Cessna Parts
Posted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 4:19 pm
I am frequently surprised to receive requests by Owners for Part Numbers and for Sources of parts for our airplanes…. those requestors having owned a Cessna 170 for some time…yet they do not possess an Illustrated Parts Catalog (IPC) or a 100 Series Service Manual (Prior to 1962) which directly address these airplanes.
These Owners are actually performing Work on their airplanes apparently without regard to the FAR requirements to have on-hand the appropriate Manuals and Publications pertaining to that Work.
Just today, I received from an Owner who also happens to be an A&P Certificate-holder, a request for the Part-Number of the “Latch that holds the door open at the top of the door”…. and also a “source for latches” …(presuming he means the same part and not some other “latch”.)
Anyone with a IPC can look that part number up and can “Google” that PN and get dozens of references and photos of that common Tinnerman part along with contact info of sellers who have them for sale…. and “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise Sargent Carter” (Gomer Pyle) …. CESSNA (the people who made and still make airplanes) actually SELLS that part and has it IN STOCK.
A casual look through the IPC will tell one that the Tinnerman part number is A1663-017-1 and a Google-search will show that it is sold by many many Tinnerman suppliers…and that Cessna gives it a PN of S2463-1 and sells it as does one of our Supporters, Univair Aircraft Corporation, for about $2.40.
https://www.univair.com/hardware/view-a ... 6-1-catch/
This post is not a complaint about helping 170-Owners with parts and maintenance. It is about helping 170-Owners “Helping Themselves” in a better and more legal manner. This request came not only from an A&P …. but it came from the same guy who repeatedly over many years continually asks for this sort of help…. (”What is the PN? and where do I buy it?”.). When I need a special tool I might borrow it from someone. If I need it another time…I BUY IT for my toolbox. 
Owners: As a minimum effort: GET an IPC and a Service Manual. They are not just mandatory, they are actually very helpful, and they are cheap/free.
And corollarily speaking, many people selected a Cessna 170 over some other modles for their personal airplane because the mfr’r is Still IN Business…. and that is a reassuring fact that indicates parts and support is more likely in the event of needed service. However, Unless WE support the mfr’r…the mfr’r is unlikely to support US when we need it. The FIRST place we should look for service, parts, and maintenance is the mfr’r of the product … and if it is competitively offered we should buy from the mfr’r, not only because it keeps them interested in supporting us, it also keeps competing suppliers in business as-well. (Thank you Univair!)
And don’t come back and post that Cessna is the last-resort for Cessna parts because of “price”. In this particular instance, a Genuine Cessna Distributor, Hill Aircraft, in Atlanta, actually sells the identical part…complete with Cessna documentations…. for LESS money. (Normally $2.26 but gives our Members a discount to $1.76.). https://www.cessnaparts.com/product/s2436-1/
These Owners are actually performing Work on their airplanes apparently without regard to the FAR requirements to have on-hand the appropriate Manuals and Publications pertaining to that Work.
Just today, I received from an Owner who also happens to be an A&P Certificate-holder, a request for the Part-Number of the “Latch that holds the door open at the top of the door”…. and also a “source for latches” …(presuming he means the same part and not some other “latch”.)
Anyone with a IPC can look that part number up and can “Google” that PN and get dozens of references and photos of that common Tinnerman part along with contact info of sellers who have them for sale…. and “Surprise, Surprise, Surprise Sargent Carter” (Gomer Pyle) …. CESSNA (the people who made and still make airplanes) actually SELLS that part and has it IN STOCK.
A casual look through the IPC will tell one that the Tinnerman part number is A1663-017-1 and a Google-search will show that it is sold by many many Tinnerman suppliers…and that Cessna gives it a PN of S2463-1 and sells it as does one of our Supporters, Univair Aircraft Corporation, for about $2.40.
https://www.univair.com/hardware/view-a ... 6-1-catch/
Owners: As a minimum effort: GET an IPC and a Service Manual. They are not just mandatory, they are actually very helpful, and they are cheap/free.
And corollarily speaking, many people selected a Cessna 170 over some other modles for their personal airplane because the mfr’r is Still IN Business…. and that is a reassuring fact that indicates parts and support is more likely in the event of needed service. However, Unless WE support the mfr’r…the mfr’r is unlikely to support US when we need it. The FIRST place we should look for service, parts, and maintenance is the mfr’r of the product … and if it is competitively offered we should buy from the mfr’r, not only because it keeps them interested in supporting us, it also keeps competing suppliers in business as-well. (Thank you Univair!)
And don’t come back and post that Cessna is the last-resort for Cessna parts because of “price”. In this particular instance, a Genuine Cessna Distributor, Hill Aircraft, in Atlanta, actually sells the identical part…complete with Cessna documentations…. for LESS money. (Normally $2.26 but gives our Members a discount to $1.76.). https://www.cessnaparts.com/product/s2436-1/