The Oracle @ Delphi #9 10/5/2006 - Everything you have? and then just a little more
Just about every time I tell someone that I own my own plane, the next question is, "Isn?t it expensive to own an aircraft". My answer is "Well, it?s not any one thing. It?s every little thing." For example it?s not the fuel, or the insurance, or the maintenance, or the parking. It?s the fuel, and the insurance, and the maintenance and the parking. My hope with this article is to suggest some of the locations where you can get the supplies less than full retail.
Before you can shop to save, you must know what, specifically, it is that you are looking for. One of the best resources is the Aviall "Product Catalog and Source Book". This is a three inch fountain of wisdom including just about every item from Air Filters to Zeus Fasteners, cross referenced as to which certificated aircraft(s) they fit in. Generally speaking, Aviall will not sell to the public. Instead,the real value is to know what the options of parts are and who produces them. As you might imagine Aviall does not want you to know this information, and generally does not want to give their fountain away. Don?t bother calling them. You will have to get craftier than that. The next step, assuming that you didn?t have any Aviall luck is to go to the OEM manufacture of the parts that you are looking for and see if you can find a parts or maintenance manual. I?m not going to try to list everyone here, however, there are a few that I?m going to call out here. Champion (http://www.championaerospace.com/), Cleveland (http://www.parker.com/ead/cm1.asp?cmid=349), Gill Batteries (http://www.gillbatteries.com/). All of these sites have excellent documentation about their product as well as installation instructions. Check out the Pilots association for the aircraft that you fly. The last place to look, if you still are having trouble are some of the reputable aviation supplier sites. These include Chief Aircraft (http://www.chiefaircraft.com/), Tex Air (http://www.texair.com/), Sac Sky Ranch (http://www.sacskyranch.com/), etc.
Once you know what the part number is for the part that you are purchasing, spend a few minuets looking around and find out if there is some other manufacturer producing an equivalent part with a PMA (Part Manufacture Authorization). Generally the parts are identical to the OEM and less expensive. Remember that you don?t always have to purchase the most expensive option, just one of the correct options.
Mail order can be a wonderful, cheaper way to acquire parts for your aircraft, but it doesn?t work well for everything. Oil is very heavy by the case. I have not found it to be a good value to purchase it from the Internet houses, due to shipping costs. The solution I have found is to purchase it in quantity (By the case) from an oil supply house such as Coast Oil (in Watsonville or San Jose) at wholesale prices (yes they sell direct to the public). You may also want to get waxes and such at an automotive supply house and cleaning agents such as M.E.K. at Orchard Aircraft Supply (aka Orchard Supply Hardware). Lastly, keep an eye on eBay (http://www.ebay.com), you never know what someone?s wife may have decided to get rid of.
So, What does it cost to learn to fly? Well, you already know that