Anchoring QB floorboards?

[Pbruce]

I have K1000 nutplates on hand, in abundance, but in the #6 size only. Everything else costs me dearly and I don’t have anything else on hand anyway. It seems like the floorboards are just barely stiff enough to suffice (which I actually truly appreciate from a weight vs function perspective). I’m considering 6-32 screws and nutplates to anchor the floorboards to the welded tabs on the premise that the stiffness of the sheet aluminum is the weak link. Am I mistaken in my assumptions or are there other reasons to wait for my order of #8 screws and nutplates (back-ordered)? Thanks

[Mark Goldberg]

I have always used tinnerman fasteners for the floor sheets. Much easier than installing nutplates. You use sheet metal screws with tinnermans - NOT machine screws. Mark

[Battson]

I used K1000's and screws (6 or 8 won't matter) to attach the floorboards. It does add a lot of unnecessary work - they almost never get removed once you're flying. There are a few key locations where you might consider a nutplate - places where losing a tinnerman would be a real problem.

The floor is plenty strong enough as supplied in the kitset. Screws and floor will suit all your needs unless you are transporting large rocks (I put them on a seat or plywood board )

[Pbruce]

Thank you. I’m glad to hear that a very experienced BH Pilot feels that the correct strength/weight/utility balance has been achieved, since since aluminum gets heavy if you start arbitrarily adding more thickness. Another benefit of the kit which I really enjoyed was the ability to flex panels into position while trial fitting. I briefly entertained using carbon or wood panels, but now I’m quite certain the factory ones are perfect for me. By the way, the panels needed remarkably little adjustment- just a little in the corner cutouts sometimes. An enjoyable and rewarding bit of work! I’m going to use rattle can self-etching primer followed by flat black paint or truck bed coating, so I can spruce them easily up as desired in future.

[JimParker256]

Please listen to Mark Goldberg on this one... When I was doing the floorboard installation on a Patrol QB kit, I installed nut plates on all those tabs, and used machine screws to install the floorboards. It took FOREVER to get the nut plates installed, and aligning all the holes in the floorboards. Using Tinnerman nuts would have taken a tiny fraction of that time! Bonus points for the fact that sheet metal screws are MUCH quicker and easier to remove and install than machine screws. And comparing the "stiffness" of my floorboards with the ones on Mark G's Patrol, I saw ZERO difference.

Every time I had to remove or reinstall those floorboards (hint - it was significantly more than "once"), I was "rewarded" with taking additional time to unscrew the entire length of those machine screws... I kept repeating Bugs Bunny's famous observation: "What a maroon!" I should have talked to Mark G BEFORE I did all that extra work!

Oh well – live and learn!

[Nev]

I used tinnermans as Jim and Mark did. Very happy that I did - super easy to install and remove. Very secure once installed.

[svyolo]

I used nutplates, but would probably use tinnermans or clip nuts if was going to do it again.

[Utah-Jay]

Guys/girls, do yourself a favor and use the clickbond nutplates, super easy to install.

[rodsmith]

Easy to install but expensive and totally unnecessary for the floorboard application. I have used them in a few spots where conventional attachment wasn't possible.

[N3UW]

I also took Marks suggestion and used tinnermans. Easy to install. Low cost. A easy to remove the screws. I also used trusshead type b Phillips screws. Nice to not have the sharp point when you have to reach your arm u Ser an panel. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...trusstypeb.php

[Pbruce]

I started with nutplates since I had them. Much harder to align in steel than aluminum. I got the four holding the or trim over the baggage floor. What a pain! Switching to tinrmans for the remaining 50 or 60. Thanks all for the assistance.