The International Cessna 170 Association

Did Jay upgrade (?) from his '77 C-180 to a C-185? I sure liked his 180.

Joe...well, everyone actually... The carry-thru spar overhead in the cabin is also known as a "hat-section" because of it's shape being an upside-down top-hat. It's strength is not derived in the same fashion as a main spar or I-Beam. It's function is mostly due to it's ability to withstand tension/compression... not bending... The main spars, in the left and right wings, pass their loads thru the cabin via the tension/compression placed upon the hat-section (which is mostly only during negative-G maneuvers) and thru the struts, gear-box, and forward door-posts. The door-posts, gear-box and front/rear hat-sections form a "box-section", so the ordinary positive-G loads are spread mostly along a line from main-spar/strut/gearbox/strut/opposite main-spar. The overhead hat-section is only under mild compression most of the time spent in flight (and light tension when tied-down or in the hangar) so it does not need much capability, plus it's loading is shared by the rear doorposts and rear hat-section via the door-frames.

The point is, that unless drilled in a corner, or near the wing-attach-blocks... a small hole for a screw or rivet has almost no effect on it's strength. (And it's why, during a pre-purchase inspection that the doorposts and cabin=frame structure should never be overlooked as that is where so much airframe integrity is built.)

Thanks George.

Just looked up this thread, as I'm getting ready to install these in 33C. I've downloaded the documentation from Rosen. On page 7, I find the following:
http://www.rosenvisor.com/componentpdfs/RCS-300-1.pdf

Note: DO attach the bracket to the windshield side of the overhead, so that the bracket is not visible from the pilot seat. If attached to the
overhead on the seat side, the visor assembly will be too close to the pilot’s face.
The red slide tensioning knob should point toward the windshield and should not be visible to the pilot when the visor is in use.

The above note is found in the section dealing with early 172-207 models, but the picture and illustration on p8 would seem to indicate it also applies to our 170s. Note how it shows the red knob ending up on the windshield side when the visor is down.

How does this square with what everyone is describing regarding their own installation? Do we have some personal preference generated alternatives here?

Hi All,

Trying to follow the applicability of these visors to our '54 170B S/N 26181...

Sounds like we can remove originals and bolt in the Rosens...

Looking at purchase options, is there a separate/additional feature that allows full articulation? I see this mentioned for other aircraft types but uncertain about the 170.

Thanks,

Bob

If the '54 170 is like my '56 172, you can remove the old sunvisors and replace with the Rosen's. Easy to do. I highly recommend the models with the articulating feature. I originally purchased mine without that feature, but later purchased the articulating items that allowed full articulation. Well worth the cost. Even with Rosen's, there may be times when flying into the sun where you may want to have a stick on sunblock to position on the windshield.

Karl Towle wrote:Just looked up this thread, as I'm getting ready to install these in 33C. I've downloaded the documentation from Rosen. On page 7, I find the following:
http://www.rosenvisor.com/componentpdfs/RCS-300-1.pdf

Note: DO attach the bracket to the windshield side of the overhead, so that the bracket is not visible from the pilot seat. If attached to the
overhead on the seat side, the visor assembly will be too close to the pilot’s face.
The red slide tensioning knob should point toward the windshield and should not be visible to the pilot when the visor is in use.

The above note is found in the section dealing with early 172-207 models, but the picture and illustration on p8 would seem to indicate it also applies to our 170s. Note how it shows the red knob ending up on the windshield side when the visor is down.

How does this square with what everyone is describing regarding their own installation? Do we have some personal preference generated alternatives here?

Karl, did you get these installed?

Karl Towle wrote:"..............How does this square with what everyone is describing regarding their own installation? Do we have some personal preference generated alternatives here?

Karl-
The brackets are supposed to be installed with the horizontal leg facing aft but some folks install them backwards with the horizontal leg facing forward thinking that the visor is too close when installed per the instructions. If installed backwards/forward, they will fit just fine but there is a gap between the visor and spar carrythru which I find very distracting and uncomfortable when the sun shines thru the gap into your eyes during the middle of the day. Kinda defeats the purpose in my mind.

I do not find the visors too close at all when installed per the instructions and they function much better at shielding the sun.

I installed the Rosen sun visors using the original AN3 mounting on both of my C170b. The Rosen bracket needed some modification. No drilling. The original bracket would not fit and I am not sure where and how it should fit at a C170? It is a little close to your face but you can turn the bracket if you can life with the gap between the visor and the ceiling.

A full afternoon of work and I managed to get one visor installed. What a PIA. Good thing I have a band saw and belt sander. I bought the visors two years ago at OSH and have been sitting on them since because the instructions are incomprehensible. Now, having attempted installation, I'd suggest the instructions should say: "Use your best judgment. Do whatever it takes. Good luck!"

Not sure which 170 you installed them, but in my ‘56 172TD installation was easy. What issues did you have?

I do not have visors at all. My QB Sponsor, Beryl Minard, a WW2 Marauder-pilot told me to “Squint, George! It’ll give you crows-feet at the corner of your eyes and make you look experienced!”

170C wrote:Not sure which 170 you installed them, but in my ‘56 172TD installation was easy. What issues did you have?

'54. First there was a bunch of fitting and fiddling, deciding how far left or right to mount the visor. The mounting bracket is a clunky angle that's supposed to sit flush against the bottom and forward surfaces of the carry-through. I made a few passes with the Dremel trying to make the vertical part not interfere with the headliner sharktooth mounting strip and the long aluminum trim strip. I finally gave up and just cut it off, leaving only the horizontal plate, like what oliverbarth showed above. I was able to use the existing 10-32 nut plate in the bottom of the carrythrough, which required drilling a hole in the mount. Then I attached the mount with an AN525 screw. It took a lot of time while sitting in uncomfortable positions. Finally, I made the mistake of trying to install a rivnut to add a second mounting screw.

Now I look at the pictures in this thread and it appears I installed the copilot side visor on the pilot side, because the red screw faces down when the visor is flush with the ceiling. The instructions said one visor was labeled "pilot side", but darned if I could find any such label. I found the instructions to be extremely unclear.

I neglected to post pictures of my installation. I took the approach of mounting from the stock single #10 nut-plate. I started out by fabricating two bushings that would just fit in one of the lightning holes in the Rosen bracket, but with the hole for the #10 cap screw off center like this: However, there was no way to use the stock mounting hole, without modifying their bracket. So, the outboard sides were milled off, and the finished installation looks like this: To install, insert the offset bushing and screw, then turn the bushing to pull the bracket back tight to the front of the spar carry-through, while tightening the cap-screw. The trim around the wing-root vent also needed to be trimmed for clearance
I've been very happy with this installation, and so far, have had no problems with the single screw loosening in service.

That’s a great solution, Karl. I wish I was that clever.