The International Cessna 170 Association

Hi Guys,

I would like to gain some information on the assist straps which are
found on the 170's. I have a 49 c170a and of course they were not an option.
I am assuming that the metal 'holders' are the problem pieces to be found.
Are there any places where they are being made today, say for a antique
car?
The reason for this request is I have a girlfriend who is only 5'1'' and she loves to fly but I hear about how hard it is to climb into my 170.
Any help or direction to some good info is greatly appreciated.

Also I just had a bad experience with getting part of my plane repainted
with Jenny Aviation in New Jersey. Do not go there.

Bob, I am also in need of new brackets. If you come up with something, let us know. Perhaps we could arrange to have a quantity of them made if there are enough of us that need them.

While you might not find an exact match, you could check out LeBaron Bonney who specializes in antique auto restoration products. I had these folks recover my straps on '82A.

http://www.lebaronbonney.com/

Seems to me I've also seen the same straps on the rear of some C195 seats (attached to the back of the front seats as a hand hold for rear seat px and for entering/exiting the aircraft). I don't know if they are original to the C195 design or if someone stuck them on later. Can any 195 folks shed any light on that angle? If they are original to the 195 then I would also check with the 195 restoration houses like The 195 Factory ( http://the195factory.com/ ) or Barron Aviation ( http://www.barronaviation.com/Default.aspx?tabid=36 )

I have had pretty good luck for finding oddball parts like this by calling around to the salvage yards listed in Trade a Plane.

Doug-
I have never seen the straps on a 195 like you mention but my 1958 C-180 has them and were original from the factory.

The ends are a simple casting and should not be hard to make out of brass. Belt buckle manufacturers would be a good place to start. Anacortes Brass Works used to be one in Anacortes, Washington back in the 1980's but they are gone now.

My 180 had the standard rear loop assist straps as mentioned. My front assist straps were missing but the holes were there. I made some from power cable, I think 2 guage, with crimped on ends and covered them with vinyl. They looked almost original.

Harold H

Like the inside door handles (early post-war Chevy) I'm sure the cast
assist handle brackets are some off the shelf part from a car...I'll look in Hemmings and try to come up with something. Russ Farris

Thanks Guys for the info. I will be checking these leads out and let you all
know if I find anything.

Thanks Russ for your offer to check Hemmings.

I just got a replacement strap last month from JW Duff in Denver.
He had several pair at that time, because he offered different colors.

He quoted me $75.00 plus shipping for one strap. When I got the strap, he only charged $65.00 no shipping. Interesting individual:) Had me fax the info. Then send payment after I got the part.

Happy New Year!

Forrest

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the info, would any one have the part numbers for the
Assist Straps "Brackets"...................... I see that I did not explain
myself enough, I have in need to find the "Brackets" first and in order
to start I believe I would need the part numbers for the "brackets".

I believe all 'B" models came with them. I have a C170A parts manual
but it does not list the "Brackets" part numbers.
Thanks for all your help.

I stand corrected. Anacortes Brass Works IS still in business and would be interested in casting the end fittings for us out of silicon bronze which is very tough and readily accepts chrome plating. They usually make belt buckles and trinkets but will do small jobs like this. If anyone is interested, contact them at: http://www.anacortesbrassworks.com/

N2865C wrote:I have had pretty good luck for finding oddball parts like this by calling around to the salvage yards listed in Trade a Plane.

I tried calling several yards with no luck. I haven't called them all tho so maybe I'll still get lucky. These are apparently very popular items.

Bobo wrote:...I have in need to find the "Brackets" first and in order
to start I believe I would need the part numbers for the "brackets".

I believe all 'B" models came with them. I have a C170A parts manual
but it does not list the "Brackets" part numbers.
Thanks for all your help.

The "B" model IPC gives a part number for the assist strap, which is 0511001-129. This appears to include the attachment hardware at the ends of the strap, because there isn't a separate part number called out for those -- just the mounting screws. Probably the same thing you saw in the "A" model IPC, I'll bet!

Bob

The assist straps, buckle and strap are one unit. Here is a picture of a set that I might have available for you if you want to go to the trouble and expense of having them redone



You will notice that they have one screw holding them top and bottom which is different from all car straps I was able to locate on the web which used two screws top and bottom.

If you aren't worried about originality I'd go with one of the car models like these I found here.
http://www.mikes-afordable.com/miva/mer ... _Code=1122



or these at
http://www.mikes-afordable.com/miva/mer ... _Code=1122

Thanks Guys for this good info.

Bruce,
Thanks for the link to Mike's, I will research this a bit more and let you
know what I will be doing.