When $5 = $100...

timwinters

timwinters

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...only in aviation.

Speaking of carb heat boxes.

I'm not seeing the Delta T that I used to when pulling heat and at this year's annual found that the butterfly gasket is getting worn, not fully sealing and needs to be replaced.

So I called Jack at Dynamic Propeller and, yes, he carries them. I just got it:

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A 5" square piece of 1/32" reinforced rubber belt mat'l with 4 holes drilled in it.

Yeah, I know, it's aviation.
 

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But look at how precisely those holes were made.
 
Yeah but you have to consider that it's made of "space-age material".
 
And PMA part would have been 5x as much...
 
Aviation grade, produced using alien technology and powered by the souls of a thousand children.
 
But look at it this way, that part spans 8 days of time! They're clearly not getting paid enough if it takes them 8 days to drill those holes. :p
 
He was blocking off how many days he had to work to pay for that thing. :D

Freaking outrageous....But where else can you get so much enjoyment these days for a lousy $100? The strip club?
 
Looks like a bargain,you pay what the market will accept.
 
wsuffa said:
And PMA part would have been 5x as much...
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Actually, this is the Cessna mfgr'ed part.

I get the reason for high cost when there is tooling required and a low volume. But this? Really?

Of course, owning a Harley is almost as bad. And at least my machine is far more reliable! :goofy:

Greg Bockelman said:
Can you say "Owner Produced Parts"?
Click to expand...

I WILL have EXACT dimensions on file if anyone needs them.
 
Think that's bad? The little plate on the Cessna 152 flap lever that has the 10-20-30 degree marks in over $600, and the seat track stops are $411 (the stop is about 5/8 by 3/8 aluminum block.
 
timwinters said:
Actually, this is the Cessna mfgr'ed part.

I get the reason for high cost when there is tooling required and a low volume. But this? Really?

Of course, owning a Harley is almost as bad. And at least my machine is far more reliable! :goofy:
Click to expand...

Not surprised on the price at all. Was talking to someone the other day about a tech product they plan to bring to market. About $5 per copy for less than 100 copies, goes down to about $0.05 for 10,000 copies.

Tooling, overhead, billing, low volume, paperwork, tracability, FAA-mandated QC, etc all add to the price in very low volumes.
 
I like harleys, but you can't deny they have their issues... I used to have a road king... the first thing that went was the engine. Got an s&s 88. Much smoother after that, especially mated to a 6 speed box.

Sent from my phone thingy using the Tapatalk2 doohickey
 
FastEddieB said:
BIG hijack!

Don't quite "get" the whole Harley thing...

...but I do have a little Sportster motor in my Buell:

6200502220_64c74513f3_z.jpg
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......and Harley, I guess, did not "get" the whole Buell thing - sad to say. Should've had a bright future for this engineering genius
 
timwinters said:
A 5" square piece of 1/32" reinforced rubber belt mat'l with 4 holes drilled in it.
Click to expand...

You gonna post an engineering drawing? I was just getting ready to reverse engineer the one in Snarly Charlie but if you've already got good dimensions that saves me a whole bunch of time.

Or, if you have the dimensions I'll be happy to do the drawing and post it for all.

Thanks,

Jim
 
weirdjim said:
You gonna post an engineering drawing? I was just getting ready to reverse engineer the one in Snarly Charlie but if you've already got good dimensions that saves me a whole bunch of time.

Or, if you have the dimensions I'll be happy to do the drawing and post it for all.

Thanks,

Jim
Click to expand...

Well, since you asked nicely.

;)
 

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5.0 - 0.8 - 0.8 = 3.4

Only works if it is symmetrical on that axis, which I suspect it is.
 
Symmetrical or I would have dimensioned the top too.

Oh, and the other three holes and other three radii are the same size as the one dimensioned too. :rolleyes:
 
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Tim ...

You called out 31 mil "belt material" and I'm not sure what that is. Do you think Neoprene or some other NAPA Aviation material might work?

Thanks,

Jim
 

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I'm not sure, Jim, I'm not intimately familiar with the various synthetic rubbers out there. It looks to me like the same stuff as they use on lightweight conveyors. Again, it's 1/32" thick. Here's a few close ups that better show the reinforcing texture on the surface and edge if it helps.

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If you were single, you'd probably be more conversant with rubber materials :yes:

HOWEVER, I'll try neoprene since it is available in sheets from my local NAPA Aviation Parts Department.

Thanks,

Jim
 
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