installing bas shoulder harnesses

[Lucky]

Anyone have any hints about installing the BAS harnesses? So far the trickiest part seems to be making the precision cut in the head liner.

[cessna170bdriver]

Anyone have any hints about installing the BAS harnesses? So far the trickiest part seems to be making the precision cut in the head liner.

Follow the directions. I put mine in 13 years ago and I don't recall it taking more than a few hours.

Miles

[SteveF]

Had mine put in by an A&E and it took about four hours. It was a big help that my 52B was manufactured with the nut plates on the wing spar. Really like these harnesses and consider it one of the better upgrades I have had done.

[lowNslow]

While we are on the subject, any opinions on which set up is better. BAS offers either a "standard buckle" which has the shoulder harnesses permanently attached to the lap belts or a "utility buckle" which has the shoulder harnesses separate from the lap belts.

[alaskan99669]

While we are on the subject, any opinions on which set up is better. BAS offers either a "standard buckle" which has the shoulder harnesses permanently attached to the lap belts or a "utility buckle" which has the shoulder harnesses separate from the lap belts.

When I got mine, they referred to the 'utility buckle' as the 'Seaplane Model', so that's the style I went with. They are a little harder to fasten all the pieces around your lap, but I see where they would easily fall away from your shoulders when you unbuckle in a float plane that is upside down in a lake and filling with water.

[SteveF]

I went with the utility buckle also. They are not that much harder to put on and they come undone without tangling up in them like the standard ones. Personal preferrence but I like the utility setup.

[jrenwick]

Definitely the utility setup, for ease of both fastening and unfastening. You have to show your passengers how to put the puzzle together, but I find that's easier than putting on the fixed type while wearing bulky winter clothing.

[hilltop170]

I went with the utility/seaplane buckles. I don't want anything that could hang up on a person during an emergency evacuation. The standard buckles create a loop that your arms or body can get hung up in, inhibiting exit.

When you are working in the cockpit area, the seaplane buckles hang loose behind the seat and don't get in the way like the standard rig does. There is always that loop to deal with.

Plus, if you wear a collar-less shirt while flying, the shoulder straps tend to rub your neck and on a long trip can get irritating. The seaplane buckles can be removed, the standards can't.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

All good points about the utility buckle but I'll present another scenario. The utility style buckles are to easy NOT to use and just let hanging behind the seat. I've seen this way to many times. In fact most of my friends who have shoulder harnesses like this don't use them.

About a year and a half ago I put owner produced shoulder harnesses in my 17O using approved materials. I had wanted to use buckles like the utility buckles pictured but my lap belts the had to remain unchanged would not except the extra shoulder harness hardware. So I simply looped the shoulder harness around the lap belt in effect creating the standard buckle system you see in the other picture. This was not my idea BTW but I copied Hooker belts that are made to be retrofitted in aircraft like ours.

I have not found the belts to be difficult to get out of as they the shoulder harnesses tend to fall away to the back of the seat with the lap belts. Of course like all the other things one would have to train to do in an emergency egress, I've simply learned to just scoot my arms out of the belts.

A bonus to this system is the lap belts are always hanging by the shoulder harness and easy to find to put on. And of course as I already stated, no one has been able to go without shoulder harnesses since I installed them.

Just presenting the other side of the fence for thought. I don't think there is a right way here and either style is much better that no shoulder belts at all.

[johneeb]

What Bruce said gets my vote. I have had the standard set for years and found no problems what so ever and I have never been tempted to not use them as they are alway attached.

My recollection of installation is I wish I had an extra set of hands to start the through the cabin roof bolts otherwise an easy job.

[c170b53]

I use the seaplane version, since they cost alot I couldn't imagine a person not using them.

[n3833v]

I don't have BAS belts, but I use the utility style. It is just get in the habit of using them and know that the safety factor is a plus. How many don't use car seat belts? It's a habit.

[markeg1964]

As part of my annual this year I asked my A&P to install a set of shoulder harnesses. He recommended the BSA harnesses which was what I was thinking of. I stopped by the airport last night and he has the harnesses installed. They look great! He went with the standard buckles. The annual is still not complete so I have not had a chance to try them out - other than sitting in the plane in the hangar. I think I’m going to agree with Bruce’s comments as they didn’t seem to be too restrictive and I’m looking forward to not fishing for the buckles under the seats.

I can’t offer any tips on installation other than I know a good A&P in Oregon.

[Lucky]

Thanks for the info...I found BAS to be a very good company to deal with, and the kit they sent looks very complete. For what it's worth, I went with the seaplane style buckle because I thought it would be more out of the way when it's not in use. The other set-up looks easier to use, but looked like they would be in the way every time you wanted to work on the plane or load bulky items.

[alaskan99669]

Anyone have any hints about installing the BAS harnesses? So far the trickiest part seems to be making the precision cut in the head liner.

Like previous posts... having two people helps a lot, especially with the screws that go through the cabin roof. As far as the headliner, I installed the inertia reels first, held the headliner up to them and began making very small cuts with a razor and checking the fit until I was happy. The kit comes with large bezels that will hide most hack jobs and still look professional.