Floor wood supplier?

[LSaupe 123]

I am looking for new floor wood for my Model III KF.  Originally this had 5 ply 1/8"  I can find it at Aircraft Spruce, however the shipping is horrendous (over $100.00 just in shipping for two 2' x 4' pieces).  Actually all I need is two 26" x 16" pieces, but I imagine it is the 4 foot dimension that is messing this up.

 

Any other suppliers out there that carry smaller sizes?

[Av8r3400 1179]

Talk to your local lumber supplier.  You'd be surprised what they can get.  Remember this is experimental and it's just the floor, you don't need mega-dollar spruce...

[EDMO 1078]

I found some embossed - looks like treadplate - .025 aluminum at my local metal supplier - two pieces went in just fine.

Thin hardwood for cabinets might work, but this is not fussy, and any plywood should do.

EDMO

Edited 28 Dec 2014 by Ed In Missouri

[akflyer 1427]

I would check out home depot.  Or as Larry said you should be able to find some marine ply at a local supply house.  I would not think twice about using marine ply on the floorboards.  Aluminum will work as well, but the aluminum used for a foot rest "pad" on my avid floor boards wore through in about 500 hrs. 

 

[1avidflyer 1983]

Wow that is high for shipping. I just last week got 2 2x4 plywood sheets from Aircraft Spruce. I'm in Mn, and think it was shipped from Ga. so that's quite a long way. I also got a 70 yd roll of fabric in the same order, and it came at the same time, but in two packages. I'm looking at my bill, and shipping is $51.72. I got the 1/8" and 1/4" ply for rib tails that need to be replaced. Jim Chuk

 

PS  just coming back with another thought.  If you were to ask ACS to cut the two sheets at 26" it would make the package almost half the size. To bad this didn't come up before I ordered my stuff, I could have got one more 1/8" sheet, cut them to 26 and sent them on to you.  The two 22" pieces would have been enough for what I needed.   Day late and a dollar short!?

Edited 29 Dec 2014 by Jim Chuk

[EZFlap 12]

Go to your local model airplane hobby shop, and ask for Midwest brand aircraft plywood. It was (and hopefully still is) identical to certified aircraft plywood but without the paperwork.

 

The truth is that any higher quality Birch plywood will make as good of a floorboard as certified wood. It's even more about how you protect the wood than the wood itself. Cheap hardware store plywood sealed with West Systems epoxy will last longer than expensive FAA certified plywood with stain or spray varnish on it.

 

Remember that having 5 pounds of thick plywood floorboard or diamond plate aluminum in the cabin is not doing you any good the second after you get in the airplane. It is just sitting there robbing you of useful load for 100% of your flight... every flight. That's fuel you can't carry, or climb rate you don't have, or stall speed that's faster than it would have been.

 

IMHO any effort you put in to lighten the floorboard is time well spent. If you have access to honeycomb sandwich materials, or foam and composite, you could possibly save some weight. Or, you could use thinner plywood and glue on some stiffeners in the open "bay" areas.

[EDMO 1078]

I had several pieces of 2 x 4foot plywood shipped from Ga to Mo - didn't think the shipping cost was unreasonable - forget what it was tho.

I don't think that the weight of my original 1/8" floorboards was enough to worry about, and the .025 aluminum is even lighter - guess if the aluminum wears, I can always patch it.

EdMO

[LSaupe 123]

Thanks for all the feedback.  Found a local marine guy and was able to snag a 4x8 sheet and no shipping )