Well I got my green check from Uncle Sam. My wife wants to spend it on shoulder harnesses for the 182B. It only has lap belts. Plan on the BAS Inersia Reel type. http://www.basinc-aeromod.com/cessna.htm

Now the question is standard or utility. I am leaning towards the Utility cus it looks as if they are a bit easier to get out of. You know that these harnesses are of no use at all unless you wreck. If you wreck then it seems that you would want to free yourself of the plane asap.

Am I wrong here.

Tim

I have had both types. If I was to install on a float plane, I would get the utility type for the water egress potential (although my float kitted 180 came with the standard), but otherwise would get the standard. It takes about a fourth of the time to get yourself in and fastened with the standard buckle (shoulder straps and lap belt permanently connected). For your passengers, make that about an eighth of the time required. It's hard enough for me to watch someone fidgeting and twisting around, trying to get things connected, all the while throwing their weight against my seat back frame.

We bought the BAS utility belts. I reach behind my back, unbuckle the belt and buckle it across my lap while keeping each side together. Then I bring the shoulder harnesses around. Its pretty fast for me and the people that fly with me often. I would buy these again.

With a new passenger it can be interesting. If they don't catch on with the second try, think twice about taking them along.

Not trying to hijack this thread but this stimulus check idea is real efficient. We received one notice from the US Treasury stating that we would be getting a notice stating when we would receive the check. Sure enough, about ten days later we received the notice stating we would soon get the check. Three days later we get the check.

If we ran our farm this efficiently I can't imagine how far ahead I would be in life.

Skip the BS and Just send the check.

Bill

Utility. Plan for crash not for the ride.

nwkv8r wrote:Utility. Plan for crash not for the ride.

If I was just planning for a ride I would not spend the money on the stuff to begin with.


Tim

Just checked out the hooker and thay are a bunch cheaper. Pros-Cons.

tim

qmdv wrote:Just checked out the hooker and thay are a bunch cheaper.

Never was a truer statement made about aviation.

The IRS conveniently credited my stimulus check toward my tax bill.

qmdv wrote:Just checked out the hooker and thay are a bunch cheaper.

Always cheaper to rent than buy!!!!!!

Gump

I've got the BAS utility belts in my 58 Skylane and find them easy to get in and out of.

Tim,

I would go with the BAS hands down. This is safety equipment. I've "pull tested" the BAS harness in a 185, and installed them in my airplane the next week. I wouldn't own a Cessna without them.

Advantages of the BAS over ALL other harness systems:

1) BAS is inertial reel. And the reel actually works. This is not the case for many supposed inertial reels I've used in past of brand X.

2) BAS installs the inertial reel up inside the headliner, and the strap slides through a metal flange that attaches to the outside of the headliner. The straps therefore never get crossed up on the reel, the reel never gets dusty, grimy, and therefore non functional, etc, etc.

3) Finally, there have been a NUMBER of shoulder harness failures in Cessna aircraft of harnesses where the reel was simply attached to the FRONT of the front wing spar carry through. ALL other harness systems I've seen attach there. The BAS, on the other hand, attaches to the REAR of the front spar carry through, with a doubler, and the bolts attaching the harness reel go through the spar carry through. Don't know if I described that precisely, but the point is, to rip one of those reels out, you would have to take the entire front spar carry through box out of the roof of the airplane, and if that happened, you'd have more problems than harnesses.

4) Really--there have been a lot of harness failures in Cessnas. I've never heard of a BAS failure. Look at their web site. Look at the pictures. The 185 floatplane on there was mine. There are others that are just unbelievable that anyone could have survived, but the harness system worked.

I have the Utility system, and I like it far better than the seaplane version, which I didn't even like in seaplanes....The utility version is easy to hook up, unhook, and works great.

Don't even think about any harness system in a Cessna except BAS.

MTV

I have heard about cessna failures but how about the Hooker harness. I do not think that the reel is required but a good mount is required. If it is liable to fail then it is not for me.

Tim

Hope this isn't a double. Tried once but it went somewhere else I think? Anyway found it difficult to reach the fuel selector in the 182 with non-inertia shoulder straps. Inertia in both the 180 and 206 and not a problem. However, with inertia they have to work to be any good and I would say especially in a float plane and more so on amphibs where that upside down thing tends to show up more frequently. Just my .2 cents worth to someone that still has an option.

Just got this from Hooker:

Our system consists of an angle bracket that goes on the bottom and rear
face of the rear spar carry through. There is a 3/8" bolt and bushing that
then goes through the spar for and aft. The shoulder harness hangs off of
the rear of the spar. When pull testing we were in excess of 35 G's at
which point the spar started to be pulled out of the airframe.

Scott McPhillips

Hooker Custom Harness, Inc.
324 East Stephenson Street
Freeport Illinois 61032


Tim

Without an inertia reel, they are almost worthless in my opinion. The reason is if they are worn, they are usually worn too loose to do much good.
I've got a friend that flies an 802 for the Dept. of State down south. He carries a stick with him so he can reach some switches, and that is ridiculous for a couple of million dollar airplane.

Tim, go with Bass. It was the first mod I did on my plane,would not have a plane without them.
Bruce

Hey Tim, ....Heather says to get flight helmet and protect your head. John

Do you have a flight helmet.

Tim

A helmet still won't prevent you from decorating the instrument panel or glare shield with your face.

Get the BAS harness. Sounds like Hooker has copied the BAS attachment (undoubtedly due to the failures I mentioned). Nevertheless, as I noted before, you just can't beat the BAS for a lot of reasons. I agree fully with a64--a fixed harness is just dumb. Sooner or later, you'll loosen it up to reach something, and.....forget to tighten it.

MTV

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:

mtv wrote:I agree fully with a64--a fixed harness is just dumb. Sooner or later, you'll loosen it up to reach something, and.....forget to tighten it.

MTV

I do miss being able to cinch the shoulder down in turbulence though.

You should be able to "snatch" it and lock the mechanism, but that is only temporary. The military harnesses had a lever to where you could lock the mechanism, maybe BAS offers such an option? It installed instead of a cap on the inertia reel.

With manual flaps and short arms, the bas scores a lot of points. The lap belt alone works fust fine for the turbulance.

Tim