C172 Shoulder Harness Recommendations

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frostyeric

Filing Flight Plan
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frostyeric
I'm looking to add front seat harnesses to 1967 C172H. Recommendations w reasons?
 
frostyeric said:
Standard, Utility, or Rotary buckle?
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i did the rotary buckle, easier to unclip the whole thing, but most dont is what the sales lady told me. contrary to popular belief it is not that bulky. but to get the rotary you have to get the belts in black, at least that was the case when i bought last Aug. it doesnt match with my rear seat belts which is beige.. but I didnt care about that mismatch
 
Hooker manually adjusting Y harnesses with seaplane buckles are what I prefer.
 
I did standard. It's a little easier to put on, but makes it a little harder to egress. I believe seaplane and aerobatic folks prefer/require the utility and rotary style buckles.
 
I installed standard BAS in my '63 172D. Why BAS? The '63 172 still had manual Johnson Bar flaps, and leaning over the pull on the flap handle would be a problem with a tightened fixed harness; the retracting inertial reel provides a lot more freedom to move your upper body around. If you drop something on the floor, it's easy to lean over and pick it up.
BAS Harnesses small.JPG
Airtex Forward sm.JPG
 
Stan Cooper said:
I installed standard BAS in my '63 172D. Why BAS? The '63 172 still had manual Johnson Bar flaps, and leaning over the pull on the flap handle would be a problem with a tightened fixed harness; the retracting inertial reel provides a lot more freedom to move your upper body around. If you drop something on the floor, it's easy to lean over and pick it up.
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Thanks, Stan. That's a sharp looking interior!
 
Stan Cooper said:
I installed standard BAS in my '63 172D. Why BAS? The '63 172 still had manual Johnson Bar flaps, and leaning over the pull on the flap handle would be a problem with a tightened fixed harness; the retracting inertial reel provides a lot more freedom to move your upper body around. If you drop something on the floor, it's easy to lean over and pick it up.
View attachment 93814
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I like the clean utilitarian look of your aircraft. No cup holders or frills, it says "Let's go somewhere!"
 
WannFly said:
ha, learned something new today @Stan Cooper , didnt know cessnas have Johnson Bar flaps
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Cessna 172s went to electric flaps in 1965 with the 172F. I purposely went looking for a '63 since it was the first year with "Omnivision" (the rear facing window), but still had manual flaps which are arguably more reliable and weigh less than electric flaps.
 
Stan Cooper said:
Cessna 172s went to electric flaps in 1965 with the 172F. I purposely went looking for a '63 since it was the first year with "Omnivision" (the rear facing window), but still had manual flaps which are arguably more reliable and weigh less than electric flaps.
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More reliable, weigh less, but also faster to deploy or retract.
 
Stan Cooper said:
Cessna 172s went to electric flaps in 1965 with the 172F. I purposely went looking for a '63 since it was the first year with "Omnivision" (the rear facing window), but still had manual flaps which are arguably more reliable and weigh less than electric flaps.
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And they were great for short-field takeoffs and landings. You could accelerate to near stall speed with the flaps up, then pull them all the way down and lift off, bleeding them off in ground effect as you accelerated. They could be retracted right after touchdown to kill lift and get traction for braking.

My old Auster had manual flaps that I used like that.
 
I put the BAS with Standard buckle into my C172N. Highly recommended. I lease that plane to a flight school and the BAS harnesses have held up really well despite hundreds of students and pilots.

Later I bought a Piper Cherokee 6XT and installed BAS with the Utility buckle. BAS doesn't offer the Standard buckle for Pipers. Not sure why. I greatly prefer the Standard buckle, but I still appreciate having the BAS harness in my Piper.

I doubt that I will buy another airplane in my lifetime, but, if I do, a BAS harness will be the first thing I put in it.
 
Cessna makes a retrofit kit, provides simple 3-point, the shoulder harnesses are hard-bolted to the door frame, like the later mid-70s vintage models.
I seem to recall. the price was not ridiculous, maybe $400 or so?
 
A lot of our Cessna's have the nutplate already in the spar for part of the BAS install. Hopefully those nutplates are centered w/ the seats in your H.
For the Alpha and 3 point should harness you have to install your own nutplate in the door frame.

I'm going for the BAS system and standard buckle in my 172H soon. You do have to drill out 2 rivets through the roof.
Here's a Cessna172club thread on an install in a 172B: B.A.S. Shoulder Harness and Rear Seat-Belt Installation - CESSNA 172 FORUM - Cessna 172 talk 24/7 (cessna172club.com)
 
baboss said:
I'm going for the BAS system and standard buckle in my 172H soon. You do have to drill out 2 rivets through the roof.
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Drilling those out is the most critical part of the installation. The rivets will be replaced with #10 screws and nuts, and if one just drills the rivets out and enlarges the holes, you end up with insufficient edge distance on the spar carrythrough flange. It could crack later. Not good, considering that it's holding the wings on the airplane.

I drilled them out then used a 1/8" round file to enlarge the hole, moving the hole center away from the edge, then drilled it to final size. IIRC the BAS instructions warn you about this.
 
I have 5 point utility Hookers in my RV. For the Cardinal we put in BAS 4 point standards. I don't think really care for rotary because standard and utility are more "automatic" for passengers to know how to open if it came to emergency egress. But that's just one man's opinion.

Some of my passengers forgo the crotch attach point, though I discourage the practice.
 
frostyeric said:
Great. Standard, Utility, or Rotary buckle?
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One plane I fly has standard, the other utility and my old work jet had rotary.

Out of all three, I prefer standard, but rotary has a cool factor to it that utility just doesn’t.
 
Pretty sure I still have the 3 point harnesses from my C182 sitting around. They're in great condition. Wonder if they'd fit a 172?
 
Technically, the BAS harness is a three-point. The shoulder straps come together in a Y behind your head with the stem making a single attachment point. That said, the BAS is my choice.
 
I've got a set of BAS in the 177, was the right choice for me. I've had a non-reel type in a Cessna 150 before with manual flaps, I'd get BAS now.
 
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