Does anybody have a scrap of Aerofloor DOT, or 1/4" Selkirk foam left over from an interior project that they'd be willing to part with?
Thanks,
-DP

Simon, I have them both... I will ship them up. Just eMail me your addy.

Greg-

bigrenna wrote:Simon, I have them both... I will ship them up. Just eMail me your addy.

Greg-

Thanks Greg- you're the man. Email sent.

I've currently got foam and flooring samples from SCS Interiors out of MN, and have a sample of LonPlate-1 coming from Lonseal Flooring. (That's the diamond-plate stuff).

I'm looking forward to comparing all of the above side-by-side.

Hey DP,
If you can will you report back here with your findings? I'm looking for some flooring material too. Happy Flying, Keith

Keith,
Glad to, if I can remember I will.

I received a foam sample from Selkirk today. It's about 3/16 thick, although it's even thinner in places. Is this the same as the 1/4" nominal that others have installed?
-DP

I bet that's the 1/2". When I ordered stuff from Selkirk they sent me samples of various things and one was a little piece of there foam. I didn't measure it but it was definitely thicker than the 1/4" roll I ordered so I assumed it must be the 1/2".

robw56 wrote:I bet that's the 1/2". When I ordered stuff from Selkirk they sent me samples of various things and one was a little piece of there foam. I didn't measure it but it was definitely thicker than the 1/4" roll I ordered so I assumed it must be the 1/2".

3/16 is thinner then 1/4"...

A1Skinner wrote:3/16 is thinner then 1/4"...

Duh!!! I had 3/8 in my head for some reason.

I have a bunch of loncoin grey that I could sell....

PAMR MX wrote:I have a bunch of loncoin grey that I could sell....

Thanks, I may check with you about that possibility. Would it do a C-170 without piecing together? Is that the diamond-plate style?
-DP

kg wrote:Hey DP,
If you can will you report back here with your findings? I'm looking for some flooring material too. Happy Flying, Keith

Keith, Here's what I've found so far:
I got samples of Lonseal Lonplate-I (the diamond-plate stuff), Aerofloor DOT (widely featured in BCP restoration threads), and SCS Interiors' flooring product. All have FAA burn certs.
First things first- the help at SCS is really friendly, and the Aerofloor DOT sample from Aircraft Interior Products comes with a bag of Jelly Bellys, like Alaska BushWheels used to come with "packing peanuts". Also, the Aerofloor DOT sample I received has a slightly different texture than in several BCP threads. This one has raised, 1mm spherical dimples, but otherwise looks like the same construction.
I used an office postal scale and opted for metric dimensions to come up with the following weights:
Lonplate: 8 lbs/ m2
SCS Interiors: 4.3 lbs/ m2
Aerofloor DOT: 2.25 lbs/ m2
Ratty-ass old carpet currently in use: ???
Someplace here Greg posted the total weight of his Aerofloor DOT flooring. IIRC, it was around 4.5 lbs for his 180H. So based on the above, I'm estimating 2 square meters of material in a finished 170/ 180 floor. In other words, you can approximately double the above values to get the final installed weight for each.
Impressions:
Lonplate definitely looks to be the ruggedest, hardest-wearing, option of the three. Hands-down winner if you regularly haul around drive shafts and cinderblocks. I could possibly talk myself into the added weight for the durability it promises. Light mesh backing, seems like it would lay flat and bridge any gaps around seams and rivet heads. Diamond-plate texture.
SCS Interiors is a decent-looking middle ground, IMO. It has a fabric weave sandwiched between vinyl top and bottom surfaces. Raised dot texture is a little wider and a little flatter than Aerofloor DOT. Maybe easier to wipe off mud and moose blood? SCS Interiors also offers pre-cut floor options, edge-banding, and a pre-cut flap tunnel cover. They also have an FAA-approved, adhesive-backed 1/4" foam that they offer for padding beneath their flooring. It's sold and installed separately. I'm somewhat tempted to try it in place of Selkirk foam on the walls, because it seems a little more snag-proof, but I wouldn't necessarily trust the adhesive backing to hold up in that application long-term. The foam is also a little stiffer than Selkirk's and might not conform as well to tight curves and irregularities.
Aerofloor DOT is the clear winner on weight savings. It has a muslin backing and the 1mm raised dimples on the top surface. I suspect I would want heel pads if I went this route, due to its overall thinness, although the material itself seems pretty tough. The sample I received is approximately 6" x 6", and has some noticeable curling at the edges. Some photos posted to BCP appear to show similar curling around seat tracks, etc. Curious for any pireps on this subject.
Time now for some serious chin scratching and navel-gazing...

I love the Lonplate for the durability and that it just lays there without any sort of adhesive or Velcro. I would like it to be lighter, but maybe I just lose the weight instead.

akgreg wrote:I love the Lonplate for the durability and that it just lays there without any sort of adhesive or Velcro. I would like it to be lighter, but maybe I just lose the weight instead.

Greg- How awkward is the Lonplate at annual when you need to peel it back for inspection?

Thanks for the report, DP!

Very easy to remove for inspections. That is one of the reason I like it being heavy duty. Don't have to worry about it possibly tearing at some of the spots where it is cut close and you only have a small section of material.

Tip of the hat to PAMR MX. He's hooking me up with Loncoin Featherweight flooring. Off the same roll as my air taxi bud uses. For comparison purposes to the other options above, it computes to about 6.5 lbs/ square meter, and has the raised 1/2" diameter dots. I've seen how it holds up, and it wears like iron. Thinner than the diamond plate option, but still lays flat, and conforms to and spans the irregularities quite well.
Love this site. All this great networking and help, AND I can cuss!
-DP

denalipilot wrote:Tip of the hat to PAMR MX. He's hooking me up with Loncoin Featherweight flooring. Off the same roll as my air taxi bud uses. For comparison purposes to the other options above, it computes to about 6.5 lbs/ square meter, and has the raised 1/2" diameter dots. I've seen how it holds up, and it wears like iron. Thinner than the diamond plate option, but still lays flat, and conforms to and spans the irregularities quite well.
Love this site. All this great networking and help, AND I can cuss!
-DP

I think you are on the right track. It looks like what we use in Astar helicopters. The stuff holds up to heliskiers climbing in and out of the aircraft every 5 minutes. And their wearing ski boots.

denalipilot wrote:Love this site. All this great networking and help, AND I can cuss!
-DP

Hell yeah!

DP, sorry for not sending you the Aerofloor samples... Just got slammed and spaced.

Here are my thoughts on the Aerofloor DOT for a floor: After 260 hours of flying I still dig it, however... it should be thought of as a "gentelmens" flooring. In other words, if you have tight control over whats back there, rarely have passengers, and are careful, its a great super light interior. My entire floor came in around 3lbs as opposed to the 12 lbs of carpet I removed. It is flexible, cleans very easily, and light. The downside as you noted is that the edges have a tendency to roll up and must be fastened. The material is very strong and wont tear. I have often heard the critique that due to the thinness and lack of padding, there is nothing to protect against beating up the floor. This is a valid critique. Velcro really doesnt work to hold it down, so I used PKs. Pulling it for annual is not a big deal at all.

If I were to work the plane or even have a bunch of passengers, I would go with something a bit more robust... in fact I have been tossing around the idea of going with something a bit more robust, especially after seeing the interior of AK Gregs.