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Removable flooring, how many nutplates?

vmirv8bldr

Well Known Member
I'm thinking hard on the removable floor panels issue. I know it's a ton of nutplates and additional work. Does anyone know approximately how many extra nutplaes I would need to order to do this mod?

(This info may push the decision definitively.)

Thanks,

Bart
 
I counted the nutplates I installed on the floor panels that end at the flap bar and DO NOT count the baggage area. You will require approximately 85 nutplates to make those floors removable. I do have the necessary nutplate jigs ( I used a combination of #6 and #8) and installed floating nutplates attached with NAS1097 rivets. It took about a half a day of labor......what I consider to be a relatively miniscule amount of time in the overall scheme of things. YMMV.
 
Bart: Just another data-point for you: I installed 106 platenuts under the floor, all of which are #8s. The screws are all pan-head type except for about a half-dozen flush screws that fall along the path the backseater's feet will make while climbing in.

BTW, I chopped the floor into six pieces, so I ended up with probably a dozen more screws than someone who didn't divide them. Along the edges, I often installed platenuts under every other hole. If you put platenuts under every one, you're looking at 130+ platenuts. Yowza.

Have fun.
 
I'm with Rick. It really wasn't that much work. But DO make sure you buy a nutplate jig.

I've had reason to take the floor up a couple of times so I'm glad I did it the way I did it. YMMV.
 
floor nutplates

Why not drill and tap for 8/32 it would be the smaller hole and if it did not work out you could drill for a nut plate or a riv nut. I plan on a littel loc tite to keep all the 8/32 in place :D
 
At what point in the process....

So, for you guys that have the nutplates, did you wait until the floor was ready to go in, then match drill the rivet holes to take the #8 screws, or did you just drill out the holes individually and install the nutplates before assembly, when access is MUCH easier?

I'm a little concerned about alignment if I go ahead and drill the parts out individually.

So, do it now, while I'm assembling the subfloor structure, or wait until The whole thing is built, then match drill and install?

Thanks again,
Bart
 
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It seems that Van's is constantly upgrading the parts and my kit was shipped in mid March so I don't know if it is significantly different than your kit. I didn't match drill the floors. I opened up the holes in the floor panels "on the bench" and drilled and installed the nutplates in assembly. Match hole technology makes up for a lot of sins. Besides, where nutplates are concerned, you are not exactly seeking a close tolerance fit.

Knowing what I know now, I would have installed the nutplates on each part before assembling the floor structure.

One note: You will have to cut the pax seat hinge into two pieces, where it spans both floor panels. When riveting it in place, be sure to install a shim under the hinge on the starboard floor panel that is the same thickness as the port floor panel to compensate for the difference in thickness. No biggie, but something to be aware of.
 
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Mine's one of the newer Fuse kits, delivered in October. I think they should be mostly similar, but I make a habit of doublechecking stuff before drilling/cutting/riveting.
 
I installed the nutplates at the same time the floors went in. I didn't cut my seat hinge in half, by the way. I just drilled the hole through the hinge, countersunk it, and put a screw in there too.

It really wasn't too hard. As I recall the biggest problem was consistently hitting my head on the $#**^% F-705 bulkhead. :D
 
Removable floors

The floors on the 8 are already easily removable. The time and weight of all those #8 screws and nutplates is not necessary. The soft pop rivets can be removed in minutes, and in a fraction of the time it will take to unscrew all those #8 pan head screws.

I removed all the floor panels, and the rear baggage compartment panels in a mater of minutes when I installed a new autopilot. The panel that took the longest was the front, under the pilot seat panel, that is held in by #8 screws according to the plans.

In addition, replacing the soft aluminum pop rivets is much quicker than screwing back in all those #8 pan head screws. One day you will strip out the head of a screw or two, and then you will be drilling out hard steel screws instead of soft rivets.

IMHO just don't do it! Stick with the plans. KISS!
 
