Decent Parts websites

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
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Autozone, O'reileys, Pep Boys, etc all have this nice format where you enter a make, model, year and search for parts.

Every aviation site I go to is vague hard to browse and I always end up looking at a pdf of part numbers with no descriptions and no prices.

Anyone know of a aviation parts website that is intuitive?

I am on cutter and the best way is to live chat and then they send the details of the chat "somewhere" and then I get an email back with a photo copy of a part with a price written in pencil (2 day turn around for that little drawing)

Anyone have good source for parts?
 
Dallas Air Salvage, talk to Lucky.

And come to our club meeting on Monday and ask the question of our Mx Officer.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Autozone, O'reileys, Pep Boys, etc all have this nice format where you enter a make, model, year and search for parts.

Every aviation site I go to is vague hard to browse and I always end up looking at a pdf of part numbers with no descriptions and no prices.
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It's not up to the parts suppliers to determine the correct part for you. You're expected to have a current IPC and know exactly what you want.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Autozone, O'reileys, Pep Boys, etc all have this nice format where you enter a make, model, year and search for parts...
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Try typing in "1965 Lancia Fulvia" on any of those sites and see what you come up with.
 
I have a complete Illustrated Parts Catalog for my Bo, also one for the Continental IO520 upon which I rely for motive power.

It appears to me that the volume of aircraft, and the variations in production, make a database as you have described impractical in the aviation world.
 
#1 Buy a domestic airplane?

#2 Also, what others have said, get manuals for your airplane. That may not be very easy unless you have #1.
 
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FORANE said:
We need a site for aircraft like the one I use for used car parts below.
http://www.car-part.com/
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Boy, that site would be A LOT better if, after you selected the year, it eliminated all models not made in that year instead of still giving you a list of every vehicle made between 1914 and 2014!

When I selected "2011" as the year and saw that my first model choice was "AMC Ambassador", I knew I was facing an unnecessarily and excessively long search list...
 
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bnt83 said:
#1 Buy a domestic airplane?

#2 Also, what others have said, get manuals for your airplane. That may not be very easy unless you have #1.
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There are Socata parts dealers in TX and Floridia. Being foreign is not the issue.

I need to buy a battery for my plane. Not some super specific Socata part.
Even the Socata dealer parts sites area PITA to navigate. And I have the manuals for my plane. 14 binders of parts. But it is 2014. This should be simpler.

I am going to build a website to solve this problem :rolleyes:
 
The aviation repair industry is not geared toward the casual DIY'er as is the auto repair aftermarket. I imagine that a number of parts distributors will provide online pricing information to authorized customers through a log-in site. That said, you are expected to know the P/N. I bought a ring gear for my Arrow and got the part number from the IPC and called the various distributors until I found a price I liked. My A&P authorized me to use his name if necessary. I saved about $200 on a starter and ring gear doing it like that.
 
There's also Google which is often times faster than using a dedicated website if you know the part number you're looking for.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
There are Socata parts dealers in TX and Floridia. Being foreign is not the issue.

I need to buy a battery for my plane. Not some super specific Socata part.
Even the Socata dealer parts sites area PITA to navigate. And I have the manuals for my plane. 14 binders of parts. But it is 2014. This should be simpler.

I am going to build a website to solve this problem :rolleyes:
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Well then, ever thought to look in the logbook, equipment list or on the old battery?
 
SCCutler said:
It appears to me that the volume of aircraft, and the variations in production, make a database as you have described impractical in the aviation world.
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This.

Not to mention the requirements/regs to protect the integrity of aircraft parts from the scammers of the world. Get the manuals and catalogs for your plane electronically if you can, and then the searching is a bit easier.
 
Only a dope would rely on a wesite with no quality controls to tell them what parts are applicable to an aircraft.


#1 AD - Is there an AD on the part or aircraft? It may not even be an airworthy part to begin with, or perhaps the AD required the original be replaced with a different part #.

#2 Is the part installed an STC'ed replacement? Then the STC's Instructions for Continued Airworthiness should have the part number.

#3 SB - Is there a service bulletin installed that changes it from the part # listed in the parts manual?

#4 The aircraft manufactuer's parts manual.

#5 Part manufacturer's PMA supplements. These say exactly what part # they are direct replacements for and often give a generic not-all-inclusive list of eligible aircraft.
 
