Another few items off the list today - I fabricated and installed the brackets for the seat belts. First templates were cut out from card to fit the various locations then these were copied onto 0.090" thick 4130 steel plate and cut out on the band saw. 1/4" holes were drilled to take the seat belt mount bolts. The brackets were then welded into the fuselage. The brackets for the shoulder straps were positioned at station 111 and welded to the longeron, the cross member and into the cluster (picture 2). The plans actually show them at station 78 but this positions them to the outside of the seat whereas at station 111 they get a straight run to the centre of the seats
. This mimics the approach Vans Aircraft use in the RV series. A cable will be used to connect the seat belt shoulder straps to the bracket. The outer brackets for the lap belts were welded into the angles formed between the rear door post and the bottom longeron. The centre bracket is welded between the flap lever support tube and the centre upright. In all cases I'm confident that the bracket fixings are stronger than the seat belt hardware.
Another few items off the list today - I fabricated and installed the brackets for the seat belts. First templates were cut out from card to fit the various locations then these were copied onto 0.090" thick 4130 steel plate and cut out on the band saw. 1/4" holes were drilled to take the seat belt mount bolts. The brackets were then welded into the fuselage. The brackets for the shoulder straps were positioned at station 111 and welded to the longeron, the cross member and into the cluster (picture 2). The plans actually show them at station 78 but this positions them to the outside of the seat whereas at station 111 they get a straight run to the centre of the seats
. This mimics the approach Vans Aircraft use in the RV series. A cable will be used to connect the seat belt shoulder straps to the bracket. The outer brackets for the lap belts were welded into the angles formed between the rear door post and the bottom longeron. The centre bracket is welded between the flap lever support tube and the centre upright. In all cases I'm confident that the bracket fixings are stronger than the seat belt hardware.
