4-point or 3-point seat belt install

[muleywannabe]

anyone ever installed a 4 point or even a 3 point seat belt system in their aircraft?

we have the lap belts and it would be nice to have a better seatbelt system for when I take my family.

 

[murphey]

First action on my cherokee after the check cleared was to install WagAero shoulder harness on both front seats, new lap belts on all 4 seats. Safety is always #1 update, comfort is second, cosmetic, probably never. I decided against inertial reel, because every rental had broken inertial reels. And half the price of inertial.

 

[AggieMike88]

+1 on having shoulder harnesses.

Our club aircraft have them for the front seats and I feel much safer with them in place.

All that forward momentum an airplane has get's put into your torso and head moving rapidly forward if the plane comes to a sudden stop. Speed + head + glare shield = bad headache at minimum, concussion and head trauma most possible.

While Blanche's comment of Safety First, Comfort Second is spot on, most shoulder harness rigs are as comfortable as anything you would encounter in an automobile.

 

[brian]]

Just get one. I went with the Alpha belts - 3 point, no inertial reel. (Works just like a car seatbelt.) What I like about that setup is the PAX belt can be un-hooked and slid out-of-site when it is just me. Also - I went with no inertial reel - I just like knowing that sucker is tight on final. I'm just weird that way.

Installation was done by my A&P - not hard on a -35 - just drill a hole in the airframe and insert a few rivets. Done. (Then again, I didn't do the actual work.)

Just pick one you like for your Cherokee. All I can say is that panel looked pretty close before I got the belts installed.

 

[muleywannabe]

Great idea. It looks like most of the kits are around $800 bucks plus an A&P...sound right? how many hours or install cost?

 

[Jeff Oslick]

Got the BAS installed shortly after we bought the plane. Don't know about the Cherokee, on a 182 the only hard part is dealing with the headliner. I think it was < a couple hours total for the A&P, and another couple hours of one of the partners wrestling with the headliner.

 

[docmirror]

I did four point from Wag Aero. Mine were $250 each side, and about $500 total to install with my help.