seat belts and restraints

Back around 1992 or so, I saw an old, odd looking Cezzna
at a local airport. It was either an old 182 or an
even older 210 with the strutted wings. (This was
at Triple W airport on the south side of Raleigh, North
Carolina, USA)

The very odd thing I noticed was a small, round pressure
gauge mounted near the lower end of the each wing strut.
Then, I noticed some type of gas damper mechanism
between the lower wing strut attachment and the fuselage.

What the heck?

I was told this STC mod also put 'hinges' of some type
at the wing roots and allowed the wings to flex in
turbulence, to give a better ride. The person said
it looked VERY ODD when the wings stalled and flexed
upward (or the fuselage fell downwards.)

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA