$94 part for $10? New?

[Ernie Martin]

Let me digress for a moment before I tell you about the new $94 part I bought for $10.

With the economy the way it is and fuel prices headed up, holding on to our beloved aircraft is going to be tough.

What may make the difference is cutting maintenance costs, without affecting reliability. It can be done, and the main trick is cutting the cost of parts. I believe that in many instances you can cut a repair job in half by thoroughly searching for parts. Not the cost of parts, the cost of the whole repair job (more on this in the Purchasing Parts page of my "backup" website at www.SkymasterUS.com).

Anyhow, I was looking for a KM610-51, which is the latch assembly that opens the oil dip stick door on the cowlings (see pic below). My go-to guy, Don Nieser at Commodore, was not answering the phones. Lone Star has it for $94 (www.lonestaraero.com/pm-2132-45-km610-51.aspx). Yingling quoted at $51.

For a small latch. Highway robbery.

So I kept at it. Googled the part number and found a message board thread on experimental aircraft entitled "Where to buy oil door latches (KM610-64)?" and citing B&B Aircraft Supplies as an inexpensive source. I called them, and yes they have new-surplus units in stock, but not the -51, just the -32. I'm about to hang up when the guy explains that the only difference is the little hump that potrudes through the hole in the door -- 0.032 inches on the -32 and 0.051 on the -51 (see pic below). In short, it will work fine. I ask the price and he says $10. I order 2.

You all have a healthy 2011.

Ernie