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RV-10 Carpet

N427EF

Well Known Member
This might be of interest to a few RV-10 builders.
Light weight and low cost solution to carpeting your RV-10.
The goal was to carpet only where your feet rest plus the baggage compartment.
Total weight for all carpets including fire retardant and velcro 7 lb 8 oz.
Total cost including same as above
Walmart area rug 4 pieces 3'x5' $60.-
Local upholstery shop edge binding $75.-
Aircraft Spruce fire retardant $20.-
Spray glue $10.-
Remnant commercial carpet for padding, free. Total cost $ 165.-
Making the patterns was probably the most time consuming part and all in all it took about 6 hours to make.

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Good to see you included fire retardant in your design. Many years ago as a young engineer I was involved in setting up a National Bureau of Standards Radiant Panel Carpet Flammability Test at work. Seeing those tests made me more aware of how quickly carpet fires can spread not to mention the sometimes toxic gasses given off.
 
If you have not yet tried it I would take some scraps that have been sprayed with retardant and see how they behave when introduced to fire. The carpets look great, just make sure they are safe, a retardant might not give you much time.
 
Thank you

I suppose no carpet is truly fire resistant and the best course of action is probably fire prevention. In fact, all of my efforts to keep fire away go into fire prevention.
I did try to burn a piece of the carpet using a propane torch and although the carpet did not flash into an inferno it did support a flame and made some nasty smoke.
Inspecta Shield is what I used and a treated sample is ready for a burn test.
I am not expecting a miracle from this product but any slowing down of a spreading fire would be better than nothing.
The burn test will simply be a side by side comparison of a treated and an untreated sample. I'll post my findings.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/inspectashield.php
 
Burn test

Non scientific burn test FWIW.
Sample on the left treated with fire retardant and the one on the right without.
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Link for burn video
https://picasaweb.google.com/ErnstFreitag/BurnTest?authkey=Gv1sRgCJXpzv_GrfWznQE#5727296319142047810

I am not terribly impressed with my carpet choices here and the fire retardant is less effective than I expected. The fire retardant does somewhat slow the progress of the fire but not nearly what I expected.
I have nothing to compare, so this test is just an illustration of how flamable
the carpet really is. Again, the best course of action is fire prevention. Anyone got any real good ideas for fire proof carpet?
 
First, I applaud your quest for safety. That being said, what scenario are you trying to protect against here? Are there any exposed electrical wires in contact with the carpet? Are you or your passengers in-flight smokers? Short of that, Im not sure how flame-proof carpet is going to be of any use here. I would think that any fire that starts outside of the cabin is going to have profound ill effects on your flight before penetrating into the cabin and burning carpet. To be blunt, if it gets to the point where carpet will start to burn, Im not sure you will be in a state to care anymore.

Talk amongst yourselves and report back. Flame suit (Hah!) donned.
erich
 
fire resistant

Thanks for the test and posting the video for us to watch. It is pretty clear that the fire blocking "stuff" you put on the carpet is not that effective. If it is a real world test or not, I will let others argue that one. For me, I do not want anything that burns like that carpet did anywhere near me when Im flying - at least something that I have a choice in. When I first saw your carpet and how much it saved, I thought it was a good idea.

Watching the video, I was thinking how to keep the fire out of the cabin. I remembered from building years ago in California there was a "fire resistant" paper that was used on roofs if wood shakes were used. It was placed under the tar paper to keep an attic fire from burning through. It felt like a cardboard - paper mix that was treated with something - Im not sure what it was. I don't know how well it worked either, it just met the codes. It would not stop heat transfer, but maybe flame? Maybe there is something else that could be placed where it may help.

An engine or panel fire are not the only fire risk. The biggest is if you crash and have a post crash fire. Sometimes only a couple seconds can make a difference. Hopefully the two guys flying the Seawind 3000 in Florida will be able to express an opinion on that.

I have been looking into a fire suppression system - probably halon which I had installed in military projects I have done. I know it is all a risk and it is possible to add enough weight in safety equipment you won't be able to have enough fuel in the tanks to worry about fire.

Maybe with the sharp people here we can come up with some ideas rather than picking apart the test. I appreciate people trying to find a better, safer, way to do anything.
 
Ernst,

I think you've done an excellent job of implementing a quick, lightweight, and inexpensive carpet setup for your RV-10. If the flammability is a real problem, just use a better material. Regardless, your clean installation is a real contribution---thanks for sharing it.

David Carr
 
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