AmSafe Soars airbag seat belts

Scott Sherer

Hi everyone,

Some time ago I did a product review on AmSafe Soars airbag seatbelts. Are any of you using them? Are they okay?

CessnaTR182

I installed them a few months ago in my TR182. My mechanic and I were mystified by the instructions- truly about the worst I’ve ever seen. They made a relatively simple process needlessly confusing and time consuming, especially for a device that operates independently of any other aircraft system. We hard mounted the control box under the copilot’s seat and neatened the exposed cables as much as possible considering they must allow fore-aft seat travel on both front seats. One must exercise some caution to avoid pulling on them. The added bulk to the lap belt is barely noticed.

Someone with prior installation experience could surely do the installation in a couple of hours, and do a neater job with the cables, though I can’t see how

I’ve always feared a dash board impact and/or neck injury in a forced landing, and hopefully never have to vouch for the effectiveness of the SOARS system, but it does make sense and brings some valuable peace of mind.

Scott Sherer

I feel the same way. I like having airbags in my plane, too, for the same reasons. However, the SOARS kit needs further development. It kind of feels like Version 1.0 .

msiemens

I installed the Amsafe SOARS seatbelts in the front seats of my 182P when I refurbished it in 2020. The installation was interesting, but after some engineering, I think it turned out just fine.

I chose the AmSafe airbag belts over the dual shoulder harnesses as I believe they could give me and my co-pilot passenger the best chance surviving an off-field landing incident.

The current SOARS kit is an improvement over the first version. The current version has a 10 year part life and the control unit is self testing. The original system only had a 7 year part life and required an additional testing unit.

Flying is all about mitigating risk. I did and still believe the investment is worth the risk mitigation the SOARS unit provides.

If you want more specific information about my specific installation, I could provide that to you.

Jgoaviation

I am now considering installing the SOARS system in our 175. We have owned the airplane for almost 13 years and it only has lap belts installed. I figure we have been lucky for too long and it's about time to upgrade. I looked into installing the BAS 4-point system with the rotary buckle and it will cost almost $2,000. Aircraft Spruce has the SOARS system for $3,200. I think an extra $1,200 for airbags is worth it. But I could just be trying to justify the extra expense. My dad, who is the co-owner, rightly said safety is never a bad investment. Like others have said, if it prevents me from leaving my teeth in my airspeed indicator it's worth every penny.

Scott Sherer

I have had mine for 3 years or so. No second thoughts on this decision!

Jgoaviation

After being so impressed by the SOARS system I ended up buying a set of shoulder harnesses from BAS. The 10 year replacement of the inflators and EMA caused me to shy away from the SOARS system. I also wasn’t a fan of how the shoulder strap mounts compared to the BAS. I read a report from the NTSB about airbags and it left me with the impression that they definitely help prevent injuries but in most of the crashes the shoulder harness was responsible for the most protection. The report implied that in wrecks with a lateral force involved the airbags weren’t nearly as effective as they are in a mostly longitudinal wreck. I appreciate y’all’s comments on the SOARS system. I plan on installing the BAS system in the next couple of weeks.