replacement belt. Would the shoulder harness have to be fixed, or could I install a faa certified inertial reel myself so long as I use the original mounts (or would that require an STC)? Quote
N601RX Posted July 12, 2012 Report Posted July 12, 2012 I installed the inertal reel ones myself about 2 years ago. I got my mechanic to look at it and sign it off when I finished. It's just a logbook entry, there is no STC. There is also a FAA advisory circular on doing this as a minor mod with a logbook entry. Quote
jetdriven Posted July 12, 2012 Report Posted July 12, 2012 You can replace the existing seatbelts as configured with a TSO approved seatbelt assembly. That includes shoulder harnesses, if equipped. If you wish to add shoulder harnesses (we did) then it is a minor alteration with an Airframe rated mechanic's log entry. Now, changing from fixed strap to inertial reel, I'm not so sure. Quote
N601RX Posted July 12, 2012 Report Posted July 12, 2012 It depends on when your plane was manufactured. If it was manufactured before shoulder harnesses were mandatory, the faa has given you more options for installing them. They do not have to be tsod or even meet the current restraint requirements. They recoginzed that something of a shoulder harnsess was better than no shoulder harness. If your plane was manufactured with a fixed shoulder harness, then this should cover you.http://www.alphaaviation.com/PDFs/M20JUPGRADE.pdf Quote
danb35 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Posted July 12, 2012 When I bought '48Q, fixed shoulder harnesses were installed. I replaced them with Alpha inertial reels and signed off on it myself, and it hasn't been an issue at any of my annuals since then, but I couldn't say for sure that it was legal. Quote
M016576 Posted July 12, 2012 Author Report Posted July 12, 2012 Quote: N601RX It depends on when your plane was manufactured. If it was manufactured before shoulder harnesses were mandatory, the faa has given you more options for installing them. They do not have to be tsod or even meet the current restraint requirements. They recoginzed that something of a shoulder harnsess was better than no shoulder harness. If your plane was manufactured with a fixed shoulder harness, then this should cover you.http://www.alphaaviation.com/PDFs/M20JUPGRADE.pdf Quote
danb35 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Posted July 13, 2012 The Alpha kit is not STC'd, but the parts are TSO'd. If the parts you've found are TSO'd, I'd think you'd be fine to install them yourself. If not, they may not be legal to install at all. Quote
M016576 Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Posted July 13, 2012 Quote: danb35 The Alpha kit is not STC'd, but the parts are TSO'd. If the parts you've found are TSO'd, I'd think you'd be fine to install them yourself. If not, they may not be legal to install at all. Quote
NotarPilot Posted August 1, 2012 Report Posted August 1, 2012 Quote: N601RX I installed the inertal reel ones myself about 2 years ago. I got my mechanic to look at it and sign it off when I finished. It's just a logbook entry, there is no STC. There is also a FAA advisory circular on doing this as a minor mod with a logbook entry. Quote
danb35 Posted August 1, 2012 Report Posted August 1, 2012 When I installed the inertial reels on my F (replacing the existing fixed shoulder harnesses), I used the kits from Alpha Aviation. They were (and still are) $350/side, and now come with a pushbutton release, which would help keep J-bar folks like me from accidentally releasing the seatbelt when we extend the landing gear. Quote
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