General guidance for purchasing used equipment

Manderson

Manderson

Filing Flight Plan
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Silverdale, WA
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Manderson
As a new Piper Cherokee owner, there are things I want to add to or modify on my plane, but don't necessarily want to purchase new at full price. I've read some things that advise to not go purchasing from Ebay, etc and then asking the A&P to attempt to install it. Right now, I am specifically looking for sun visors to add on. In the not too distant future, I'll probably want to replace one of my radios with a GNS430W (or something like that).

What are the general guidelines for purchasing used? Any gotchas or things to avoid? If there's a book that is really good with this type of information, I'd be happy for the recommendation. Thanks!
 
I don't see a problem with that. They make money on labor as parts can be very competitive. They either want the job or they don't.
 
Generally speaking, I think you want to be looking for "yellow tagged" avionics. This is not a full boat guarantee but it is a legal statement by an FAA certified repair station that the item is airworthy. I would also consult with a good avionics shop. Like anything there are products that are well-know "dogs" that should be avoided.

Avionics shops sometimes get trade-ins. I have a friend with an extremely well equipped 182 that was the result of someone falling in love with the jazzy new Garmin touch-screen stuff. I would much prefer to buy a trade-in from the shop who will be installing it versus asking them to install something (even yellow-tagged) that I found on eBay.
 
STC'd products are usually for installation on one plane and specified by aircraft S/N. They can't legally be installed on another plane. Finding a set of Rosen visors on Ebay may sound like a good deal till you find out you can't legally install them on your plane.
 
Norman said:
STC'd products are usually for installation on one plane and specified by aircraft S/N. They can't legally be installed on another plane. Finding a set of Rosen visors on Ebay may sound like a good deal till you find out you can't legally install them on your plane.
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Some of the manufacturers will sell you a copy of the STC to apply, though... but at nearly the cost of the whole kit, it seems. I still don't understand how something like Rosen sunvisors require an STC. It should be a minor.
 
Norman said:
STC'd products are usually for installation on one plane and specified by aircraft S/N. They can't legally be installed on another plane. Finding a set of Rosen visors on Ebay may sound like a good deal till you find out you can't legally install them on your plane.
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What about in the case of original Piper sun visors? My plane never came with them and I see that there are some for sale from salvaged aircraft.

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Manderson said:
What about in the case of original Piper sun visors? My plane never came with them and I see that there are some for sale from salvaged aircraft.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
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If it's OE, it should just be a log entry.
 
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