Aero-Tuff Seatbelts

[swpilot3]

Hello everyone!

I started looking into buying some seatbelts for my 4-place. Of course the Aero-Tuff inertial reels are the preferred ones. However, it looks like sadly Jim House has passed away and Tuff Tow isn't taking any new orders.

Does anyone have any other recommendations on how to get some Aero-Tuff inertial reels belts or something equivalent?

Thanks!

[jaredyates]

Wow, that's sad to hear! I was able to get some military surplus Amsafe sets on ebay. I looked today and there aren't any cheap ones. I paid around $40 per set for the first four, and $30 for one. I sent them to Tuff Tow for some modifications, including the intertia reels for the front.

[whee]

Terrible news! I talked to Jim this past summer and ordered some belts from him. He was great and cheerful to talk to and made a great product. Was just getting ready to order 3 more belts from him.

[JimParker256]

Check out the Schroth / Takana website (http://english.schroth.com/aviation). I don't have any personal experience with these guys, but the Grumman Tiger/Cheetah/Traveler guys use them for pretty much all their replacement harnesses. Apparently, you can custom order just about anything you want (color, type, buckle, inertial reel or not, etc.) from them. If Mark G doesn't find another supplier, I'll probably go with Schroth/Takana...

[swpilot3]

Thanks guys. I didn't know Jim House and didn't have a chance to ever talk with him, but it really sounds like he was very well respected and liked in the industry. I'm sad to know we lost such a great guy.

Thanks for the recommendation Jim, I'll check out Schroth / Takana.


Bobby

[Mark Goldberg]

Jim House was a very nice guy and a pleasure to work with. His widow said she might sell the business to a couple interested parties but I never heard anything further. So I am at a loss to recommend a seatbelt supplier. I have made some inquiries, but none has worked out so far. I just called the sales manager of the company Jim Parker recommended above. She was very nice and helpful. I will supply her with a drawing showing some of our seatbelts and see whether their pricing is something the Bearhawk builders might be interested in.

This company's main business is jets, helicopters, & military stuff - all high dollar. But it seems that they might have a more low cost line of seatbelts if we don't order them "gold plated" like some of their customers according to the sales manager. Not sure how soon this will happen as I leave on a 3 week trip next week. But I will try to get the ball rolling. Mark

[alaskabearhawk]

Sorry to hear about Jim. He really was great to deal with. B.A.S. does custom work as well: http://basinc-aeromod.com/. They use AM-Safe products.

[Mark Goldberg]

I have submitted info to Schroth that Jim Parker suggested. Lets see what they can do. Mark

[swpilot3]

Thanks for looking into this Mark. I'm be interested in what they come back with.

[Greg_Marlow]

Any progress on this? For the four place, does anyone have specs for the seatbelts using the 4 pt for the front seats with the inertial reel?

Thanks,

[Mark Goldberg]

Scott at Hooker Harness is where most builders have been getting seatbelts. He will give you a range of options. Remind him to give you the Bearhawk discount. Mark

[Rollie]

I'm pretty happy with the Hooker Harness seatbelts. The lapbelt part could be a few inches longer for the back seat. They made the front and rear lap belts the same length and due to the mounting locations the one for the rear seat should probably be a few inches longer. I mounted the rear shoulder harness at the rear of the baggage compartment and the length is good for that. So I would say that the measurements Scott has at Hooker are great except for the lap belt for the rear seat should be a few inches longer. I'm 185 lb and my front seat lap belt fits me with plenty of adjustment for a larger pilot, but the rear fits me with only about an inch of belt left and thats after I made some mounting brackets to extend the belt. I'm sure that if I contacted Scott, he would probably take care of it, but it hasn't become a priority yet.

[Mark Goldberg]

Good to know Rollie. We just need to let Scott know so he can adjust his specs to make the rear seat lap belt a few inches longer. Mark

[Ed.Meyer]

We used Hooker in our Patrol. Both lap belts were just a bit short. Sent both back to Hooker and they lengthened them at no charge and back in less than a week They even covered the return shipping.

[22LD]

Does anyone have any suggestions for rear shoulder harness attach options? Unfortunately, I've already installed the fabric ceiling., so welding attach points isn't an option. Thanks.

[whee]

I'm putting fixed harnesses in for my rear seats. They wrap around one of the top tubes. Standard method in certified airplanes.

[JimParker256]

My Citabria simply has the rear harnesses looped around a frame cross-member, and held in place with a "seatbelt keeper" device. (It looks like a rounded rectangle with two 1/4" slots cut to just slightly longer than the width of the seat belts.) Shoulder harnesses go under-through-over-through-under the bracket, around the cross-tube, then back through the "keeper" paralleling the other strap. They don't slip at all, even doing aerobatics. You might have to cut a slit in the fabric for that, but it's the least intrusive way I can think of to "retro-fit" shoulder harnesses back there.