Even though I'm not starting my Bearhawk build for a few more months I like to plan ahead and make all sorts of spreadsheets.

I have seen the Atlee Dodge jump seats and like the idea of having the rear seat be 2 individual seats, giving you the most cargo/passenger flexibility. Being that I am scratch building my plane I cant justify the price of the atlee dodge when I can easily build my own.

That being said I came across this http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Ratchet-Straps-Tie-Downs/Airline-Straps-Hardware and was wondering if anyone had experience with this brand or just the track system in general. This particular supplier does not sell faa qualified track, but it could be a much more inexpensive option for the experimental group. They spec the same as the Certified track. http://www.ancra.com/aircraft/track.html

I would give flexability for seating as well as cargo tie down locations. It looks like its about .4lb per lf so its a bit heavy. But it sounds safer than cargo shifting around.,

Thank,

Mike

I think it's a great idea to use brownline track for seat mounts and cargo.
Cessna caravan, Pilatus pc12, king air, Kodak, pac750 and others use it for passenger compartment seat tracks/ cargo tie down.
There is a company called Aero Twin here in anchorage that makes a folding seat for brownline track. They make allot of them for caravans. Pretty simple 4130 tubing design. They would sell you seat feet or any of the fittings you could want to fab your own. The feet are about $80 each. Check out their website and look at the caravan seats and their 206h model seat conversion.

Besides the track, Brownline or someone makes single position mounts for cargo rings (or whatever), they're about 1-1/2" in diameter and mount with a couple screws. A few of those spotted around the cargo area would be cheaper & lighter than full rails.

This place has them if you scroll to the bottom of the page. http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Ratchet-Straps-Tie-Downs/L-Track-Stud-Fittings-Accessories

Districtfab wrote:This place has them if you scroll to the bottom of the page. http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Ratchet-Straps-Tie-Downs/L-Track-Stud-Fittings-Accessories

Buck & a half for an anchor plate, and four bucks for a cargo ring...tough to beat that!

I have a similar desire for my Bearhawk. I want two seats on a track for my rear seat but I don't care if they fold. I also want them to have integral seat belts with shoulder harnesses. The new C206 seats and rails would be awesome:


Actually the Quest Kodiak Seats are almost exactly what I want. The Cessna seat is a little too plush:


The thing about Brownline tracks is there isn't sufficient structure to attach them to which means adding attachments and more weight. If anyone has any ideas about how to attach the tracks I'd love to hear them.

Whee, on the Atlee dodge installation the brownline seat tracks have L shaped stiffeners on the underside of the floor and are also attached to a bulkhead at the front and rear. I'm not familiar with the structure of a bearhawk but I'm sure you could figure something out.

Whee,

I might order some of the track shortly. I also have access to Zane's bearhawk and Im sure he would be ok with me using it to figure out a mounting method. I will most likely design and machine my own quick release mounts for seat frames as well.

robw56 wrote:Whee, on the Atlee dodge installation the brownline seat tracks have L shaped stiffeners on the underside of the floor and are also attached to a bulkhead at the front and rear.

My initial thought is to do the same thing but I'm not sure the floor is attached in a way that I'd rely on it for any strength. I haven't ran any numbers but the force from wreck with a 200lb guy in the seat will be huge. I sure don't want the seats coming loose in an accident.

Districtfab wrote:Whee,

I might order some of the track shortly. I also have access to Zane's bearhawk and Im sure he would be ok with me using it to figure out a mounting method. I will most likely design and machine my own quick release mounts for seat frames as well.

Well, get after it. I'm hoping to paint the airframe late this fall before it gets too cold and I have to have my seat mounts figured out by then.

One idea I had in regard to going this route was to simply utilize the existing threaded tubes that are already welded into the cross members of my quick build kit, where the eye bolts thread in for the rear seat's legs to attach. One could use a normal bolt in those 4 locations to fasten the Brownline track. A few more weldments would need to be added for securing the track further aft.

Whee, did these ever get added to your fuselage?

I'm trying to make some decisions about how to mount my seats so I'm looking into the L-track some more, I called US Cargo Control and talked to them about their tracks. They don't have a rating on their tracks which is slightly frustrating. Ancra has tracks rated at 4500lbs and 6000lbs but they don't list what the distance between fasteners needs to be. Haven't been able to get a hold of the guy at Ancra that would know the answer. If it needs a fasteners every 5" that isn't going to work; that's too much additional weight.