AZAV8OR Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Here you go. As I mentioned, it's simplicity itself, and holds things much better. Maybe not 100%, but good enough it doesn't bother me anymore. Just wrap the tape all around the center bar and the trailing bar (the side where you pull tighter), that's where the tension is set and where you need additional friction. If it's still not enough, just add more tape. Hi Andy, This may sound dumb, but what is grip tape exactly? I can make an assumption, but I'd like to try the right stuff before I go down Matt's replacement route. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Koerner Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Let me Google that for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Hi Andy, This may sound dumb, but what is grip tape exactly? I can make an assumption, but I'd like to try the right stuff before I go down Matt's replacement route. Thanks! It's just tape designed to enhance grip...it's usually used on athletic gear. I went to the local Academy Sports and got a roll marked "bat tape", designed to wrap around the grip end of baseball bats. There are some kinds that are cloth, they look almost like gauze, others are rubbery. I like the cloth type, and that's what's in the pictures. The important part is to make sure the tape is "self adhesive" -- it has to stick to itself. The tape is tacky and not "sticky", so it won't generate residue on your seatbelts and buckles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Mike, thanks for the link. Andy, this looks like the same tape the nurse wraps my arm with to hold the cotton after I give blood. I've got a roll of it and will give this a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 Mike, thanks for the link. Andy, this looks like the same tape the nurse wraps my arm with to hold the cotton after I give blood. I've got a roll of it and will give this a try. Now that you mention it, I think it's the same stuff, or similar enough to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Welsch Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Do you need to pay FD $150 to register this modification? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZAV8OR Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 It's just tape designed to enhance grip...it's usually used on athletic gear. I went to the local Academy Sports and got a roll marked "bat tape", designed to wrap around the grip end of baseball bats. There are some kinds that are cloth, they look almost like gauze, others are rubbery. I like the cloth type, and that's what's in the pictures. The important part is to make sure the tape is "self adhesive" -- it has to stick to itself. The tape is tacky and not "sticky", so it won't generate residue on your seatbelts and buckles. Andy, Was it much of a hassle to thread the tape around the bars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Koerner Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Dick, The Red Cross uses an elastic gauze that sticks to itself. That's not what this is. This is more like rubbery sandpaper with adhesive on the back. You can get it at a skate board shop. Mike Koerner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Dick, The Red Cross uses an elastic gauze that sticks to itself. That's not what this is. This is more like rubbery sandpaper with adhesive on the back. You can get it at a skate board shop. Mike Koerner I am NOT using skateboard tape. That is more like wing walk material. This *is* more like the red cross tape, though the adhesive causing it to self stick might be a little stronger than the medical tape. I would not use the "sandpaper" type, it would probably reduce the live of your seatbelts, and might put some sandy "dust" in your cockpit. That said, if you want to try that type, go for it! Just saying why I didn't want to use it, it might be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted July 10, 2015 Report Share Posted July 10, 2015 Andy, Was it much of a hassle to thread the tape around the bars? Getting to the center bar is a little bit of a hassle, but not too bad. The bar floats a little in the middle, just push it to make the gaps as big as possible and slip the tape in the gap, then wrap it around. The rest is cake. Took ten minutes to do one harness, including cutting the tape. BTW, I have had this tape on for about ten hours of flying, as you see it's still doing well and not wearing out yet. I expect I'll have to replace the tape every 25-50 hours, but maybe not. If it holds the belts in place well enough, there is no real reason it should wear out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 OK, let's kill a dead horse here. How about using the silicon self fusing emergency repair tape. This is amazing stuff and once it contacts, it fuses and cannot be peeled off itself. This is kind of sticky and would grab the seat belts but there's no residue from it. I use it to finish off the ends of the fire sleeves on my engine. One lengthwise layer of wrap around each bar or maybe just around the inner bar? Probably would last a long time. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 OK, let's kill a dead horse here. How about using the silicon self fusing emergency repair tape. This is amazing stuff and once it contacts, it fuses and cannot be peeled off itself. This is kind of sticky and would grab the seat belts but there's no residue from it. I use it to finish off the ends of the fire sleeves on my engine. One lengthwise layer of wrap around each bar or maybe just around the inner bar? Probably would last a long time. What do you think? Might work, but I'm not sure how it will hold up. Is the belt tension going to shred little pieces of silicone all over your cockpit? I have no idea. It might be too thick to slide between the belts and the bars. You can certainly try it and see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZAV8OR Posted August 16, 2015 Report Share Posted August 16, 2015 Howdy All, Thanks to Matt for the referral to Crowe Enterprizes (yes, with a "z") for my new seat harnesses. For $150, plus shipping, I have all new belts, with vastly superior shoulder tensioners. One change from the photo Matt posted is the buckles themselves; his are metal and larger than the OEM, while the ones I ultimately went with are more like what FD installed. They are much lighter and less likely to ding the interior or exterior paint when carelessly unbuckled. If you are looking to fix the off-the-shoulder problem we all have with the FD OEM harnesses, contact Fred at Crowe (http://www.crowenterprizes.com/). Feel free to use my name so you can access the design we used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZAV8OR Posted August 17, 2015 Report Share Posted August 17, 2015 Kevin, Those are really nice. Does Flight Design have a blanket LOA for the replacement or did you have to submit a new MRA? Taking the 5th... (and hanging onto my OEMs) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctspain Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 I made an invent that seems works fine. I will send a couple of pictures. It is easy, cheap and can be removed in 10 seconds. I was affraid belt will be difficult to remove if upside down or a fast exit was required but just pressing in the middle, the belt is open easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctspain Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 Pictures. I used an old car seat belt and a 4mm climbing rope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctspain Posted May 19, 2016 Report Share Posted May 19, 2016 My problem is mainly that when I tight the seatbelt, the low part comes up and up and does not its job, with this 5th point it keeps low and tight, i tried to "jump" seated and it seems it holds me in place and makes not possible to hit the roof of the plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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