Want to replace the carpet on my plane with a utility type material.

What do you guys use for your utility interior?
What material and where do i buy it?

motoadve wrote:What material and where do i buy it?

I have done a couple of airplanes now. The Aerofloor DOT is super light, but provides little to no padding/protection on the floor. I used DOT in my 180 and the entire mat came in at 4lbs. The Lonseal is nice, but heavy. I just did a 185 with that and it was 14lbs, but is really durable. All depends on what you want.

http://bushwagoneast.com/floor-choices-aip-source/

http://bushwagoneast.com/ordered-flooring/

Thanks Bigrenna, this was what I was looking for.

I used this in mine and love it!

jaudette wrote:I used this in mine and love it!

Looks great Jim. Did you just make your own checker plate covers or can you buy those? What brand of flooring?

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I used LonCoin II Featherweigt. I believe it’s about 20% lighter than their diamond plate version, and still bulletproof. I was boarding an Alaska Airlines 737 last week and they had it as the flooring in the forward galley where everyone boards. Slight tendency to contract in very cold temps, so don’t cut it too perfectly if you encounter those type of conditions.
You might also compare SCS Interiors. They’re a middle-ground between Renna’s stuff and my stuff. They used to have an active section of discounted pre-cut flooring on their website. I might have used them if I hadn’t gotten a good deal here through a fellow BCPer, but no regrets.
-DP
p.s. I’ve found these are great for cutting any of the above, except maybe the diamond plate style.

AeroDOT on mine too. I didn’t get the good guy deal, apparently... mine weighs 4lbs 7oz. It has held up well, my passengers are rough on it. Currently has dried blood on it, I’ll report back when I get around to cleaning it off.




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I have been considering going back to carpet. Most of my flying is to beaches which involves allot of sand in my airplane. I have Lincoin flooring now. It is nice but the sand all ends up underneath it. Capet seems to trap sand better...
Why don’t they make weather tech floor liners for cessnas?


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I have replacement in mind this year too. I'll be back here for current PIREPS before I pull the trigger but this is one of the options:

https://www.scs-interiors.com/products/ ... r-kit.html

"I have been considering going back to carpet. Most of my flying is to beaches which involves allot of sand in my airplane. I have Lincoin flooring now. It is nice but the sand all ends up underneath it. Capet seems to trap sand better... "

I switched back to carpet ten years ago for the same reason and it works great. My carpet has a Velcro join under the front seats and it takes 5 minutes to remove the front carpet and shake it out. I keep looking to see if I packed any gold in with the mud , no luck so far.

I am looking for a good lightweight carpet as well. Does anyone have recommendations for a particular brand?

I used marine carpet. Thinner and more durable than regular carpet, and lighter than plastic tread materials.
Also the plastic materials allow sand and debris to work their way all through the plane, whereas marine carpet traps and holds sand. Easy to vacuum it out later. This is a big deal if you do lots of riverbed landings.

Battson,

Thanks for the info. Did you use a 16oz marine carpet? Most of the marine carpets I have seen are glue down carpets. How do you keep your carpet staying in place?

Pusher wrote:Battson,

Thanks for the info. Did you use a 16oz marine carpet? Most of the marine carpets I have seen are glue down carpets. How do you keep your carpet staying in place?

I went into the marine upholstery store and they gladly showed me a wide range of options. I can't recall the weight.

Choosing a carpet is a trade off between weight and durability. I went with the lightest one I could bring myself to use.

Remember to choose a product with a fire retsistance certificate, or you can't install it without coating it with fire retardant! Any material installed must comply with FARs. The rules governing flammability and flammability testing of materials in interiors are mainly contained in Parts 23.853 and 25.853, and Advisory Circular AC25-853-1 for fireblocking and AC23-2 for Part 23 testing materials.
Our carpet didn't have a certificate, so we did a test. It was pretty simple.

They are mostly glue-down in boats, however you can just run fasteners through them in a few places. They stay in place very nicely. You can use some of the fasteners which hold the inspection hatches down, you might need slightly longer machine screws.

Soak the carpet in borax solution. Let it dry and send three one foot by three in strips to Skania in Davis Junction Illinois, phone 800 945 7135. Does not cost much but you get cert of compliance. Have used them a number of times for my flying machines.
Ron

A1Skinner wrote:

jaudette wrote:I used this in mine and love it!

Looks great Jim. Did you just make your own checker plate covers or can you buy those? What brand of flooring?

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I Made them from the Aluminum diamond plate you can get at Home Depot. I riveted them to the flooring with washers under the mat.

I got the flooring sheet from Aviation flooring (or some place - I'll find the receipt and send it to you). I tried to order some more and they discontinued this style and only do the aerodot now. I don't like the aerodot because I couldn't get it to lay down. Disappointing because this stuff is tough as nails and a heck of a lot lighter than carpet.

When I was looking for a good material, the marine stuff was just too heavy.

Jim

175 magnum wrote:"I have been considering going back to carpet. Most of my flying is to beaches which involves allot of sand in my airplane. I have Lincoin flooring now. It is nice but the sand all ends up underneath it. Capet seems to trap sand better... "

I switched back to carpet ten years ago for the same reason and it works great. My carpet has a Velcro join under the front seats and it takes 5 minutes to remove the front carpet and shake it out. I keep looking to see if I packed any gold in with the mud , no luck so far.

I don't haul game in my airplane, so I'm not too concerned with blood stains etc.
Carpet works well for me, for the reasons already stated.
Cheap, lightweight, simple, easy to clean.
Quite often I climb aboard with wet or muddy feet, carpet works well to wipe/scrub them off.

A buddy of mine uses old corrugated cardboard for flooring material--
lightweight, simple, really cheap (as in free), and disposable.
It's even made from a renewable resource and is recyclable.

Super happy with my SCS Interiors vinyl flooring.
Fit well right out of the box - very easy to keep clean.
I got the 1/4" padding on the back- easier on the knees when crawling around back there.

My carpet is in horrible shape. I have been looking at SCS for awhile now, but just pulled the trigger on some bulk grey loncoin. Just couldn't justify close to $1000 USD for the SCS. Of course you can't say no if you order to the bound edges and foam backing. Pushes the price up fast. The tunnel vinyl looked like a pain to install and no option to order without it. I ended up getting a 10ft x 90" roll for less that $300 including shipping off ebay. Hopefully it works out.

I just redid my 170 interior using coin dot. The interior is pretty farmer /bushed out. To keep dirt , etc. from ending up under the floor I cut the flooring about 6 inches wider and ran it up the sides and back . Also beside the foot well. Formed a separate piece over the tunnel. Made good use of a heat gun , hold in place till cool.