Review of my Crow Harnesses

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Brantel
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Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:23 pm
Location: Newport, TN

Review of my Crow Harnesses

Post by Brantel »

I thought I would give some pics and a short review of the Crow Harnesses that I just recieved.

These are harnesses that are built by Crow Enterprises. These people make all kinds of restraint systems for all kinds of race cars and now airplanes. They carry some sort of certification but it is a cert for race car activities not aviation but if it is good enough for a 300mph dragster, it should be good enough for an experimental airplane.

If you order, you need to talk to Fred Crow as he knows about RV's and what you need to make them work in your plane. The stock models are not setup correctly so don't assume you can just order the standard ones off the internet.

Crow was super easy to work with and shipped my order the very next day.

What you will see here costed me $140 each set plus shipping.

Basically you can get a full 5 point harness with the cam lock latch for the same price as the Van's harness with the lift latch system and Van's does'nt come with pads.

These are on par with the Hooker harnesses just way, way less expensive.

What I ordered from them was the 2" Y style harness with pull down adjustement and 1/4" bolt in anchors and sewn in pads, 2" x 55" seatbelt with pull up adjustment and 1/4" bolt in anchors, cam lock latch and grey in color.

They ship these things packed well and in individual boxes. Total weight for the shipment is 9lbs including the boxes.

Here you can see the entire harness.

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Here is the expensive part, the cam lock. This cam lock allows two positions. When rotated fully counterclockwise, it locks in the open position. If you partially turn it from close, all the latches unlock and the clips are free to fall out. When in the locking position, you can insert each clip one at a time and there is no need to insert all of them. One of them is permanently attached so the lock never comes completely free.

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Here you can see how tall the Cam lock is which is a little concerning for us with extra Bubba factor. These may be hit by the stick we shall see. I guess they have to be tall enough for the guts to work inside. The camlock seems to be machined out of billet aluminum and black anodized. Looks like a good quality piece. I would not dare take it appart to see inside but I assume high quality inside as well.

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Here is a nice shot of the logo sewn into the harness. It is not high contrast like some I have seen so it looks great. You can also see the high quality stitching

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Here is the back of the pads. The pads are made of some high quality fabric that seems soft to the touch on the back so it should be comfy against the neck and not rub.

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I elected for the Y style harness which is also adjustable on the common strap. They give you plenty of strap to work with so this will be easy to fit to my liking.

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This is one of the seatbelt straps showing the pull up adjustment.

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Last edited by Brantel on Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:16 am, edited 3 times in total.
Brantel (Brian Chesteen),
RV12-IS, #121606, N912BC - Building Now!
RV10, #41942, N????? - Project Sold
RV-7/TU, #72823, N159SB - SOLD

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Brantel
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Location: Newport, TN

Post by Brantel »

Page Two:

This is the crotch strap which comes plenty long with an adjustment so you can customize where you want the latch to ride.

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The crotch strap clip is pitted on purpose to help you ID it from the rest of the clips on the other straps.

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Here is a pic of one of the adjusters. The only thing I did not know was that they do not come with a tab attached to the slot like some others do. I think you can order these as an optional part or leave them off but I am not sure. It is easy to adjust without it but some may prefer the tab to pull on.

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This is a shot of the attach points.

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This is a detail of the quality of the stitching.

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Closeup of the logo.

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Back side of the cam latch:

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Certification data plate.

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Overall I say these are winners! I mentioned the pull tabs above but that should not be a show stopper. Concider the thickness of the cam latch. The plating quality of the metal parts is not show car quality, but I could care less. The only highly polished parts are the clips that go into the latch.

The camlock is very smooth and feels like a high quality mechanism. The logo on the front of it most likely will scratch off in short time.

For the money, I don't think you can beat these guys!
Brantel (Brian Chesteen),
RV12-IS, #121606, N912BC - Building Now!
RV10, #41942, N????? - Project Sold
RV-7/TU, #72823, N159SB - SOLD

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dons
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Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Post by dons »

Great review of these with lots of good pictures!
Don Sinclair
CYKF
RV-7A (Fuselage)

briand
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Post by briand »

Nice pics.

I bought the stock Crows w/lift latch (call me crazy but I like it better than the cam lock) for about $70 ea. I didn't get any pads and my holes are bigger but I was told you can press in some washers (AN960-416 IIRC) to bring them down to the correct size.

I would definitely recommend Crows.
RV-8 Fuse/Finish

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Brantel
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Location: Newport, TN

Post by Brantel »

Just wanted to update the thread on the pull tabs for the harnesses.

I contacted Fred with Crow and he sent me an envelope full of the pull tabs for the harness adjusters. They are designed to insert, fold and iron together with a hot iron. They are replaceable when they get ratty.
Brantel (Brian Chesteen),
RV12-IS, #121606, N912BC - Building Now!
RV10, #41942, N????? - Project Sold
RV-7/TU, #72823, N159SB - SOLD

weezbad
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Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:00 pm
Location: darlington s.c.

Post by weezbad »

brantel, thats a shame you paid so little for them. dont you know they have to be at least three times as much as car stuff to work in a plane. :roll: i paid nearly 600 for what appears to be the identical thing in a Hooker set. rotary latch and all. guess i got smoked. the only difference i can see is my mounting points have a bushing in them.

nice review.
william....don't let it beat you down, you are stronger than you think.

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Brantel
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Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 3:23 pm
Location: Newport, TN

Post by Brantel »

I am sure the Hookers have some advantages. Lots of people love them and I am sure they are great.

Lets see, I have:

Homemade nav lights,
Police car strobe supply,
Race car harnesses,
Home depot paint on the interior,
Bought my seat foam second hand,

Can you tell I am trying my best to save money? I would not call myself cheap, just frugal :evil:
Brantel (Brian Chesteen),
RV12-IS, #121606, N912BC - Building Now!
RV10, #41942, N????? - Project Sold
RV-7/TU, #72823, N159SB - SOLD

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smittysrv
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Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 7:10 am
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Post by smittysrv »

I like the old wedding saying when it comes to getting stuff for my RV:

Something old,
Something new,
Something borrowed,
Something Flew!

:mrgreen:

captainron
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Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:45 am
Location: Lake Worth, Florida

Post by captainron »

Glad I found this- and thanks, Brantel. I was just about to order belts!
"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
-Bob Seger-

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