[Desert Rat]

Hey Guys-

I was reading ahead, and I see that some people have spaced the crotch strap brackets wider than specified for Hooker or Crow belts. I believe that those comments were pretty old though and I think I saw somebody said that at least crow now has a skinnier mounting plate.

So does anybody know if I buy new hooker or crow belts now if this is still a thing or can I just space the brackets per Van's callout?

Also, on some of the certified airplanes I fly, theres a tab under the cam lock dial that unlatches the shoulder belts while leaving the lap & crotch strap buckled. Do any of the aftermarket belts offer that feature?

Thanks

 

[Doug Rohrer]

Crotch Strap Spacing

I wish I had allowed more space for my Crow crotch strap when building my fuse last year. I have to take out some screws to adjust the length. A real pain...

 

[RhinoDrvr]

The Schroth buckle I have in my -8 allows you to disconnect just the shoulder straps. I believe Hooker uses the same buckle.

 

[Desert Rat]

I wish I had allowed more space for my Crow crotch strap when building my fuse last year. I have to take out some screws to adjust the length. A real pain...

So how much more would be needed? I think the standard vans spacing is 1/8" would 3/16" have been sufficient?

 

[Desert Rat]

The Schroth buckle I have in my -8 allows you to disconnect just the shoulder straps. I believe Hooker uses the same buckle.

Thanks for the info

 

[WingsOnWheels]

I replaced the Crow end plates with standard triangle 1/8" plates. At least on the old crow harness, they were 3/16" thick and the bolt size was larger as well. Swapping ends solved both problems. I used end plates from Summit for racing harnesses. Something like $3-4 each.

 

[Draker]

There is a good thread here about the Crow crotch strap spacing. I made mine 1/4” apart and will add washers as spacers when I final install them.

 

[Doug Rohrer]

Spacing

If I were doing it over, I would use 1/4" instead of 1/8". No big deal if it is a little too wide.