Seatbelts

[Ladybearhawk]

Where is a good place to buy a 4 point lift latch style seatbelt? What type of seatbelts are most putting in their experimental?

[alaskabearhawk]

There are many, many good options out there. I'm sure more builders will chime in here. I went with a custom set from B.A.S. (https://basinc-aeromod.com/). Jim Mettler was great to work with.

I have six posts on my kit log about the process I went through for the inertial reel attach points. YMMV:

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=yeeeha&project=527&category=9602&log=204713&row=26

http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=yeeeha&project=527&category=9602&log=292742&row=8

[Ladybearhawk]

I found this Y harness type. I just don’t want to be fumbling with 3 or 4 attachments trying to buckle up.

[Ray Strickland]

Ditto. Got mine at ACS.

[Nev]

I agree that 4-point would provide better restraint in an accident, however I used car 3-point belts in the front.

Mine were custom made and a few NZ builders have now used the same style. The main difference with a standard car fitting is that we we used a "lap belt only" buckle, and fitted it in place of the normal slide through buckle. This allows the belts to be done up easily, tensioned, with the difference that the belt then stays tight. In turbulence this holds the wearer firmly in the seat, whereas standard car belt's don't. We also removed the ball bearing from the inertia reel which prevents it from locking on a slope (taildragger thing ) . However they still lock under high G loading. So far I've found them to be excellent.

HERE is a link showing them.

[Utah-Jay]

Seat Belt Planet, I got a 5 point harness. There is a guy there who deals with aviation, just ask for him and he is happy to help you measure out the retractable shoulder harness length etc…

[Bcone1381]

Boeing uses this Amsafe harness hardware..meaning the central latch..

After Takeoff the shoulder straps gets unlatched with a single press of a tab on the latch. Before landing or crashing the shoulder straps get put back on. When crashing the strap between the lower extremities keeps the center latch from rising up into the sternum when your upper body is restrained from forward movement. This is an outstanding price and hardware will outlast the life of the airframe.

It will require modifying. Thats part of EAB aviation.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/35247890030...Bk9SR4C77b2wYQ

[S Lathrop]

Try these guys ; www.hookerharness.com/aviationaerobatic.html.

I have used them for my BearHawk and I used them for years in my race cars.

Hooker has inertial reals that I used for my shoulder harness.

I noticed that Aircraft Spruce sells Hooker harness.

[DBeaulieu]

I used Crow with inverted Y shoulder harnesss on my Zenith. They make a large variety for various experiemental as well as custom.
www.crowsafetygear.com

[Light&Sweet]

I have a Hooker 5-point with double lap belt and ratchet in a Yak-55 for aerobatic flight. Hooker is common in acro airplanes for their trusted quality and effectiveness when needed. This set up is more than needed in a straight and level airplane, but I would consider Hooker’s less complicated systems for a Bearhawk for their quality.

Crow is common in RVs: http://crowsafetygear.com/Pages/Aircraft.html

[rodsmith]

I bought Hooker harnesses with an inertial reel for the pilot to enable reaching the flap handle without slipping a shoulder strap. I am very happy with the quality and they were good to work with, but if I had done more research I could have saved a lot of money with some of the options mentioned above.

[Bcone1381]

I bought Hooker harnesses with an inertial reel for the pilot to enable reaching the flap handle without slipping a shoulder strap. I am very happy with the quality and they were good to work with, but if I had done more research I could have saved a lot of money with some of the options mentioned above.

I echo this sentiment. I took apart two harnesses from outstanding products secured on ebay. I then bought webbing and custom built my harnesses using an office stapler to assemble for a custom fit. I sent it out to have it professionally sewn up. I avoided cost and risk of not being happy with the fit. I'd do it again. I have one Amsafe 5 point harness and one Scroth 5 point harness. The Scroth harness is a race car product and at least as nice as Amsafe.

Also consider wrapping your shoulder straps around fuselage tubing using a two bar or three bar wrap technique. It very low cost, no sewing, hardware or welding needed. Adjustable and easy to remove.

https://www.schroth.com/en/racing/se...re-techniques/

[marcusofcotton]

Great suggestions Brooks, I particularly like the link showing the methods, especially the 2 bar light weight that will draw right up at the tubing not taking space, being floppy, or weighing more than necessary!

[S Lathrop]

As I mentioned above, I used Hooker for my harness. I have an inertia real mounting for the shoulder harness. My mounting is well behind the seat but quite high up so that rear seat passengers are not bothered by the inertia real. This setup is common.

From my years in racing, this harness setup is not good in a negative G situation. In a race car, the shoulder harness is mounted so that the shoulder belts are tangent to the drivers shoulders. In a forward impact, the harness restrains the driver's upper body just fine. And in the case of a negative G situation the shoulder harness will do a good job of limiting how much the driver rises in the seat. With the mounting of the shoulder harness well above the drivers shoulders, only the lap belt keeps him from impacting objects above his head. A pilots body can stretch close to 6 inches upward in a negative situation, with only the lap belt retaining the body in the seat.

I have thought about having a second pair of shoulder harness belts that go from the seat bottom over the driver's shoulders and back down to the lap belt. The belts would be between the pilot's back and the seat back. This would keep the pilot in the seat without compressing his spine as a shoulder harness that was mounted below the pilots shoulders.

I did spin training in a aerobatic plane but I don't remember all the details of that harness system. I do remember that the harness was very effective in keeping me in place as we went through the various maneuvers.