Installing BAS Tail Pull Handles

[4583C]

Mine will come either side or both sides.

[cessna170bdriver]

I don’t use mine very often, but when they allowed my not quite 3-year old grandson to help put 98C away after his first light airplane ride they were worth every penny.

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[hotrodmac]

Mine will come either side or both sides.

Thanks!

[GAHorn]

I don’t use mine very often, but when they allowed my not quite 3-year old grandson to help put 98C away after his first light airplane ride they were worth every penny.

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Miles… THAT Pic is a great candidate for The 170 News!…..and perhaps for a family Greeting Card!

Thanks for sharing!

[bgiesbrecht]

I also used the screw option for mounting the pull handle just in case I needed to get back into the tail in the future.

I also did this, and recommend this instead of riveting. I've had mine installed for 2 years now, absolutely loving it. One of the best mods for the money.

[AWilson]

I also used the screw option for mounting the pull handle just in case I needed to get back into the tail in the future.

I also did this, and recommend this instead of riveting. I've had mine installed for 2 years now, absolutely loving it. One of the best mods for the money.

The instructions say to use 3/16ths machine screws. Seems kinda short. I would think that is barely enough room to get the self locking nut on alone. Did it work?

[n2582d]

I think they’re suggesting using a 3/16” diameter screw rather than 3/16” length. Not sure where you found that instruction though. My B.A.S. Installation instructions (Rev D April 14, 2004) say to use “either AN470 AD4 rivets or … #6-32 X 3/8” stainless machine screws and AN365-632 nuts.”

[AWilson]

You are right about the screw designation. Mine are installed now with screws and I love the pull handles!

[gfeher]

Well, I finally got around to installing the BAS tail pull handle on my '52 170B. I'm a big guy (6'4" 260 lbs) so I've been dreading crawling back into the tail. Fortunately, a good friend who is a solid mechanic and much smaller and lighter than I am volunteered (without asking) to be the inside guy. I owe him lots of adult beverages. So I thought I'd post some tips that we learned. As a FYI, I used the alternative method of stainless machine screws and nylon lock nuts as identified in the instructions that came with the STC.

As others said, definitely lift the tail so it's level inside. The inside guy will thank you.

I decided to use a 1 x 10 board (3/4" x 9" actual) for the inside guy to lay on. I trimmed it to 83" long and then trimmed/tapered one side of it as shown in the pictures below. Looking rearward, the taper was cut on the left side so at the far end the board was 4 1/4" wide and at 42" from the opposite end it was 6 1/4" wide. Then it angles out a few inches to the full width of the board. Looking rearward into the tail, the board sits to the left of the cables, and the tapering on the left side allows for the narrowing fuselage and smaller bulkhead openings. As you can see from one of the photos, we placed cushions on the bulkheads under the board and between the board and the skins. It worked very well and my assistant was very happy with it. I thought it might be too narrow at the far end, but he said it was fine.

The instructions say to use a 3/8" bit to drill the initial holes in the sides of the fuselage for the slide handles, and then open the holes with a rotary file. However, the final diameter of the holes needs to be about 1" for the handles to slide out. That's a lot of filing. Instead, I carefully located the hole centers and then used a step drill. I stopped at 3/8" to check that the hole was centered, and then carefully widened the hole with successive steps until the hole was almost wide enough. Then I used a Dremel with a 407 sanding band bit to further widen the hole to the required diameter. (The final hole is actually slightly oval due to the narrowing of the fuselage.) Again, this worked very well.

In all, it took us 4 hours overall, but it was a hot and humid day and we took our time. (We had a fan in the cockpit area blowing air into the tail. Another suggestion if you are doing this on a hot day.)
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