The International Cessna 170 Association

I have been using the same step for 46 years without incident.

Look at IPC fig pg 34 item 15 p.n. 0711006-1.. seems mighty small doesn't it.

Installed 3M step tape friction tape 1x4 inches : to prevent foot from slipping off. Could the small step just break
off with 220 lbs flexing it?

Can you share tips, expediencies ?

My assist strap is original coupled with the small step; I am beginning to become concerned about the Ingress/egress
safety.

Grady,
I like the way FA Dodge has designed these steps with a gusset at the angle. They also use heavier gauge steel for the step.

My boarding steps have undergone several repairs, some prior to my becoming the caretaker. The step portion has been welded, some good, some not so good. I had a welder add small gussets to strengthen the step portion similar to the above photo, (plus I paint the step area every so often with the black, wing walk paint with abrasive/grit which prevents ones foot from slipping). One of my very good friends, who weighed about 240# at the time, attempted to board one day. He may have been putting a lot of horizontal stress on the step (?) and it kinked. I removed it and had a mutual friend repair it and have not had any issues since. He filled a portion of the hollow "strut" with metal , welded it and made it look like new.

Some years ago my wife was getting out of the plane when the top anchor of the assist strap broke! Fortunately her foot was almost on the ground when it broke. Had it broken earlier in her deplaning, she could have been seriously injured. Those 50/60 year old attach anchors (on the strap themselves) can become fatigued, cracked, etc. Although I don't have them, a stainless steel replacement would be nice.

I weigh <weight redacted> (just know it's well north of what has been posted so far) and have not noticed any issues with either my steps or assist straps. That said, I don't "jerk" weight on either...always slow weight application and advise passengers to do the same.

OK... We ALL KNOW our airplanes are not Pickup trucks or combat vehicles. We should take care of the lightweight doors and controls and seats and such...

We should brief pax about that also...things like "Please do NOT place any weight upon the door or window-sill to assist yourself boarding or deplaning as the door hinges are FRAGILE and not designed to carry weight like a car door. And PLEASE do not SLAM your seat forward or rearward when it fails to GLIDE on it's tracks.... And do NOT stand with your feet on the rudder-pedals and place ALL YOUR WEIGHT on against the seat-back while you search for the seat belt you're sitting on... because the seat back is NOT made of cast-iron... it's made of lightweight 70-year-old tubing and it's little hinges at the seat cushion are small. And if that seat\back fails after you've abused it... you will FALL BACKWARD and maybe grab the yoke and KILL US as you jerk the airplane up into a STALL!

The point I'm making is that even if our airplanes were NEW they'd not be designed for the abuse commonly delivered to automobiles. We have 70 year-old flying museum-pieces... and if we don't treat them with gentle kindness.... they will be relegated to the junk-yard instead of allowing the next few generations to enjoy them.

By the way.... and that's another reason I don't start 'er up just to hop over to the other airport for fuel.... go thru another cycle of start'er up and hop 'er back home ...when I'm planning a trip this next weekend. The wear-and-tear on the flying museum isn't worth it. I carry my gas cans in the pickup to fill the ol' girl up...and I count each cycle with the wear-and-tear/is-it-worth-it?-- gauge. Your mileage and Your return-on-value may be different. Enjoy.

60 plus year old steel tubing with a 90 degree step welded on...It's always amazed me that more of these steps aren't breaking.

The crazy part is that it's supported in the airplane by 4 1/8th inch rivets and an an-3 bolt.
The bolt is plenty strong and goes thru a seat rail so there is lots of meat to distribute that load.
but the fulcrum is four little rivets in the middle of a piece of curved 0.032 aluminum skin. I'm kind of surprised we dont see wrinkles in that skin after a dozen or so time a 220 pound load bounces on it.

Considering the work to replace that belly skin, I'm almost glad the foot peg breaks off first.

As for slamming doors: I'm tempted to rivet the passenger window closed so they have nothing to grab to slam the door.
A friend that has a Mooney has the door placarded "Only the pilot is permitted to close this door" - I think he's on to something.

Many Bonanza owners placard their door that only the pilot is to close the door. Johnny Williams by San Angelo, TX used to sell a beefier boarding step for 170's. I never saw one, and they were expensive. Don't know if his son, Jody in the Fort Worth/cresson area, might have some of his dad's inventory or not.

I'm a beefy guy, so I don't use the step at all when entering. I put one foot in, one hand on the seat and one on the pull handle. Most of the load is on the seat.
It's a bit of a manoeuvre but it reminds me to watch what I eat.

c170b53 wrote:I'm a beefy guy, ....

I'm not "beefy". I'm getting downright "porky" and need to follow Bruce's dietary recommendations. The step is an engineering marvel considering how well it does the job.
I tell new pax to use it as one might a stirrup when mounting a horse... Grab the "pommel" (boarding hand-strap) ...place your outside foot in the stirrup (step) ... and swing your inside leg into the airplane while transitioning to the seat/saddle.

Did-mount in reverse order and KEEP YOU HANDS OFF THE DOOR by using the boarding hand-strap.

Other than the FA Dodge part above, are there any other recommended replacements for this step? We just bought a 170 that is missing the RH step, and I think my kids are going to need it.

They show up on ebay every once in a while.
Salvage yards should have them too.

If you have one to copy, it would be simple to duplicate as an owner made part and have someone local weld it up.

Dallas170 wrote:Other than the FA Dodge part above, are there any other recommended replacements for this step? ...

Personally, I like Arash's folding step stool idea. No paperwork, no drag, no slipping off or breaking the Cessna step. But another option, for 100 times the price, is adding the type of step that Cessna used on the 180/185 between 1968-1985. In my opinion this would be a minor alteration. The left step is p/n 0711710-5 and the right step is 0711710-6. This style does away with the failure-prone weld by bending the tubing to form the angle. Alternatively, one could just add the cast teardrop step from this assembly to the 170 step for something larger to step onto. The p/n for the teardrop step is 1510041-496 for the left and 1510041-495 for the right one. The safety tread with the sticky backing is p/n 1510040-5 but will be much cheaper from the aviation aisle of your hardware store.

Good advice, Gary! ...or use Randolph "Wing Walk" paint for a non-slip surface.

The hollow step is subject to internal corrosion which weakens the tube adjacent to the weld. It's rare for the weld itself to actually break as it's usually stronger than the tube.

My pilot side broke last spring as I was getting in.....fun stuff! It broke at the weld. There was no indications of a previous repair but I cannot be sure. Upon inspection, there was a small bit of corrosion near the weld break. After discussing repair/replace with my IA, I decided to buy the F. Atlee Dodge replacement. It's a very nice piece of gear that fits either side and attaches the same way as the stock step. Here's to another 65 years!!

The major axis of the tube is 1.18", the minor axis is 0.50". It looks like the next larger size which is sold by Aircraft Spruce would slip right over this. Might be something to consider if repairing a broken step.