Crow Seat belts - Page 3

az_gila · #21 08-23-2012, 12:41 PM

What isn't mentioned, however, is that the hard points are also sized for a mounting bracket that is 1/8-inch thick, and the Crow bracket is 3/16-inch thick. Thus, to fit the Crow bracket into the hard point, you need to spread the hard point's halves, and thus it's no longer parallel to the bracket.

Can someone confirm that this is fixed, or can Crow provide an 1/8 thick mounting end plate?

Skyflyer · #22 08-23-2012, 01:16 PM

I called Crow to ask about the availability of pre-made bushings for the attachment tangs and they told me that these are a standard size for the industry in both thickness and mounting hole. They did not offer an alternative.

They then pointed out that a #6M (metric) washer nicely fits the hole and accepts a 1/4 '' bolt. Sure enough, a trip to True Value rendered a box of washers that fit perfectly with only a little dressing on the occasional one required. A stack of four makes a 0.25" thick bushing that can be snugged up with the AN4 anchor bolt to make a nice pivoting installation. As for the gap in the mounting bracket, each one took between 5 and 10 minutes to reshape to accept the 0.25" bushing. I spent less than a half day installing these very nice belts in a manner that I feel certain will keep me safely in the airplane.

PCHunt · #23 08-23-2012, 02:03 PM

I bought my set on the Crow web site. They had a choice for RV-6, or maybe RV-generic, I don't remember. They arrived 3 days later. Great service!

I wish I had known about the 6mm Metric washer trick. I used standard AN4 (thick) washers, chucked them up on my drill press, and held a file to them as I ground them down to fit the Crow harness. It worked, but the 6mm washer sounds easier.

I never spoke with anyone at Crow, didn't need to. Great harness, and I love the Cam Lock latch!!

Couldn't be happier, and can't understand all the complaining about having to very slightly modify things to install harnesses. After all, you're building a plane, aren't you?

az_gila · #24 08-23-2012, 04:16 PM

Chuck and Pete,

The hole size doesn't bother me, spacers are easy...

But can you tell us whether the ends were 1/8 or 3/16 inch thick?

jeremiahd · #25 08-23-2012, 04:55 PM

It's 3/16 inch. The gap in the plane to receive them is 1/8 inch.

And, for $500+, Fred Crow should have been a little bit nicer!

az_gila · #26 08-23-2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremiahd

It's 3/16 inch. The gap in the plane to receive them is 1/8 inch.

And, for $500+, Fred Crow should have been a little bit nicer!

Thanks, good(?) to know...

Brantel · #27 08-23-2012, 05:30 PM

Gil,

The brackets work just fine with Van's mounts. Spreading them an additional 1/16" is no problem since this is spread out over the distance between the seat ribs. I doubt anyone would ever be able to tell the difference.

Oh and Fred Crow was nice as can be to me...

az_gila · #28 08-23-2012, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brantel

Gil,

The brackets work just fine with Van's mounts. Spreading them an additional 1/16" is no problem since this is spread out over the distance between the seat ribs. I doubt anyone would ever be able to tell the difference.

Oh and Fred Crow was nice as can be to me...

Mine are already drilled and mounted, and probably on the smaller end of the tolerance...

Brantel · #29 08-23-2012, 07:15 PM

Mine were as well. The Crow buckles fit snug but with little to no effort. This is really a non issue.

Skyflyer · #30 08-23-2012, 08:00 PM

The Crow belt tang is just over 3/16" in thickness, about 0.200" as I recall. I increased the width of the brackets on the plane to 0.250" to accommodate my 4 washer bushing. The extra 0.050" allows the belt tang to rotate freely. I found that increasing the spacing of each bracket while maintaining parallel sides to be easy even after they were installed and drilled.