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bnt83 said:
Well then, ever thought to look in the logbook, equipment list or on the old battery?
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Yep.
I just happen to be sitting at my office and I do not happen to have the battery or all my binders with me so it would be nice if I could go to a website and find out a ballpark price on a battery for my plane. That's all.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Yep.
I just happen to be sitting at my office and I do not happen to have the battery or all my binders with me so it would be nice if I could go to a website and find out a ballpark price on a battery for my plane. That's all.
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We've had an ongoing discussion on POA about 24 volt main batteries :lol: >$450400.
 
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damn, that is expensive.
I swear everything is 10X the price of "normal" just because it has aviation in the name.
 
My nav light bulbs were $50 a piece and there is nothing special about them.
 
bnt83 said:
Only a dope would rely on a wesite with no quality controls to tell them what parts are applicable to an aircraft.
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This is why we pay such high amounts for AD, SB, IPC, etc. subscriptions. Yet another example of DIY'ers having no clue what goes in to installing a part on an aircraft.
 
I keep telling people older is better (within reason)

12 volt systems are much cheaper. Cheaper batteries, bulbs, etc.

We just has a long thread about composite props vs aluminum.

Many more options as far as aftermarket parts. The newer the airplane the more likely you are stuck with OEM parts that cost mega $$$.
 
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ScottH said:
This is why we pay such high amounts for AD, SB, IPC, etc. subscriptions. Yet another example of DIY'ers having no clue what goes in to installing a part on an aircraft.
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Okay, I will call my A&P to install and remove my pitot tube cover from now on.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Okay, I will call my A&P to install and remove my pitot tube cover from now on.
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Or you can insult the mechanics, inspectors, shop owners who have invested their lives and careers, tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tools, shop equipment, education... crossed every 'i' and dotted every 't', dealt with vague and incoherently written regulations, spent long hours pouring through maintenance publications and parts manuals making sure they've done the job correctly... and then betting their customers' lives that it was... with your suggestion that what we really need is JC Whitney Aero.
 
ScottH said:
Or you can insult the mechanics, inspectors, shop owners who have invested their lives and careers, tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in tools, shop equipment, education... crossed every 'i' and dotted every 't', dealt with vague and incoherently written regulations, spent long hours pouring through maintenance publications and parts manuals making sure they've done the job correctly... and then betting their customers' lives that it was... with your suggestion that what we really need is JC Whitney Aero.
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Have you ever changed the battery in your car before?
 
And I hate aviation parts sites that say: "call for price."
 
This thread explains EXACTLY why I own a experimental aircraft. :mad2:
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Have you ever changed the battery in your car before?
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It's also not about what you can legally do. Many non-A&P's are far more talented. Look at the homebuilts. What's troubling is the attitude that a component or part search can be simply achieved with an online parts database. There's too much going on. Here's a perfect example, I had a 172RG in recently where an IA had replaced the original McCauley wheels and brakes with Clevelands. Part numbers were called out in the Aviall catalog. Worked great. Was that way for several years, until the Feds got hold of the airplane one day, and the inspector knew there was no approval for that particular installation. It required a field approval. The plane was down for weeks while I went through dozens of phone calls to Cessna, Parker, Aviall.. putting together the field approval. Was a ridiculous exercise, since all the part numbers called for in a Cessna SB for that conversion all crossed to the Parker numbers that were on the plane. The problem was Cessna only approved it as their 'kit'. And that was an A&P that did that! The work was fine, just not legal. As an earlier post mentioned, you cannot rely on third parties to provide accurate information. Imagine the mess if a brake failed on that conversion and there was an accident.
 
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ScottH said:
It's also not about what you can legally do. Many non-A&P's are far more talented. Look at the homebuilts. What's troubling is the attitude that a component or part search can be simply achieved with an online parts database. There's too much going on. Here's a perfect example, I had a 172RG in recently where an IA had replaced the original McCauley wheels and brakes with Clevelands. Part numbers were called out in the Aviall catalog. Worked great. Was that way for several years, until the Feds got hold of the airplane one day, and the inspector knew there was no approval for that particular installation. It required a field approval. The plane was down for weeks while I went through dozens of phone calls to Cessna, Parker, Aviall.. putting together the field approval. Was a ridiculous exercise, since all the part numbers called for in a Cessna SB for that conversion all crossed to the Parker numbers that were on the plane. The problem was Cessna only approved it as their 'kit'. And that was an A&P that did that! The work was fine, just not legal. As an earlier post mentioned, you cannot rely on third parties to provide accurate information. Imagine the mess if a brake failed on that conversion and there was an accident.
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That is a good answer.

Thank you.

