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Aircraft insulation in the UK

10 Posts

Can anybody suggest a source of Aircraft insulation in the UK?

I will be swapping my side panels and carpets with the kit from Aircraft Spruce. If I bought the insulation from them it would double the FedEx charge from $ 140 to $ 280 just due to the volume. They seem to supply Rockwool type stuff about 25 mm thick with silver foil each side.

I have enough Tri-iso super 10 Multifoil Roof insulation left in my shed to insulate the plane. Everybody thought this product was amazingly thermally efficient before Kingspan proved that they were fiddling the testing, after which Building Control in the UK took away their approvals – it does work but it’s not equivalent to 100mm of Kingspan type which was the original claim.

https://www.insulationsuperstore.co.uk/product/actis-tri-iso-super-10-16m-x-1250m-roll-20m2.html

I suppose if it doesn’t catch fire with a blow torch it might be OK? – Any suggestions and UK suppliers for the proper approved Aircraft stuff?

United Kingdom

I’ve never heard of anyone using non-aviation materials like this in an interior.

If it was my plane, it’s not, I would use 1/2" ensolite foam with 3M 90 Spray Glue to stick it on. You can get the Ensolite foam with a burn cert that meets the FAR standards for burn testing.

I won’t see it from my bedroom window, as they say, so feel free to experiment

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

I was always planning to use an approved Aviation insulation, I just saw some stuff on a US website which looked like Rockwool with silver foil on each side – a bit like I’ve seen in UK Builders Merchants!

I do find the Multifoil stuff interesting just from a “nerdy” aspect – can they really work? Apparently 35mm is equivalent to 200mm or Rockwool and the have some UK building approvals back again. It seems to need a 25 mm air gap each side to work properly which is all a bit weird.

If anybody can point to any UK suppliers of the proper Aviation stuff, I would be most grateful.

United Kingdom

Depending on how it is fitted insulation could be considered as part of the upholstery and subject to the same rules.

I do want to use proper Aviation products. I’ve looked for Ensolite in the UK and again all I can find is Armacell plumbing insulation which you can get in big sheets. Armacell sell Ensolite in the US so perhaps it’s the same product.

Does anybody know where I can buy the correct stuff in the UK? Otherwise I’ll have to bring it over from the US.

United Kingdom

This is also relevant.

Always worth a check of the “Threads possibly related to this one” list at the bottom of a thread.

You definitely want the “right stuff” otherwise you can end up like this guy. Quite a number of people have “lost” their planes; most of the stories obviously don’t get posted.

Depending on how it is fitted insulation could be considered as part of the upholstery and subject to the same rules.

Is there any detail known? I would have thought that any airframe insulation (within the cabin area) has to be suitably fire retardant.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Thanks for the above, looks like everything certified/approved I have found so far is from the US. The Soundex stuff looks interesting.

It just feels wrong to have to DHL a bulky consignment full of air from the US!

There must be a UK source?

United Kingdom

Try one of the UK aircraft interiors companies such as Farnborough Aircraft Interiors.

Avionics geek.
Somewhere remote in Devon, UK.

It just feels wrong to have to DHL a bulky consignment full of air from the US!
There must be a UK source?

Not sure if this is useful for this material but Sandelving in Germany (aircraftspruce.eu) are a distributor for Aircraftspruce US and while they stock next to nothing they seem to bring a container of stuff over maybe once a week, and can be cost effective – despite costing way more than an American would pay, but hey ho. When I was doing my TKS installation a year ago, I had to buy a ton of the special sealant/adhesive which is a “hazardous” material (what a joke, but a nice earner for the shipping industry) but getting it from the German outlet went ok.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom
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