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Amsafe airbags

Airbags - yes or no, or "maybe"

  • Yes - even if it costs me as much as that propeller upgrade I've been eyeballing!

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • No - they are a waste of money!

    Votes: 6 35.3%
  • Maybe - Depends on the cost

    Votes: 7 41.2%
  • No - Airbags are a risk due to unwanted deployment

    Votes: 1 5.9%

  • Total voters
    17
I certainly want to know more about them. I'd like to put them in. I actually thought installation and maintenance were more than the article stated.. but I've only recently started to seriously consider putting them in. Starting to look more closely at helmets too.. I asked about the Amsafe on the "old seatbelt" thread yesterday but from the lack of response figured I had drifted too far..
 
I'm not sure how airbags are supposed to help in Cub crash. If my harnesses do their job my body can't reach anything that the airbags might cushion me from and since there isn't any t-bone potential side bags are useless. They're great in cars but a Cub isn't a car. My head might hit structure but my helmet has that covered.

Anything that impedes my ability to get out quickly is a bad thing. Getting tangled in deflating airbags would concern me.
 
Having ‘tasted’ my first airbag deployment recently, they are certainly a bit more enticing......

.Good thing it was only a Prius that hit me, and made out of laminated chicken fat with tinfoil covering....
 
I chose no basically because I both install harnesses that truly do work and back in Y2K I used harnesses I installed in my classic race car where I had a 70mph frontal impact into rock ledge resulting in 2½ rollovers. I had some bruised ribs, both sides which was bothersome for a few weeks.
I know properly installed harnesses work just fine and do not want to place my trust in something like an airbag that might not be anymore reliable than an ELT.
Buy the way a link inside that Flying magazine opens up a pretty bad spam attack. Be careful.
 
in what direction would it be set to trigger in a cub style plane???

a car is pretty much going to crash in one plane(sp?) but a cub is going to be upside down and going backwards at the end of crash...

kinda like those plane parachutes, extra weight... fly the plane...
 
In my case, I'm thinking rear seat lap belts in the Skywagon for the kids...

I'm not sure how airbags are supposed to help in Cub crash. If my harnesses do their job my body can't reach anything that the airbags might cushion me from and since there isn't any t-bone potential side bags are useless. They're great in cars but a Cub isn't a car. My head might hit structure but my helmet has that covered.

Anything that impedes my ability to get out quickly is a bad thing. Getting tangled in deflating airbags would concern me.
 
It's hard to argue that one. In case you didn't know your plane already has provisions for installing a diagonal chest strap in the rear seat positions.
 

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Thanks.
Agreed on wisdom of that install, and an Amsafe addition to that cross chest might be optimal for rear passengers.
I’ve talked to our mechanic about this numerous times and he believes there’s no nutplate in the specified location as shipped from Cessna, so he can’t install one....
I’d welcome guidance that could direct him!
J

It's hard to argue that one. In case you didn't know your plane already has provisions for installing a diagonal chest strap in the rear seat positions.
 
I'd like to put a shoulder strap in the 5th seat on my 206 for kids. Anyone done this or a similar mod? I'm flying on floats. If it cartwheels that back seat is going to get the brunt of the impact. I'm also using bump caps with a hard plastic shell and 1/2 in of foam with a neck strap. Its not certified but I think it adds a lot of protection to those in the back. Carry spare air also.
 
in what direction would it be set to trigger in a cub style plane???

a car is pretty much going to crash in one plane(sp?) but a cub is going to be upside down and going backwards at the end of crash...

kinda like those plane parachutes, extra weight... fly the plane...

The initial impact should trigger whatever device it is intended too. A wing tip first hit will definitely not be the same as a relatively wing level initial impact.
The race car impacts I deal with are rarely simple frontal impacts. Any good driver will rarely get away with just a frontal hit. Cars usually go in sideways or backwards in most cases. If there is a frontal hit most of the time they react like an airplane and tumble till the energy is spent. The tumbles in a car are considerably more violent for logical reasons, lack of drag.
It is during that tumble that no simple seatbelt or airbag does you much good during a tumble.
Keep in mind the diagonal seatbelt the feds make us wear in our road cars are barely capable of protecting us in a 30MPH frontal hit. They do not offer much of any protection in a 40+ impact.
 
Thanks.
Agreed on wisdom of that install, and an Amsafe addition to that cross chest might be optimal for rear passengers.
I’ve talked to our mechanic about this numerous times and he believes there’s no nutplate in the specified location as shipped from Cessna, so he can’t install one....
I’d welcome guidance that could direct him!
J

The rear seat shoulder straps are shown in the parts book on pp 318. Third row shoulder harnesses are in there, too. The receiver socket existed in mine. I was alerted to it by another member here (thanks, Matt) who also flies a J and his had it as well. It looks like a hole until you stick a bolt through it and turn it. The presence of threads is not visible to a casual glance.
 
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