Citabria Aft floorboard

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Eric Brown

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Apr 7, 2021
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165
Location
Belle Plaine, Mn
Perhaps my approach is all wrong, but is there a particular secret for installing the aft floorboard in a Citabria ? Tried quite a few approaches. It's to wide. Can't get it to lay in position because of fuselage structure interference.
 
Needs to be installed prior to fabric work. I have had to cut a slit through the fabric when replacing it in customers planes. at least thats the only way I figured out to do it.

My personal plane..... I cut the floor board down the middle and fabricated an aluminum plate to splice it once in place.
 
If not covered, it slides in from the side.

Covered, I removed the wood strip on the back edge and was able to flex it enough to get it in. But I would not recommend that method. I would split it down the middle as Tango suggested. Though I would consider making the brace out of plywood and T nuts, with a gap for the diagonal frame member underneath.
 
Thanks for info, guys. I mentioned this problem to a non-aviation friend of mine. He says; " why don't you just put a hinge down the middle of the cut pieces" ? Ya know, that just might work !
 
Eric Brown said:
Thanks for info, guys. I mentioned this problem to a non-aviation friend of mine. He says; " why don't you just put a hinge down the middle of the cut pieces" ? Ya know, that just might work !
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Won't work. Diagonal frame members will block it from folding up. Get in there with some cardboard and you'll see what I mean. Might work folding down, but you would have to cut the hinge in half to clear the diagonal tube the floorboard sits on. I recommend a simple brace.
 
How about being hinged to pull up in the middle ? Hinge material would not be placed at the diagonal tube or at the fwd cross member.
 
Much, much neater to split down the middle, with strategically placed plywood and nut plates underneath. I think that is the way my front floorboards are in, and I never notice the seam. I think the front doesn't need the plywood bats, because there are enough steel anchor points. Been two years since I was in there.
 
My Citabria had a piece of aluminum T channel down the middle with nut plates on the flanges. someone may have machined it from 2"x3/8" bar stock now that i think about it.

to get a full size rear floor board in without bulldozing everything else, the rudder cables should be disconnected or not in yet, the lower rear panel and rudder guide tubes and pulleys shouldn't be in yet, and even then it barely slides into place before the fabric goes on.
 
Any of the suggestions here should work, but over-engineering is not necessary. The floorboard is supported pretty well by frame members underneath, so the brace does not have to do much structurally. It really just holds the two edges flush where they meet. I would just keep it simple.

Whatever you do, make sure it does not interfere with the elevator cables, which are directly under that area. And exercise extreme care when drilling or cutting that seam if the board is in the aircraft.

One other factor to sort out is the rear interior panel. There is a 3/4" wood strip on the aft edge of the floorboard. The lower rear interior panel is nailed to that strip. You don't want that flopping around and potentially letting bits and pieces into the tail cone, so you'll probably want to use wood screws or something else removable.
 
One other complication would be the baggage door, if one were installed. The kick plate below it is screwed to the top of the floorboard along the right edge and holds it down. Would have to finagle that out.
 
Great work!

One suggestion ... if you are not going to install carpet, maybe velcro a vinyl or rubber mat to the baggage floor to protect your bags from the hinge?
 
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