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Different Strokes

The latest in a series of reasons why I'm glad I installed nutplates on the floor. Yesterday, I thought to address that gaping hole surrounding the passenger's joystick. I fabbed up a piece of aluminum to cover the hole and mount an eyeball vent at the same time. Two nutplate holes previously installed to make the floors removable sure came in handy. The cover...along with just about everything else is removable.

fwdbaggage05920wo1.jpg
 
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For those that have/might remove their floors one day

Just curious how others have handled the fwd part of the rear floors(directly under the aft flange of the rear pax footwells). The way I read the plans, the platenut screws hold only the aft lip of the footwells down, with all the other layers(floor,spacer,crossmember,platenut) being riveted together. If one ever decides to remove the floor for servicing, then all these quite long platenut rivets would have to be drilled out.

If I drop the platenut rivet heads down one layer(to terminate between the aft floor and the spacer directly below), then the rear floor will have a 3/32 blank hole on either side of the platenut screws, but the footwell lip would cover these.

Curious what others have done here.
 

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If you guys plan to install the many nutplates on the floor, use the floating nutplates because they will save you a lot of time in the off chance the screw holes aren't exactly aligned. The floating nutplate weight a fly more than the standard version but since you are installing almost 100 of them, you are adding weight anyway.
 
Just curious how others have handled the fwd part of the rear floors(directly under the aft flange of the rear pax footwells). The way I read the plans, the platenut screws hold only the aft lip of the footwells down, with all the other layers(floor,spacer,crossmember,platenut) being riveted together. If one ever decides to remove the floor for servicing, then all these quite long platenut rivets would have to be drilled out.

If I drop the platenut rivet heads down one layer(to terminate between the aft floor and the spacer directly below), then the rear floor will have a 3/32 blank hole on either side of the platenut screws, but the footwell lip would cover these.

Curious what others have done here.

I have an older kit, so didn't have this specific issue. Much advice in this thread is good - floating nutplates, don't install a nutplate in every hole - about every other hole will be fine, and feel free to cut the floor panels into more pieces to make them more manageable. I'd also recommend using Torx screws since they are so much easier to put in and out without stripping them.

Yes it will take a day to install all these nutplates, but when you are removing the floor for the 5th time you'll be happy you have screws and not rivets.
 
Here is what I did….

Just finished counting the nutplates and the locations for the K1000-8 and the K2000-8. I understand some folks countersunk and dimpled the floors (I did) and others just used the rounded #8 screw for the floor and passed on the countersunk screws. To each their own.

Here's the break down:

Total K1000-8 = 78
Total K2000-8 = 13

and 4 rivnuts for #8 screws.

Starting with the F815C-L-1, you need 12 K1000 nutplates and 4 K2000 nutplates. On either side of the F-806A-L-1 where it meets the F815C-L-1 , I put the K2000-8 nutplates. Where the F-805-L-1 meets the F815C-L-1 I also put a K2000 there. You need one more next to the rounded out portion for the flap pushrod,which goes toward the front of the aircraft.

Repeat that for the F815C-R-1

The F-813-L-1 takes 7 K1000-8 and 1 K2000-8. The K2000-8 is placed in the last hole towards the front of the aircraft.

Repeat for the F-813-R-1.

The F814B-L-1 has 11 K1000-8. Repeat for the F814B-R-1.

The F-806B-1 rear spar bulkhead assembly has a total of 11 K1000-8 nutplates and 2 K2000-8 ones. The K2000's go out on the very ends of the F-806B-1 where the gussets are.

The last place is the F-807A-L-1 and the F-807A-R-1. Looking towards the prop, the two far left holes on the F-807A-L-1 I used two Rivnuts. Where the F-814 meets the F-807, use a K2000. The other two holes in the F-807A-L-1 are K1000-8s. The F-807A-R-1 are all K1000-8s, except for the two outermost holes, where I used rivnuts.

I also attached photos of the diagrams that should help. There is also a comment on the flap block nutplate...I messed up...with this, you shouldn't have to drill out the wrong nutplate.

Send me your email and I can forward you pictures for the above.

Don
 
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