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Parts Quest
The first question T-craft folk ask is "Where do you get parts?" I recently had to buy some new aileron hinge brackets for my project... my parts search experience is probably typical.
Before I started my parts quest I wanted to get a reference point: how much SHOULD aileron hinges cost? I found Piper hinge brackets in Aircraft Spruce at $50 each and in WagAero at $56. So I decided my goal would be to aquire T-craft hinges for around $50...or less!
I found Taylorcraft aileron hinge brackets available in 4 locations:
(1) eBay. A center hinge bracket with bearing and bellcrank recently sold for $100 on eBay. I had to pass...I didn't need the bearing or bellcrank and anyway $100 was way over my $50 budget. The best way to work eBay is to set up the search function to notify you when anything "Taylorcraft" comes up. Otherwise you can spend alot of time clicking through the thousands of aircraft parts available there every day. And, like any auction, be sure you know what the part is worth before you start bidding.
(2) Forrest Barber. I got two new-old-stock aileron hinge brackets from Forrest for $40 each. They are just beautiful parts and the price was right. Forrest answers email most of the time, but the best way to contact him, I found, is to call Tuesday or Thursday afternoons. It's always fun to talk to Forrest!
(3) Vincent Andersen ([email protected]) He has a stock of used T-craft parts, some pictured on his website. Vincent answers email promptly, accepts PayPal payments, and ships the next day. I got a very nice used outer hinge bracket with the bearing for $35.
(4) The Factory. I called the factory (they don't answer email) and talked to "Will", nice fellow, very helpful. I told Will I wanted to buy two hinge brackets, casting only no bearing, and gave him the part numbers. Will said they had the parts in stock but he couldn't sell them because they were not approved. He said they were waiting for a Form 8130 before they could sell the parts...probably about 2 weeks away. I asked how much they cost.
"$195" Will said.
"$195!?" I said, "That's almost $100 each!"
"No, no, no" says Will, "Not $195 for the pair. They're $195 EACH."
Bob Gustafson
Before I started my parts quest I wanted to get a reference point: how much SHOULD aileron hinges cost? I found Piper hinge brackets in Aircraft Spruce at $50 each and in WagAero at $56. So I decided my goal would be to aquire T-craft hinges for around $50...or less!
I found Taylorcraft aileron hinge brackets available in 4 locations:
(1) eBay. A center hinge bracket with bearing and bellcrank recently sold for $100 on eBay. I had to pass...I didn't need the bearing or bellcrank and anyway $100 was way over my $50 budget. The best way to work eBay is to set up the search function to notify you when anything "Taylorcraft" comes up. Otherwise you can spend alot of time clicking through the thousands of aircraft parts available there every day. And, like any auction, be sure you know what the part is worth before you start bidding.
(2) Forrest Barber. I got two new-old-stock aileron hinge brackets from Forrest for $40 each. They are just beautiful parts and the price was right. Forrest answers email most of the time, but the best way to contact him, I found, is to call Tuesday or Thursday afternoons. It's always fun to talk to Forrest!
(3) Vincent Andersen ([email protected]) He has a stock of used T-craft parts, some pictured on his website. Vincent answers email promptly, accepts PayPal payments, and ships the next day. I got a very nice used outer hinge bracket with the bearing for $35.
(4) The Factory. I called the factory (they don't answer email) and talked to "Will", nice fellow, very helpful. I told Will I wanted to buy two hinge brackets, casting only no bearing, and gave him the part numbers. Will said they had the parts in stock but he couldn't sell them because they were not approved. He said they were waiting for a Form 8130 before they could sell the parts...probably about 2 weeks away. I asked how much they cost.
"$195" Will said.
"$195!?" I said, "That's almost $100 each!"
"No, no, no" says Will, "Not $195 for the pair. They're $195 EACH."
Bob Gustafson
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