What's in your anti-AOG Box? You know, that
little box of things you carry in the plane to insure that tough to source items
are on hand when they decide to go Tango Uniform on you in the middle of nowhere
on a trip with family passengers!
Some people's anti-AOG box is as simple as a
credit card - not this CSOB! Why get tagged for full list price of a part AND
the inconvenience of Next Day Air shipping and another day of hotel, meal & car
expenses?
Of course, none of us CSOBs can carry around
every possible thing that can possibly fail, but here's my little shoebox full
of goodies that could get me out of some jams.
It weights about 15 pounds and easily fits in
the rear baggage area.
Here's the contents of my box:
1. O-rings for my Brake Caliper
pistons, hoses & bleeder valves (You know that sick feeling you get when you see
a little red ooze under the caliper area on the ramp?) With these lightweight
puppies on board, it's just a couple hour delay at worst. Also add a set of
o-rings for your specific fuel caps. Fuel streaming out of the top of your caps
in flight can dramatically reduce your range and trash your fuel planning
calculations. Check out some of the
latest Fluorosilicone O-Ring PNs
HERE
PS: Don't forget to have a little
bottle (8 ounces should do it) of 5606 tucked away with your extra engine oil,
fuel tester, Dzus Tool/screwdriver, etc.
2. Serviceable Master Relay. (You
know that sick feeling you get when you turn the Master Switch on and do not
hear that comforting "click" or "thump" of the relay closing? Or that sick
feeling of turning the key on that freshly changed starter and hearing no noise
and not seeing the propeller blade move?) The kind with a continuous duty rating
that could be used as a starter relay too! Double duty CSOB thinking here!
3. A New or Serviceable BZ-R31 / MS25026-1
micro switch which is used on up and down limit flap actuation circuits on the
pilot side flap. These are also the same switches used for up and down limits on
the landing gear transmission housing under the pilot seat. Brand spanking NEW
this switch is $26
HERE How would you like to have the flaps not go up or down on a trip
due to this $26 switch going TU? Talk about "a dollar waiting on a dime!"
Here are some
lower cost sources of this switch: CSOB Source of BZ-R31
HERE Only $14.28!!! Or you
can get the BZ-R31 for $8.23 if you buy 5 from Allied Electronics
HERE. HBC is reported to have them for about $9.28
4. A serviceable mag switch for your airplane.
I carry one because if one of my switches goes TU, this will be a pretty
expensive item for me or the mechanic to source in a big hurry! Do you know the
PN for your mag switch? Might be a good thing to look up one of these days and
pick up a serviceable one to carry in your anti-AOG box from one of these
salvage
sources.
4. A couple of New or serviceable spark plugs
for my engine in the event of mega plug fouling or just plain old plug failure.
Check out the CSOB plug of choice
HERE, the
BG-341
5. A set of brake pads. These are
66-44 pads. You're on a trip and you or some very sharp eyed mechanic or
Beechcraft owner notices your pads are really thin. Uh Oh!
can I really risk those short fields
I was planning to travel to on this trip? Not to worry, toss some new pads on
and in an hour, you're ready to rock n roll!
6. OK, here comes the heavy artillery now folks! A mini
SkyTec
starter. These things are lightweight (6.5 pounds), easy to carry units.
I
just use one of these things as a lightweight "throw-down" in the event my full
size TCM unit ever goes TU. Find a serviceable unit on eBay for a deal.
7. A serviceable magneto for my airplane.
Because when you do that mag check on your trip far away from home base, you
know that sick feeling you get on a Sunday when you go to a single mag and the
engine DIES
! This insures that you have
something a mechanic can put into service and get you home without a day delay
and a big Next Day Air shipment charge.
8. A couple of serviceable CBs of
amp ratings appropriate to your equipment.
9. A spare/serviceable fuel cap
AND a set of o-rings for same, because if one of mine goes TU, you're not feeding any engine for very long
without that cap "down and locked". Or you get to watch your fuel
stream out from the top of the cap (past aged and or cracked o-rings) due to the
vacuum created by your phenomenal Beechcraft airspeed.
10. Another heavy artillery item
is the spare/serviceable boost
pump. If you have an injected engine I think you'll have one heck of a
time getting your plane started without fuel boost at startup.
11. A spare Nav bulb for your
voltage and fixture configuration.
12. A spare Tow Pin because, if
the line boy snaps your pin off, having a replacement pin is the least of your
worries
! At least you can get tugged around
while they deal with evaluating what damage they might have done to the nose
gear and steering mechanism.
Here is the lowest priced Beech
Tow Pin source I've seen.
Whether you need
60-820029-1
or 35-825106,
RNL has it for $20 each. If you find one for less, please let me know.
Click here to Email me
ideas for
your Anti-AOG box.
|