Cessna Co. Rip off
 

A mate needed a repair for a leaking nosewheel actuator for an out of production Cessna twin. His UK maintenance company informed him not repairable and a new part required. Cessna replied new part would cost $39000. ( True I've seen the EMail) Payable up front and nonreturnable!!!
A bit of research finds a USA company specialising in actuators repair/ service.
$800 plus freight and charges.

I had a similar experince with C152 door hinges about 10 years ago. I can't recall the actual numbers, but got quoted a huge amount by the Cessna dealer. My engineer managed to get them from the USA for about 1/10 the quoted price. With everyone worth knowing on the internet these days, it should be quick and easy to get a range of prices, never just accept the dealer quote.

I were told of an owner who got a hefty bill to replace an electric switch on his retractable.
Maint shop gave him the old part. Months later the owner is doing some handiman work on his old broken cloths washing machine. Finds a switch in the washer that is exactly the same as the component from his aircraft, even down to the parts numbers...:ooh:




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Slight Drift, Gazelle Door Handles / Locks came in a Renault Box !!

I called the Maule factory for a replacement gas cap, he gave me the part number and said any half decent auto parts store in your neighborhood will carry them. They did and I bought 2 so I had a spare, total cost $7 !!

Gazelle Door Handles / Locks came in a Renault Box !!
Allegedly those of a Renault 5.
Then there was the interesting cost comparison with those of the W.G. 13 ( a.k.a. Lynx) in the same era, i.e. late 60's.

Beagle Pup brake pads - 1/10 price from a car dealer, not sure which one, but off a (1960s) Jag

Consider the cost of a replacement part for the undercarriage of an obselete aircraft.
It is going to be EXPENSIVE for very good reasons, the undercarriage will have been manufactured by an outside contractor 30+ years ago. The drawings and tooling may still exist but all calibration certificates will be expired and the last man who actually made one will have retired. Materials need to be sourced and ordered, when eveything is organised they now have to stop a production line, set it up for a single part, QA the the part, reset the production line to normal work and explain why their normal production is now days behind schedule.
Serious hassle.so someone has to pay and then everyone who handles it on the way to the customer has to add their margin.

This is NOT going to be cheap.

@tAG: all of that may be very true but the quoted price simply means "we sincerely hope you do not order from us". More honest would be to say so straight away.

@PB84: good story, and very strong publicity for the Maule company.

BTW my own Rotax engine comes with similar stories, many parts from the automotive aftermarket or even (like the starter) from motorcycles.

I have always been fascinated by the fact that the parking brake lever on the BAC Jetstream 31/32 is identical to the handbrake lever fitted to the Wolsley 4/50 and 4/44!

P.P.

Well, maybe they worked, but did they meet the TSO requirements? Labeling requirements? Flammability requirements? So maybe they were not entirely compliant with the aircraft design, and maybe no one would notice until the AAIB go looking during the investigation.

Many aircraft parts I can think of are automotive parts (though not seatbelts nor shimmy dampers). The automotive parts were demonstrated to meet the requirements, and specified in the type design for the aircraft, occasionally as the automotive part number (hose clamps, for example). But other parts may have subtle differences, or changes to make them compliant (like fire retardant applied to aviation seatbelt webbing), which the type design specifies, but is not apparent when you are contemplating swapping out for the cheaper one.

It is funny watching a money saver replace a genuine Cessna battery contactor with the apparent automotive equivalent. Very expensive smoke is the result. Cessna does not tell you that theirs are wired differently inside!

It is well known that several aircraft manufacturers are now less than enthusiastic about their older legacy aircraft flying, so they are not providing attractive pricing any more. To fly (maintain) a legacy airplane, you gotta want it!

So, unless you actually require a certified aircraft why would you want to buy one, it seems they are shooting themseves in the foot!

Ball valve in a VC10 bog system was a squash ball that BAe was charging £80 each for back in the 80's. Only came to light when BAe forgot to remove them from the Dunlop boxes prior to repacking and shipping.

Show me any other company which supports its products more than 10 years after the end of production. Aviation manufacturers are better than most because their products tend to last longer but there are limits to how many ancient parts you can economically stock as the number of examples in service, and thus demand, falls.

A few are becoming more enlightened, for example Suzuki now have a specialist unit producing parts for Classic motorcycles such as the GT750 Kettle.

I don't suppose that anyone knows which French motor car they raided for the cockpit build on a 1965 Jodel (Robin)?
The door handles are very familiar, and the hand brake is that VERY French umbrella shape.

Not sure for Jodel but the canopy handle on the Robin DR400 is from a Citroen 2CV

There is lots of French car on the DR400 !

Must be plenty of parts from breakers yards. No idea on the cost though with the paperwork.

I remember years ago at Eastleigh (Southampton) before the airport grew up, someone owned a Mitsubishi Fuji and lost one of the Fuel filler caps. The quote for replacement was £1500 quid.


It's now probably £15,000.

DR1050 door handles are said to be 2CV.