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Old Belts and Harnesses

David Paule

Well Known Member
I've got a Cessna in addition to the RV-3B that I'm building. I contacted the company that made my aftermarket belts and shoulder harnesses and got a prompt reply. Not bad for something I'd bought 30 years before. Here's part of what he said:

"The next thing is that these assemblies life expectancy are somewhere between 10 and fifteen years depending on a lot of factors(environmental exposure, hours of use, etc...) Replacement now is based on what is known in Part 21 as Continued Airworthiness. If the product meets the requirements of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness they are operational. Yours are 30 years old. They are way past replacement time and actually were built before harnesses were TSO'd, meaning the part number you have cannot even be built by AmSafe. When your harnesses were purchased, if they are our harnesses, the mandatory replacement was every 10 years. This was before the TSO regulation and ability to inspect to Continued Airworthiness was in place."

Now for our experimentals, we probably don't need to worry about the TSO or replacement interval. That said, they do age anyway.

Please consider the age of the harnesses and belts and maintain their condition appropriately. Be safe!

Dave
 
I had my belts re-webbed when they were around 15-years old based on condition. They were TSO belts from an outfit that makes TSO belts. The replacement belts also have the label showing they are from an FAA approved facility as they went back to the outfit that originally made the belts.

When you live in Torrance and the outfit that makes the belts are also located there, a quick phone call allows you to take them in, pick them up when complete, and pay the bill in person. Now that I have moved, the next time the belts need re-webbed, I will need to find another outfit or ship them.
 
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