Just a quick update. Aerofabricators are being awesome and are basically going to cut the length I need and sew on the triangle pieces instead of using the weave method. I’ll update more when it’s done. I’m pulling them today and sending them in to them.

Just an update. I called and talked to Aerofabricators and they were awesome! Long story short, I returned the two lap belts i had already purchased and they basically custom made them I to whatever I needed at no additional charge! I told them the length I needed, had them sew on the triangle attach pieces, and had them add a buckle on the male side so that the lap belt could be adjusted from both sides so the buckle could remain centered. The extra buckle cost $5 and I needed 4 of them (one for each backseat). While I was at it I ordered two more kits for the back two seats and had them do the lap belts the same way. I’ll install them soon and will do a full report. Can’t say enough about how awesome their customer service was!

Well, my latest mod is complete and, because I know a lot of people are interested in doing the same, here are the details on it.

Early on I saw that there were supposed to be nut plates for shoulder harnesses in our planes. You can see this in the parts manual. But I wasn’t sure whether it was optional or if every 205 had them. Then last Spring when Bryan pulled his headliner, he verified that they are there.

So then I started looking to see what belts are available and how I’d do this. I ended up getting the belts from Wag Aero, specifically I ended up ordering the Cessna 206 kit. But when I got them, I ran into two issues: first, the belts were too short to allow for adjusting the seats much, putting an oversized person in the seat, or any car seat or booster for kids. Second, the lap belt is only adjustable on one side, so keeping the buckle centered was going to be a pain. Their standard kit has you attach the webbing to the fittings using a three bar metal piece and a weaving pattern. You could adjust that weave to try to keep it centered but it would be a pain as you have different people sit in that seat.

So, a call was made to Aerofabricators. All I can say is “Wow!” What awesome customer service! Bridgette (ext. 114) is in charge of making their seatbelts and was awesome. I told her my dilemmas and she said to tell her what I needed and she’d cut them to the length I needed. Great! Then I inquired if they could make them adjustable on both sides to keep the buckle centered. No problem. Then I asked if I sent them my end fittings, could they sew them on instead of using the weave/three bar method. No problem! They basically made me custom seatbelts at no additional charge...except for the extra adjustment piece which was $5 per seat.

I had already purchased two kits. I sent those lap belts back and asked for two more kits with lap belts made to those specs. I figured I might as well get them all done while I was getting some made to my specs. A few days later I got a call from her shop verifying the specs and to take payment info. A week later, I had the belts in hand.

For the install, it was pretty straight forward. After locating the first middle nut plate by pulling the headliner down a bit, I was able to feel where the other one was and just poke a small hole through the headliner. The rear nut plates were easy to find by unscrewing the trim and pulling it back. I painted the triangle piece with the 30 degree lip with paint I already had on hand that matches my interior. This piece comes in the kit. The only other thing you need is a AN-10 bolt, a washer and a spacer to fill the gap around the bolt in the hole in the triangle piece. Luckily I had all these in my hangar already. Once you have those few items, install the new lap belts and screw in the bolt to the existing nut plates to install the shoulder harnesses.

A couple of notes. The only real issue I ran into during the install was one nut plate that gave me issues. It felt like it was larger than a -10 and the bolt would not start. I was being very cautious since messing up the nut plate would open a whole big can of issues. In the end, I just needed to tap the first few threads. Be careful about tapping it because you don’t want to insert it too far in and mess up the self locking feature of the nut plate.

The second thing to note is to make sure that you pull the hooks off the backseats when/if you send your fittings in to have them sewn on. Make sure you note that the hooks attach one direction on one side and the opposite direction on the other side. Aerofabricators does have the flat triangle pieces if you don’t want to be without seatbelts or don’t have extras. I didn’t ask if they had the hooks.

As for paperwork, the original plan was to use the authorization from AC 43.13-2A. But after talking to my IA, we think that’s probably not even needed and that this can be considered a minor alteration using approved parts and existing nut plates. A simple logbook entry will most likely all that will be done.

In hindsight, seeing how relatively easy this was, I’m kicking myself for not getting it done much sooner. In all it ran about $800 for all four seats. I’m very happy to now have shoulder harnesses for my kids...and anyone else that ends up in the rear seats.

Looks great Cory!

Cory,

I did the same thing for the rear seats in my c-180. Your kids/passengers will be much happier if you get some pads on those things: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Majic-Memory-Foam-Seat-Belt-Pad-Adds-Comfort-and-Cushion-to-Shoulder-Strap-Black/162738382?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=3392&adid=22222222227078830391&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=191938386644&wl4=pla-300196553496&wl5=9029753&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=113836537&wl11=online&wl12=162738382&wl13=&veh=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwYSak7K-3gIVFdNkCh2VLAtyEAQYBCABEgLMDPD_BwE

They are cheap and keep your neck from getting rubbed raw.

Yup! I’ve got them on my front ones and will be getting some for them too!

I’ve used little double sided alligator clips to keep them in place. I’ve thought about trying Velcro. Anyone come up with any tricks?