Wanted - Seat Back Safety Latch

[George in Langley BC]

Expanding on another thread about cargo tie-downs I would like to bring up one concern of mine.

Occasionally we carry heavy items in the baggage area, my last trip to Oshkosh had 80+ pounds of gear in my 6A baggage compartment.

It is difficult to tie down many irregular shaped items. My cargo net would not completely enclose the load, in reality it just restrained the load downwards. Therefore I was worried about the potential for cargo shifting forward and crushing me into the seat belts in a sudden stop type crash.

What I (we) need is a way to lock the seat backs upright preventing them from pushing forward at the top in a crash. I can see the potential for a large load on the seatback pushing forward.

I have stood and looked at the 7A I am building but the light bulb has not illuminated with an a good idea for a secure latch device at the top of the seat back.

Requirements are (1) easy to tip the seat forward on the ground for pre-flight check to remove fuel cup etc. from seat back pocket (2) small, does not protrude into baggage area (3) strong (4) allows seat back angle to be adjusted.

Ideas appreciated.

George

[TX7A]

Seems like if you were strapped-in, the seat back wouldn't be going anywhere.

[George in Langley BC]

Hi Sam

I guess I did not make my point, and I suppose that ones day would be ruined if this were to happen. If you were to come to a 10 G stop you could have an extra 500 pounds pushing forward on your seat back forcing you into the seat belts with much extra force.

My point is that the seat back is hinged at the bottom and free to rotate forward at the top, a positive lock would be much better to separate people and cargo.

George

[vlittle]

Hey George, I just rented a hangar at CYNJ across from you.

As for your seatback latch, have you considered making a bulkhead (Al, wood, plastic) that would be hinged to the floor in the baggage compartment, and provide a barrier or crumple zone between the baggage and seatback?

Seems to me that without a bulkhead, even if the seatback is latched, the baggage will still impact the seatback and potentially cause injury.

Depending on how you did it, you could use the area between the bulkhead and the seatback for storage of lighter items, and put the heavy items aft. It would be easy to fold down the bulkhead to gain access. A strip of velcro at the top and the back of the F705 would keep it from flopping backwards, but something more secure may give better impact resistance (camlocks?).

Could be made quite light, because it's only required to absorb energy and deform, not carry structural loads.

Vern

Crude Drawing:

[George in Langley BC]

Great news, when is the move?

I had considered a bulkhead as you suggested but discarded the idea, to much lost baggage space. Every square inch counts when going camping at Oshkosh.

Thinking of something simple, best idea I have so far is something like a knotted rope or small chain that attaches to seat back and latches into a slotted fitting under the crossmember (toilet tank chain type idea). This would allow for easy release and seat back adjustment, however a crash may produce negative G so I will have to figure out how to avoid inadvertant disconnect.

George.