Brief Description: Pilot's Crotch Strap Belt Mount - Part 1
Under the front pilot's seat ramp is the mount for the pilot's crotch strap seat belt. The stock mount stuck up into the bottom of the front seat cushion by well over an inch. Add the belt mount triangle and the whole thing was sticking up four inches or more. The problem is that the front seat cushion isn't all that thick at that point (since I had it cut down to get better access to the controls) and having this wad of metal sticking up wasn't going to be too comfortable.
So, I disassembled the belt mount from the spare using the two long screws and cut it down by exactly one inch. This was the maximum I could cut it down. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough clearance to get the bolt and nut on that attached the belt. The down side of this arrangement is that now you have to remove the seat ramp to get to the belt bolt. But the reduced height will be well worth it I think.
I am currently working with the upholstery shop to situate the hole in the cushion just perfectly. The problem is that, by default, they leave just a slit in the cushion and leather for the belt to sneak through. Since I have an adjustable seat back angle, this pushes the seat cushion forward up to two inches. This will make the slit approach to slipping the belt though somewhat problematic. I plan to email the photos to them and see what recommendations they might have. We had already planned to cut the length of the bottom cushion down by 1/2 inch, but perhaps more or less would be better. Time will tell.
