Can you add holes to a seat track?

[NotarPilot]

"gone away" typically refers to jail time.

So what A&P's has served time for an illegal modification that is (a lot) less than drilling an additional hole in a seat rail?

I was hoping for an example or two myself but still no response.

 

[bluerooster]

Not in the way all the rest of us are talking about it. That's like saying my armrest is structural.

Well, lets take a look at this; Seat tracks in a Cherokee are rivited directly to the belly skin Unlike those in a 100 series Cessna, which are screwed to a raised panel. Seat tracks in a Cherokee are quite beefy compared to their Cessna 100 series counterpart. Seat tracks in a Cherokee run from the main spar carry-through, all the way to the front wing attachment carry-through. So it would seem that they are structural other than keeping the seat attached to the airframe. Yes, there are four longerons under the belly to stiffen the skin, yet these seat rails are mounted between them, and add more structural integrity to the skin. Extra holes would weaken the structural integrity of the seat rails.
So, in conclusion, drill holes if you want to. But I would not do it.

 

[IK04]

Drilling holes in a seat track would give me the willies and unless the tracks were NDS tested for cracks and proven not to bend or distort differently, I would not allow it under my butt.

That method of attaching seats has always seemed like a bad design. I would rather see overlapping steel rails with latching pawls.

Need more room? Get a bigger airplane.