Contact the operator of a Cessna 180, 182 or similar, that has implemented the use of safety seatbelts in skydiving flights

[ppbcrrachile 0]

Hello, I would like to contact operators of cessna 180, 182, 206, 207 or similar that have implemented safety belts for skydivers on flights.

Greetings and thanks, Pepe Becerra.

[riggerrob 643]

Stock Cessna seat-belts can do a reasonable job of restraining skydivers, provided that you route seat-belts between harnesses and bellys.

The best restraining method invovles wrapping special, skydiver-specific seat-belts around the hip joints of their harnesses. American operators of jump-planes changed their attitudes towards seat-belts after a couple of fatal crashes in 1992. Most now have "Hooker" belts installed (aka. the "tag-line" belts that are standard on PAC 750XL and Quest Kodiak). Jack Hooker (Hooker Harnesses of Illinois) invented the single-point restraints now used in most North American jump-planes.

Pssst! I have also invented a couple of other methods of restraining tandem students ... but please don't tell Transport Canada.

[riggerrob 643]

Can we compile a list of the companies that hold STCs or 337s to install skydiver-specific seat-belts in jump-planes?

We know that Hooker Harness' belts are widely used in American-registered jump-planes, but I am not clear if Hooker ever earned a Transport Canada STC to install them in Canadian-registered airplanes.

[ppbcrrachile 0]

Thank you very much for the reply!

On 4/12/2023 at 1:55 PM, riggerrob said:

Stock Cessna seat-belts can do a reasonable job of restraining skydivers, provided that you route seat-belts between harnesses and bellys.

The best restraining method invovles wrapping special, skydiver-specific seat-belts around the hip joints of their harnesses. American operators of jump-planes changed their attitudes towards seat-belts after a couple of fatal crashes in 1992. Most now have "Hooker" belts installed (aka. the "tag-line" belts that are standard on PAC 750XL and Quest Kodiak). Jack Hooker (Hooker Harnesses of Illinois) invented the single-point restraints now used in most North American jump-planes.

Pssst! I have also invented a couple of other methods of restraining tandem students ... but please don't tell Transport Canada.

 

[ppbcrrachile 0]

On 4/20/2023 at 2:16 PM, riggerrob said:

Can we compile a list of the companies that hold STCs or 337s to install skydiver-specific seat-belts in jump-planes?

We know that Hooker Harness' belts are widely used in American-registered jump-planes, but I am not clear if Hooker ever earned a Transport Canada STC to install them in Canadian-registered airplanes.

Thanks for your observations!