Reference

Seat Rails and Seat Components

• Are templates required for Piper seat rails?

  No, McFarlane does not provide templates for installing seat rails on Piper aircraft because the rail is riveted to the floor of the airplane, making installation easy by riveting directly from under the airplane.

• Can I replace rivets with screws when replacing my seat rails?

  Yes, but there are some restrictions. The screws must be structural screw with a minimum tensile strength of 50ksi. See SAIB CE-90-03R2 for more details.

• Can use blind rivets (e.g., CherryMAX or CherryLOCK) when replacing my seat rails?

  We do not recommend using blind rivets for seat rail installation.

• How do I know which Piper seat adjustment spring to purchase?

  Aircraft make, model and serial number are not sufficient to ensure the correct replacement spring as many aircraft may have been originally equipped with either one or retrofitted with a conversion kit. If the spring you are replacing is marked with a brand name (e.g. P.L. Porter or Stabilus) the correct replacement is readily identified. The coil spring/hydraulic style are also identifiable by a 1¼" diameter visible coil spring. The thread may also be measured to verify the correct identification.

• How do I know which screw kit to use?

  The screw kit depends on if the holes in the floor of your airplane have been carefully removed and are close to new size or if they have been enlarged by unskilled rivet removal or the rails have been changed before. It will make a difference if the previous rails installed were Cessna rails with predrilled holes in the rail. (They do not normally line up well and the floor has been mis-drilled some to force them to align). If the holes are good, use the SR6-SCREW-KT kit. If the holes are enlarged some, use the SR8-SCREW-KT kit.

• What if there is some resistance to the MC0511242-1 Seat Stop entering the hole in my new McFarlane manufactured Seat Rail?

  Installation of the McFarlane Seat Stop P/N MC0511242-1 may require the removal of extra material from the seat rail where the seat rail hole breaks through the vertical web. Material removal may be accomplished with a small file or other deburring tool. Do not remove material from the seat stop when attempting to install. Refer to Cessna/Textron service information for correct seat stop location.

• What is the standard hole depth for drilling additional holes in seat rails?

  Determine which extrusion is used: STE101 and STE102 - Standard hole depth drilled on the roller flange is .330” and standard diameter is .277”. STE103 and STE104 - Standard hole depth drilled on the roller flange is .280” and standard diameter is .277”.