I was going to put this in "My 185 Project in Texas" topic but figured it was too important not to be seen by all Cessna drivers.

Until the end of this year, 2013, Cessna is still paying for the installation of their "Pilot's secondary seat stop" on selected aircraft (I saw the list, looks like essentially everything from the 190's to 210's - with some late model exceptions). This is a retractable seat belt system that keeps the pilots seat from zipping backwards if the seat lock pin breaks or the seat rails give way.

My even knowing about this wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for stewartb, thanks Stewart!

Cessna will only pay for this install when done at a Cessna dealer. I chose to take my 185 to Air Impressions, Inc at Waco Regional Airport (ACT). I can't say enough about Jeff (the owner) and his crew. They are all great folks, extremely friendly and professional.

Reel installation
The reel is installed under the seat bottom at the back.



Belt extended
Here the belt is extended in preparation for anchoring it. You can also see in this photo the red seat stops from Aero Twin. These keep the seat from going so far back as to come out of the rails.
http://www.aerotwin.com/products/cessna_seat_stop.html



Belt fastened to the floor
This is with the seat all the way aft. To remove the seat from the aircraft I have to remove this bolt. No big deal.



Seat Stop Release
By default the retractable seat belt reel is in the locked position, opposite of the inertia reel we are all familiar with in our cars and trucks. It unlocks when you pull up on the seat release. Hats off to Air Impressions again. They were so thorough as to adjust the seat release so if I inadvertently let go of the release, and the pin is not in a hole in the track, the seat is still locked.



I am so pleased with this that I will be adding it to my Co-pilot seat, but at my cost, which is $1,000 installed. Of course there are other options to this which I'm sure most are already using, but all the ones I've seen require reaching down behind the seats, releasing the stop, walking it forward or back, then securing it to the rail again. I much prefer something I don't have to think about, nor contort for.

Good idea to do both seats. If your passenger suddenly shoots backwards he just might grab the first thing he can out of instinct. That would be the Yoke!

A guy that installs NEW SEAT RAILS for Cessna was looking at my 175 when it was for sale. He told me mine were fine but if I wanted new ones he would put them in. I passed but he was telling me if there are a few planes at an airport, they will come to you. I talked him out of my plane because he wanted it to haul three guys plus tools around. If you can round up a few planes and put in a call to Cessna, they can probably send someone to you if they are still doing the rails for free.

Phil,

I agree. It is a great thing to install, especially as its FREE!

FYI, you don't have to do it at a Cessna dealer. We have ordered three kits from Yingling. You pay up front, then send in a copy of the 8130 and the log book entries and they refund the purchase price and pay the book rate for your particular install.

Super good deal.

Greg,

That's excellent info to know about Yingling, when it comes to do the Co-pilot seat that will be the place to buy it sine we will install it ourselves.

Thanks

Phil

The Co-Pilot seat is NOT covered under the free plan. You get to shell out the big bucks yourself!
If you can find one, the original part number for the co-pilot side is (SK210-175). They are going for less than half of what the newly revised version (SK210-175A) goes for ($533.75). That's what it was when I checked yesterday. I found one on ebay for under $250 shipped to AK. Worth the price I believe for what it provides safety wise.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll make sure I get mine installed by the expiration date.

Guys- Who is it you call to authorize this mod, or send the invoice to to get reimbursed?

thanks,
gunny

Call and order from Yingling. Do the install, then send a copy of the 8130 and log book entry to Velma at Yingling. She will refund the purchase price plus the flat rate install price of your model A/C. Super easy...

Thanks!

Got mine in yesterday, took about 2 hours to complete. It really was the poorest documentation I ever saw in a service kit. Lucky thing you all posted pics of the install, made it much easier to get the gist and which of the 15 or so installation illustrations to use for my seats. Did you ever see a specific spot for the floor anchor anywhere in the instructions?

I just found this thread. I had Abilene Aero install the kit in the pilot and co-pilot seat with the airplane sitting in my shop. They sent me the information on mounting the other end of the stop. If someone can tell me how to attach a PDF file or maybe I can email the document to Zane?

Steve Pierce wrote:I just found this thread. I had Abilene Aero install the kit in the pilot and co-pilot seat with the airplane sitting in my shop. They sent me the information on mounting the other end of the stop. If someone can tell me how to attach a PDF file or maybe I can email the document to Zane?

There are a few ways to attach or link a document in the forums, none of which are ideal:

1. Join the forum Mobile group ( ME > My Profile > Forum > edit global settings > usergoups > join Mobile group. Then come back and attach the file to this forum post.

2. Start a discussion in one of the Cessna community groups, like Cessna 180/185, then add a file after you've started the discussion. Copy the link to the file and paste here.

3. Use your own file hosting like Dropbox and link to that.

4. Email to me.

On my list of improvements is a good document management system that allows users to upload stuff like PDFs.

I got mine done on my Cessna 170B by the nearest Cessna dealer-Vantage in Erie.

An old thread but couldn't find a newer one on this subject...
FWIW here's a clip from an accident report which was in my GA News e-newsletter today:

"The pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the Cessna 180’s seat slid to its full aft position. He was unable to reach the control pedals and attempted to abort the takeoff.
He was not able to control the airplane and it yawed left into a ground loop near Waterloo, Iowa.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer, right wing, and right aileron.
A post-accident examination by an NTSB investigator and Textron Aviation revealed the secondary seat stop reel was not installed according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. The incorrect installation prevented the primary seat adjustment mechanism from fully engaging into the holes in the seat rail.
Probable cause: The incorrect installation of the secondary seat stop reel, which resulted in the pilot’s loss of control when the seat moved full aft during takeoff.
NTSB Identification: GAA15CA125"

https://generalaviationnews.com/2017/06 ... 2c37-17986

Does anyone have a copy of the secondary seat stop installation instructions and diagram they could post? There is some adjustability on the release mechanism and it would be interesting to see how Cessna says to set it up.

Rich

I don't have a copy of the installation instructions. I looked at them while the seat lock was being installed, but that was awhile ago. I'm pretty sure the installer gave them to me and I gave them to my IA, but I can't be sure.

FWIW, the way mine is adjusted, the OEM adjustment lever has to be lifted a bit before the cable starts to tighten, and it has to be fully lifted to unlock the reel. In other words, the original pin is fully seated in the hole, and there's some slack in the cable that unlocks the reel. Then by lifting the adjustment lever, the original pin unlocks first, and then the reel unlocks. It's been that way since installation, and it makes sense to me that that's the way it was designed to work. That way, even if the OEM pin unlocks, the reel stays locked. But it wouldn't be too hard to see how tightening the cable release too much could cause the reel to unlock at the same time that the pin unlocks.

Cary

The latest revision of the service bulletin is available on Cessna's web site. It includes the installation instructions for all the different installation permutations according to the seats that you have. It also includes instructions for continued airworthiness.

Better to reference Cessna's web site because they've made several revisions along the way.

Thanks Pinecone. Great suggestion. Time to take a close look at the installation.

Rich

Does anyone know if Cessna is still paying for this improvement to be done? Only thing I could find was that they were paying till the end of '14. Really hope that I can get this done to the airplane before the interior goes back in.

As of a year ago, you had to pay for shop time, about two hours. The kit was provided without cost.
Ron