Am I going to be arrested and put in prison for this?

D

docmirror

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Cowboy - yeehah!
All the door and window gaskets in my plane were aged and crunched or missing. So, I did a bit of research and found some aftermarket seals that were offered. I took a close look at them and figured out that they were simply door and window gaskets that are commonly used in automotive applications.

I ordered the EPDM auto seals online, which are identical to the ones offered by the aftermarket plane company. Then, I sprayed them several times with the fire-proofing material I used on the upholstery, and installed them. I did it for purely economic reasons, and they are working perfectly.

Will I burn for all damnation for my economic decision?
 
I'm pretty sure nobody will care.
 
docmirror said:
All the door and window gaskets in my plane were aged and crunched or missing. So, I did a bit of research and found some aftermarket seals that were offered. I took a close look at them and figured out that they were simply door and window gaskets that are commonly used in automotive applications.

I ordered the EPDM auto seals online, which are identical to the ones offered by the aftermarket plane company. Then, I sprayed them several times with the fire-proofing material I used on the upholstery, and installed them. I did it for purely economic reasons, and they are working perfectly.

Will I burn for all damnation for my economic decision?
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Nope, but I hope you know what your "no wing glide ratio" is, 'cause they will fall off.

Do we file this under Anti-authority, Invulnerability or Macho?
 
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bartmc said:
Nope, but I hope you know what your "no wing glide ratio" is, 'cause they will fall off.

Do we file this under Anti-authority, Invulnerability or Macho?
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I disagree with Rusty. It is a well known fact that non PMA'd TSO'd 337ed Field Approved door seals will spontaneously combust in flight. Therefore I would spend some time reviewing the "In Flight Fire" emergency checklist

:wink2:
 
I know a guy who knew a girl who knew a guy who installed a Non-TSO'd Hula-girl on his panel and "The Man" issued an emergency revocation of his medical certificate.
 
Did you do a new weight and balance? If not, could be lawn dart time. That rubbery stuff is much heavier than it looks.
 
docmirror said:
All the door and window gaskets in my plane were aged and crunched or missing. So, I did a bit of research and found some aftermarket seals that were offered. I took a close look at them and figured out that they were simply door and window gaskets that are commonly used in automotive applications.

I ordered the EPDM auto seals online, which are identical to the ones offered by the aftermarket plane company. Then, I sprayed them several times with the fire-proofing material I used on the upholstery, and installed them. I did it for purely economic reasons, and they are working perfectly.

Will I burn for all damnation for my economic decision?
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Just tell the Feds you were imitating a rutting Walrus.






























You were lookin' for a tight seal...

Now who's gonna' burn???:lol:


Chris
 
Just don't inform the Bakers Union unless it is on a knead to know basis.
 

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LOLs.... Some of these are pretty good.

I took a short flight and man - it was a LOT quieter. I have a slight whistle down by the base of the door. I"m gonna put a thin layer of foam on the sill and see if that does it. So, so, so much nicer.
 
docmirror said:
LOLs.... Some of these are pretty good.

I took a short flight and man - it was a LOT quieter. I have a slight whistle down by the base of the door. I"m gonna put a thin layer of foam on the sill and see if that does it. So, so, so much nicer.
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Hey, a $1000 headset makes a lot of noise disappear!
 
If the airplane ever gets sold, the buyer could wind up hosed. On his first annual the A&P could look for the parts numbers for the seals. Not finding them, he or she could declare the aircraft unairworthy until approved parts are installed, which, like everything else in aviation are no doubt expensive.
 
If you got the ones for cars you basically wasted the fire retardant stuff since its already built into them.
 
steingar said:
If the airplane ever gets sold, the buyer could wind up hosed. On his first annual the A&P could look for the parts numbers for the seals. Not finding them, he or she could declare the aircraft unairworthy until approved parts are installed, which, like everything else in aviation are no doubt expensive.
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I'm not sure I've ever seen a door seal with a visible part number. I do know that the PMA'd door seals I've used do not have it. So, seems unlikely they'd notice.

Plus, I doubt if the folks doing the annual will care. If they make a big deal over that, then I'll find someone else for my next annual.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I'm not sure I've ever seen a door seal with a visible part number. I do know that the PMA'd door seals I've used do not have it. So, seems unlikely they'd notice.

