Kitfox-4 floorboard or firewall options for access

[SkyPirate]

Rivnuts work great 99% of the time ,..I have used them for many applications ,..but I take a small file and put groves onto the holes first so when the rivnut compresses,..it fills in the area/slot/ that I filed into the hole and helps keep it from spinning in the future, especially if it on an item that gets removed and replaced allot. you can get thru rivnuts or sealed,..I found the better the rivnut installer ,..the better the end result

[rogerh12]

"the 1/8" tread plate aluminum / bright ,..which is grade 3003 aluminum is very workable"

Ya, this is what I used on my Sonerai floor boards, and it worked very well, but I do need to protect the powdered coat on the fuse, so I will figure something out. As for carpet, I my very very strong opinion that carpet has no place in a cockpit where fuel tanks are located !!!! Carpet makes an excellent avgas sponge (don’t ask me how I know !!!) and probably an even better flame wick !!!! If fuel gets into your cockpit, make sure it can get out somewhere FAST (or you might have too instead).

Roger

[HighWing]

I have had frustrating experiences with Rivnuts. I once pulled the threads out while inserting. I like Nutserts. More xpensive, but can be found in quantity online. They require special tooling and take more time to install, but are steel and there are no dissimilar metal issues. Also regarding the diamond plate. With all the creature comforts I put in my first Model IV, it came in at 704 lbs. It is amazing when all the little light weight add ons become pounds. My buddy I flew with regularly weighed exactly 100 lbs less than I did. Just keep in mind that these things are airplanes. Weight adds fuel costs, take off distance, landing distance, climb and payload and can afect W/B. .125 alumimum weighs in at almost two pounds per square foot. For the dimensions of my floorboard something like ten pounds in a model IV, but I know we all know this and make our choices for personal reasons.

[rogerh12]

Looks like I figured out a solution of compromise on the model 4 floor boards that will let me remove the floor boards and controls / peddles later for maintenance or inspection of the tubing, if needed.
I cut the floor boards in half long ways, so they can be installed and removed more easily.
The seam in the metal boards will be filled with a little silicone, if needed.

The controls still hold down the rear of the one ½ floor board, with big old nuts so I can’t yank the stick loose (same with the rudder peddles), but the other half of the floor boards are held in place with simple nut-plates at the rear as nothing will try to yank them up (with the front held down with the rudder peddle brackets). Once I remove ½ the floor board, I can get to the nuts on the back of the other floor board, if needed. However, I do need to add 3 nut-plates to hold one of the right side rudder peddle brackets as that area below gets covered with fabric (the other 3 peddle brackets get covered by the lower firewall, but that portion of the firewall will be nut-plated together with the main vertical firewall for easy removal).

Well that’s my idea anyway. Oh, also the aluminum diamond plate is now available in 0.063, so it’s ½ the weight of 125 and is plenty stiff for my application (maybe I could even use something thinner? ).

Roger

[SkyPirate]

I'll bet if you do a little research at a place that makes extruded channel for screen windows/doors ,..you might be able to find a small "I" beam that you could put between the 2 halfs ,..just a thought,..no need for sylicone then l


actually I've seen it made out of rubber too,..trying to think of the application,..something that had a split window ? hmm

[rogerh12]

Lets see if this worked:

Doc2.pdf

[rogerh12]

Hey Guys:

Here is a PDF with some pictures of my metalized floor boards on my model-4-1200 They came in at 3 pounds, 13 oz and are very stiff, due to bracing and magnesium shims between the aluminum plates and fuse tubes. The floor boards are split length wise so that they (and the controls) can be removed after installation without making holes in the fabric ( for inspections or maintenance ). The aluminum is just type 5052, about 0.050 in thickness and work very well in this application.

As this is a tri-gear plane, the rudder brackets are now held down via nut plates and so are the aluminum plates as a whole, but the stick control bracket bolts are still held in with nuts (which are now accessible by removing an adjacent floorboard).

I will be installing the seat next, and I already have seat belts and an interior, plus some salvaged but otherwise finished doors, so soon I will be able to sit in the plane, close the doors and pretend to fly !!!!.

Roger


Doc3.pdf