That being said, it seems the problem is not the skill set required to do something but rather the bureaucracy which I find annoying.
 
tecprotb said:
This thread explains EXACTLY why I own a experimental aircraft. :mad2:
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Makes sense.

Tim,

My dad and I will be at the hanger this morning staring at our plane and in no way doing any sort of maintenance on our own to our plane. After we are done NOT replacing the AC outlet and NOT fixing the battery, I will drop by your place if you are around.

I promised I would take my little girl up for a bit. If you are around, I will take you for a spin.
 
tecprotb said:
This thread explains EXACTLY why I own a experimental aircraft. :mad2:
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With a certified or variant of a production aircraft engine and/or propeller?

Owning an EAB doesn't not solve the parts applicability determination issues. If an EAB owner uses poor methods to determine needed parts, they are setting themselves up for failure.

I have seen zero EAB owners that disassemble and repair their own Hartzell or McCauley constant speed props and governors. Probably because many require special tools that are most likely only found at certified repairs stations as it's uneconomical to own them.
 
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SixPapaCharlie said:
Makes sense.
My dad and I will be at the hanger this morning staring at our plane and in no way doing any sort of maintenance on our own to our plane. After we are done NOT replacing the AC outlet and NOT fixing the battery
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Most of the annuals I do are owner assisted believe it or not. I owned and worked on airplanes long before I became an A&P, did things way more complicated than changing a battery, and shake my head sometimes wondering what I was thinking back then. Today I get a lot of pleasure in working with owners who want to work on their airplanes, especially the ones that are just trying to enjoy their hobby without going broke and want to learn at the same time.
 
Our first annual is in June. We will be doing owner assisted.
 
ScottH said:
It's also not about what you can legally do. Many non-A&P's are far more talented. Look at the homebuilts. What's troubling is the attitude that a component or part search can be simply achieved with an online parts database. There's too much going on. Here's a perfect example, I had a 172RG in recently where an IA had replaced the original McCauley wheels and brakes with Clevelands. Part numbers were called out in the Aviall catalog. Worked great. Was that way for several years, until the Feds got hold of the airplane one day, and the inspector knew there was no approval for that particular installation. It required a field approval. The plane was down for weeks while I went through dozens of phone calls to Cessna, Parker, Aviall.. putting together the field approval. Was a ridiculous exercise, since all the part numbers called for in a Cessna SB for that conversion all crossed to the Parker numbers that were on the plane. The problem was Cessna only approved it as their 'kit'. And that was an A&P that did that! The work was fine, just not legal. As an earlier post mentioned, you cannot rely on third parties to provide accurate information. Imagine the mess if a brake failed on that conversion and there was an accident.
Click to expand...
Your inspector is full of crap as a christmas turkey. Cleveland bought McCauley and all cleveland brake systems are direct replacement parts by part number.

If you were trying to put 182 brakes on a 172 I can see your problem.
 
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Tom-D said:
Your inspector is full of crap as a christmas turkey. Cleveland bought McCauley and all cleveland brake systems are direct replacement parts by part number.

If you were trying to put 182 brakes on a 172 I can see your problem.
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The airplane went to the FSDO for a CFI ride. Was grounded on the spot and needed a ferry permit to get it back. Like I said, it was a ridiculous exercise, and I got flagged because I didn't 'catch it' on the previous annual. I don't disagree with you, but the approval was for a Cessna Service Kit, which this didn't have. It had all the individual parts though. I'd be happy to PM you the 337. How about this.. I was also told by an inspector from a different FSDO that with the amount of hours being put on the (flight school) aircraft, they should really be having annuals done more often. You cannot make this up.
 
ScottH said:
The airplane went to the FSDO for a CFI ride. Was grounded on the spot and needed a ferry permit to get it back...
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My Lord, those guys need to get out from behind the bullet-proof glass and into the fresh air more often. They're probably high fivein' each other and the guy who caught it get's his picture on the wall for a month. What a load of crap.
 
Found this thread because I need the plastic loops that keep the seatbelt shoulder harness strap attached to the seat and not at your neck.

Thought I could find the answer here. 2 pages and nada. Whats wrong with you people!!!:D
 
Tom-D said:
Your inspector is full of crap as a christmas turkey.
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Are there other kinds???

:goofy:

Actually, my PMI out of SAC FSDO is a real gem. I had a horse's patoot for ten years before he got here and a real gem for the ten years before that. What a difference a PMI with grease under his fingernails makes.



Jim
 
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