Longlining In Bell Mediums

[fan]

In these days where safety and SMS is on the forefront of every operation , I'm still amazed that most operators of bell mediums are still using the standard crew seatbelt and that most pilots are willing to spend most of their days in the left seat riding with no shoulder harness on in order to accomplish their task!? Some will say its just the way its always been done ,I'm used to it, etc.....the fact is that there is a perfectly reasonable solution to that problem and its called the comfort seatbelt from DART:  https://www.dartaerospace.com/en/comfort-crew-shoulder-harness-d412-702-071.html  

they are fantastic for longline work and do not hinder the position in any way as they are longer and have a much lighter spring and very efficient inertia reel. I have no affiliation with the said company in anyway but I do have a family and kids....We made the change on all our mediums about 4years ago and if I recall the cost of replacing them was less than the recertification cost for the bell ones. The result is that all of our pilots now use the shoulder harness for all longline operation and everyone feels a lot better about strapping on to go do 8 or more hours of work in the left seat.... the accident synopsis is full of exemples of why this is a good idea, so I thought I would pass on the info to who might want to hear it. Have a great and safe summer.

[R0T0R]

Great post Fan, thanks for sharing!

[fan]

have another safe summer everyone ....

[fan]

have another safe one this summer . quick update     https://www.dartaerospace.com/en/comfort-crew-shoulder-harness-d412-702-071.html                                          Net Price: $2,059.20 

[Tee4]

Going to propose this to the boss. Anyone else had any experience with these? Worth the upgrade? Not a huge fan of the lack of shoulder harness when I'm out the bubble, but it's the only way currently.

[TopFuel]

 Question...

I was lead to believe, that you have to have the seat forward in the rails (at least half way) to clear the b pillar. If that is true...I'm guessing 75% of the guys I know, could not use it. Maybe that's why they are not popular (waste of money)? 

[fan]

hi Top fuel ,

I'm not sure what you heard of what you are referencing but the seat-belt package simply bolts on instead of the original one on the back of the seat . The main differences are that the Y that connects both belts into one is stitched much further back on the belt, they are longer and the inertia reel is much more efficient and also the spring tension is less then half as the original one i would say, allowing you to move freely back and forth. You can move the seat wherever you like with no difference since the belt is attached to the seat . The other nice thing is the buckle attachment that is much smaller and doesn't dig in your stomach all the time . definitely not a waste of money but i do believe a cost saving compared to the OEM. I've always thought that the companies that haven't replaced them simply aren't aware of the option and how simple and cheap it is , hence this post to pass the info to those who want to hear it and drastically improve safety and comfort for their crew . They are very popular in the field and i see more and more but still a bit surprised to see some machines without . i can't honestly think of a single reason for not switching unless you really don't like the color black   Cheers      

 

[TopFuel]

Corrected....

i was referring to the Tilted seat, option.