Second Seat Belt Advice

Has anyone installed a second seat belt for the pilot in an RV8? It seems to be highly recommended and even required in some cases for aerobatic competition. I suppose the requirement can be met using the same attach points as the regular seat belts but redundancy would suffer.

If someone has done this, where is the best place to install them? I presume to the two longitudinal ribs under the seat but these seem too close together. Thanks in advance.

Luis Luciani
RV8, 100+ hours

Luis...

You say "highly recommended" but I've not heard of anyone doing this in an RV?

Maybe appropriate in an Extra or other seriously aerobatic aircraft, but an RV?

We have the standard Van's seat belts and do aerobatics etc. and I find quite sufficient, and indeed, comparable with other aerobatic aircraft seat belts....

Andy
RV-8 G-HILZ

I have done it and I think I posted pics on here somewhere. Let me do some looking and see if its still here.
Basicly I made another bracket similar to the original on the waist strap bracket. I know its not hooked to a diffrent chunk of metal but it is another set of bolts and straps that would have to let go before you found yourself laying on the canopy.
Let me see what I can find and Ill post back.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=5793
I think that will get you there if not search aerobatic hard points or posts started by me. You will see it there and the pictures are there as well.
Id be interested if you do something other than how I did it.

N282RV said:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=5793

I think that will get you there if not search aerobatic hard points or posts started by me. You will see it there and the pictures are there as well.

Id be interested if you do something other than how I did it.

Click to expand...

Thanks Jeremy. I will probably end up doing it this way but I was hoping to find a spot for the hard points that are more down than behind. With my Vans harness as tight as I can get it I still slide up the seat about 2-3 inches.

Andy, you are absolutely right that those who told me this fly Extras and other serious aerobatic airplanes. I looked it up in the 2008 IAC rules this evening and found this:

(k) Dual seat belts with separate attach points and a shoulder harness are mandatory for Advanced and Unlimited power categories. The same equipment is strongly recommended for Primary, Sportsman, and Intermediate power categories but is not mandatory except when IAC Technical Monitors deem them necessary for the sequence being flown in these categories.

I am starting to fly Sportsman so it is not mandatory for me but I think I am still going to do it.