Plus, I doubt if the folks doing the annual will care. If they make a big deal over that, then I'll find someone else for my next annual.
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All true, and I did go out of my way to say "could". I've hit pretty egregious examples of this, and am myself shopping for a new mechanic. But by the time you figure any of this out you've paid for an inspection, and in my case quite a few repairs to boot.
 
steingar said:
If the airplane ever gets sold, the buyer could wind up hosed. On his first annual the A&P could look for the parts numbers for the seals. Not finding them, he or she could declare the aircraft unairworthy until approved parts are installed, which, like everything else in aviation are no doubt expensive.
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No PN on the FAA aftermarket seals either. In fact, the seals I bought were in the same packaging that the ones from the FAA certified vendor. If questioned by an A&P/IA about the seals, I will once again lie like a rug and say 'original equipment'.

This conforms to what Henning said, that the factory EPDM seals already have the fire retardant built in.
 
As long as you don't log the fact that you used "unapproved" parts and don't tell anyone about it, there should be no issues.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
As long as you don't log the fact that you used "unapproved" parts and don't tell anyone about it, there should be no issues.
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A little late to follow that advice but on a serious note, what you have done is install unapproved parts then proceed to brag about having gotten away with it on a public forum.

Have you never heard the adage that "It's best to let sleeping dogs lie"?
 
I think that door gaskets are akin to upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin. They are also akin to cowlings. A pilot can repair either.


11. Repairing upholstery and decorative furnishings of the cabin, cockpit, or balloon basket interior when the repairing does not require disassembly of any primary structure or operating system or interfere with an operating system or affect the primary structure of the aircraft.


12. Making small simple repairs to fairings, nonstructural cover plates, cowlings, and small patches and reinforcements not changing the contour so as to interfere with proper air flow.
 
If I could be fined and made to pull out all of my new shrubbery, and put back the old dead shrubs because I didn't pull a permit prior to changing the approved landscaping around my business, then you can be put in jail and possibly executed for what you did.
 
JOhnH said:
If I could be fined and made to pull out all of my new shrubbery, and put back the old dead shrubs because I didn't pull a permit prior to changing the approved landscaping around my business, then you can be put in jail and possibly executed for what you did.
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Executed?
 
If you don't really want to know the answer,don't ask the question. Applies to alot of things in life.
 
Yes, the FAA will be knocking on your door soon :yikes:

My question is will your lawless ways stop here or is this the tip of the iceberg? Today it's a door seal, tomorrow it's something else. IMHO, there's a reason for all this paperwork, manuals, testing, certifying and inspecting. Sure, there are some that will always get away with stuff.
 
jonnyjetprop said:
My question is will your lawless ways stop here or is this the tip of the iceberg? Today it's a door seal, tomorrow it's something else.
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Yep. Today a door seal, tomorrow a floor mat. Where will it end?
 
PilotAlan said:
Yep. Today a door seal, tomorrow a floor mat. Where will it end?
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Probably about the time the interior looks beautiful and the paint is fresh.
 
I asked the IA about this, and he looked up some books and ref and confirmed that the door/window seals(non-pressurized) can be replaced by the owner/operator as long as I don't remove the door or frame to do the work.

then I asked him about the materials being 'unapproved' and he said if they come from the same source as the STC parts, they are fine.

However, it's interesting to see the type of people we have on here who are interested in finding some picayune or archaic rule to use to violate someone. Yes - interesting. I started this to find out who those would be and sure enough, they popped right up..

I my plane goes down from exploding door/window seals those folks can point and say; 'I told you!!!'.
 
". . . and the next thing you know your son will be playing for money in a pinch-back suit . . ."

docmirror said:
I asked the IA about this, and he looked up some books and ref and confirmed that the door/window seals(non-pressurized) can be replaced by the owner/operator as long as I don't remove the door or frame to do the work.

then I asked him about the materials being 'unapproved' and he said if they come from the same source as the STC parts, they are fine.

However, it's interesting to see the type of people we have on here who are interested in finding some picayune or archaic rule to use to violate someone. Yes - interesting. I started this to find out who those would be and sure enough, they popped right up..

I my plane goes down from exploding door/window seals those folks can point and say; 'I told you!!!'.
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