Kelly,you mentioned the one thing I've always thought was cheezy about the BAS and Atlee-Dodge seats: the ever-present bungee! Kinda like installing the cowl-blisters on a 180-horse 170 using duct tape!
You'd think that a nicely-engineered product like that would have a trick little widget incorporated to hold the seat up in the folded postion. If nothing else,then maybe a nylon strap and snap arrangement mounted to the side just below the window?
funseventy wrote:At the next bulkhead back from the doorpost there are hardpoints in the floor in my '54. They approved those for the use of seatbelt attachment. They were originall used for cargo tiedown and seat installation so they will hoad the G load and weight requirements.
Kelly
I took a look at my 170 today,there is a nutplate at that bulkhead in the center of the airplane for the aft (center) rear seat attach bolt. There's nothing on the side(s). My rear seat belts attach to the seat itself at both the inboard & outboard ends.I looked at a friend's 180,the outboard ends of the rear seat belts attach to an ear on either side of the airplane just forward of that bulkhead,an inch or two above the floor. He's got the later-model plastic interior panels (ugh!),so I couldn't see what the ear attached to. I have a copy of the jump seat installation page of the 185 IPC,it seems to show that ear riveting to both the bulkhead & the airplane outer skin (in between them),pretty hard to duplicate after the fact.
Kelly,did you use the "hardpoints in the floor" for both the inboard & outboard ends of the belt? That's the way I'm reading your post (above) but I'm not sure that's what you meant. It'd be a lot easier to install another nutplate in the floor/bulkhead than to install an ear like the 185 IPC shows,especially since I'd have to put a nutplate in the doorpost for the seat attach anyway.
What I did for easy in/out was I screwed in two Eyebolts with 1/4-20 threads into the floor. Then I bought the belts that snap in with the clips on the end. I bought mine through AC Spruce as well. I believe they were 62".
That was good thinking,Kelly. Is that all part of your approved 337 installation? The 185 IPC shows a kinda hinge looking thing--don't have the part number or part name--that bolts to the floor at the inboard belt attach,the end fitting of the belt bolts to this hingey thing. I was thinking of just bolting the end fitting of the belt right to the floor,the eyebolt sounds like a better idea,it'll let the belt pivot up.
I'll dig out the 337 and get you a copy. I've done several of these installations and I'll find the one that looks the most friendly to the FAA. I can't remember how the 337 reads regarding the seatbelt.
I bought a RH "divided middle row" seat from a 185 for $150 plus shipping. Seat belt's gonna be another 40 or so bucks,then a couple nutplates and some paperwork (!) & it's a done deal.
Kelly,I would appreciate a copy of your 337(s). You must be an A&P or an IA. What's the latest with regards to field approvals? A good friend of mine just got his A&P last Friday but wasn't sure about field approval status.
Which FSDO do you work with?
I'd buy the left side if the guy still has it. What about using a 150 seat, the individual kind not the bench? Put in some tracks and you're in, I think. Anything on tracks would come out fast.
People have done this with 206 rear seats, and I've even seen 180 front seats in the back of a 170! The only consideration is weight. It will wegh more, but it will be better looking and more comfortable than the jumpseat. It would have to be your personal call. Amenities=Weight. I'd be glad to help with installation, I bet my FAA guy would be helpful.
The 150 seats would be heavy,like Kelly said. Might as well keep the bench,and just rig it for easy in/out. I replaced the bolts where the seatback pivots on the bench with hitch-pins,takes just a minute to remove the back. That makes the bench easier to wrassle into place.
Another problem with the 150 seats on tracks in that all the Luscombe,120/140,& Swift guys buy them up. They're a pretty popular mod for all of those airplanes.
A good mod would be a hammock seat,like we've discussed before. that Anchorage outfit sells one all STC'd,but it's a grand. I knew a guy who had one in his 180,I don't know if it was home-made or even if it was approved. The Assn has copies of Canadian paperwork for a hammock seat,as installed by member dennis Banks in Tofino. I haven't seen the plans to see how involved it would be to fabricate one.
Well fellows I ended up with the 206 seat after all! Is it ok to put leather seats in a 170? For my usage this seat will be great. Easy in and out, especially with the Javelin tank, plus a few more seat tracks to put cargo rings on. Also it avoids the folded up seat taking up room. I will need some help in working out the seat belt attachments and also 337s or any STCs to help me get it legal. Kelly you say you know of this being done before, do you know who did it? A picture as they say is worth a thousand words, especially on the seat belt mount options. I figure the seat track location will become pretty obvious. Eric I'd like to see the 185? mounts you talked about. I don't know why it would be too difficult to pull a few rivets then put the bracket in between the laps. If I can get really close to a "standard" Cessna installation I'll work on a multiple STC. I don't have any 185 manuals or parts books to refer to.
Eric,
Do you know a 180 Driver out of Puyallup named Jim Hill? He was a friend of mine in AK and he'd be able to help remember who did that 206 seat install.
Dave,
I will try to get a buddy in Anchorage to check out the install and see if we can get any Pix.
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