Commercial aircraft low cost, lightweight floor design

An aircraft deck structural support system comprising:

• a plurality of horizontally arranged deck support beams each having a plurality of cross-support beam attachment faces machined therein;
• a U-shaped aperture bisecting each of said plurality of cross-support beam attachment faces, each said U-shaped aperture formed in a beam web of each said deck support beam;
• each said cross-support beam attachment face matingly receiving an attachment flange of one of a plurality of cross-support beams disposed approximately perpendicular to said plurality of deck support beams;
• and
• each said cross-support beam including a web perpendicularly connected at an upper end to said attachment flange and a stiffening flange integrally joined to a lower end of said web, both said web and said stiffening flange being freely suspended within said U-shaped aperture.

A method to construct an aircraft deck support structure comprising the steps of:

• machining a plurality of generally T-shaped supports in each of a plurality of deck support beams;
• forming an upper section of each T-shaped support as one of a horizontal recess in an upper chord of each said deck support beam and a raised surface on said upper chord;
• cutting a U-shaped aperture in a beam web of each said deck support beam forming a lower section of each T-shaped support;
• matably fastening an attachment flange of one of a plurality of cross-support beams at each upper section, each said cross-support beam being arranged approximately perpendicular to said plurality of deck support beams;
• and
• freely suspending both a web and a stiffening flange of each said cross-support beam within said U-shaped aperture of each said T-shaped recess.