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Seat Belts

paul330

Well Known Member
I've done a search on the subject but there seems little info on seat belts for the -10. There seem to be various options:

- VANS. Colours are limited. You can get grey for the front but only black for the 5-point rear. No inertia reel option.

- Hooker. Lots of colours and options. Would like to fit inertia reel on the front. Anyone know if the mount is compatible? The electric remote locking looks like a good idea. What style is most appropriate? Do people use the lap pads? I suspect they are only required for aeros. And by the way - acrobatics are what skinny little Chinese girls do. Burly pilots do aerobatics......... :D

- Crow. Racing harnesses. Are they certified for aircraft? Suspect no inertia reel option.

- Amsafe. Look good and have an inertia option. However, the fitting instructions seem to require a lot of hacking around of the canopy. Not too happy with that and not sure the UK LAA would be either without some sort of testing data to show crash worthiness.

Any thoughts/comments/help or other options would be appreciated.
 
Crow Harnesses

I have the Crow harnesses and am very happy. True, there is no inertia reel for them that I am aware of, and no they are not certified for aircraft. However, they are widely used in racing and when I ordered I simply called them, talked to Fred Crow and said I needed belts for my RV-10. he knows the lengths of everything and gets them right out.

Eric Kallio
N518RV Flying, but in the paint shop.
 
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I and many others have removed the crotch belt in the back and are going with 4 point harness like the front has. No real reason for a 5 point. You should not be getting upside down in a 10. There are some threads on this they are just hard to find sometimes. I went with the Crow camlock harnesses. I have them in my RV8 and liked them enough that I wanted them in the 10. If you call Crow Talk to Fred Crow and all you will need to say is I need harnesses for a RV-10, the latch type,and the color. He knows the lengths already.
 
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Hooker Intertial

I ordered the Hooker inertial belts. Be aware that there are no color options if you want inertial- it's only in black. Haven't installed yet, but it is supposed to be compatible.

Dwight
 
FWIW
I was looking at the inertia reel units and then sat in the back of a 10 with them. They were mounted in the standard location and it looked to be a real
head banger. I went with the standard type belts.
Geoff
 
Fred at Crow knows the right measurements for the RV-10, and his customer service is SUPERB. We just went a year with the seatbelts in the 10, and they were made a little differently than our first set. We were much happier with the first set, explained it to Fred with the new measurements, and told him why and that I would pay him for them. A week later I had the new seat belts and only paid for shipping! That's REAL customer support.

Vic
 
I have inertial reels in my Supercub and love them. I find them usefull for reaching the flap handle, the backup amph. wheel pump, seatbelts that fall on the floor ect. I don't have them in the RV-10 and other than dropping something on the floor I don't miss them. As Geoff mentioned the head banger and structural question is the reason for dropping them.
Ron
 
Fred at Crow knows the right measurements for the RV-10, and his customer service is SUPERB. We just went a year with the seatbelts in the 10, and they were made a little differently than our first set. We were much happier with the first set, explained it to Fred with the new measurements, and told him why and that I would pay him for them. A week later I had the new seat belts and only paid for shipping! That's REAL customer support.

Vic


Vic,

What were the new changes that you requested?

You are the second person that I've heard that didn't like Crow's pre-measured RV-10 belts. Rob mentioned his issue in a link above.

I need to order my belts in the next 30-60 days.

thanks,

bob
 
Ok...not to sound at all stupid.....but what is wrong with the standard Van's harnesses? Is anyone using those and how do you like them?

I find this to be a funny question...considering I have probably modified just about every other aspect of this airplane to some degree or another, but I am considering using the standard harnesses, and am just wondering what the experiences with them have been?

Thanks
Steve
 
Like Eric, Chad, Rob and Vic...

Talk to Fred Crow.

Yes, I am not installing crotch strap for my kids in the back. No "acrobatics" in my plane:D I mean aerobatics.

And the reason I chose Crow...I was a crewchief on Blackhawks for 5 yrs and loved my camlock quick release. I always hoped for one in my own plane someday. As far as looks, strength or anything else I don't have a clue. I know that I would be dead before that Crow strap breaks.

Steve, I think I have only modified or bought something different than standard on the following: correct nose wheel per Matco, improved nose wheel axle, Crow seat belts, Sean's door latch, wheel pant entensions, stainless heat boxes. That's about it...six items out of 45,000. Are any of these things necessary...probably not. I can't wait to get this thing flying! No MORE modifications for me if I can help it. Oh, forgot one...I'm thinking about the flush camlocks on the oil door. I may gain .01 kt:D.
 
I have the belts from Vans and they work just fine and I am very happy with them. It is more a personal preference for what you want in color and type.
They all work good.

Geoff
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

I hadn't considered the problem of rear seat headroom with the inertial unit. I think I will give that a miss - can always loosen the shoulder straps a bit in the cruise.

Crow seeems to get the vote but the problem I have is with the UK authorities. Everything has to comply with the appropriate design codes and unless they have some sort of FAA compliance paperwork, it's probably a non-starter unless I go load testing the whole affair. Also, that means I can't remove the rear crotch strap without some sort of approval. Don't know why it is there but there we go. My 747 has one and we certainly don't do aeros! In which case, why no front seat crotch strap? :confused:

Hence, Hooker look like the best bet for me with plenty of colour choice etc. So, a couple of more questions. What style and web width would you go with and do I need to consider the pads or are they aeros only?
 
I went with 2" width and no pads...

for better comfort/lighter weight and was not sure if pads would be in the correct place as Crows are sewn on.
 
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