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At 01:11 PM 10/31/2005, you wrote:
I simply do not believe parts and/or pumps from Tractor Supply" NEED to be
approved for use on aircraft to be installed on an Ercoupe or other
such early airframe design.
Unfortunately, believing it to be so does not make it so.
Where is that written?
Part 21.303
Erco determined that the pump as produced by Delco was suitable for
their application. Actually, they chose from pumps determined by
Continental to be suitable for use on the engines Erco selected.
Going forward, only parts manufactured by Delco and/or sold by
Continental were suitable for repair of these pumps. Delco and
Continental were responsible for determining that parts continued to
meet the requirements initially set forth. Any production changes
made by Delco had to be proven to be compatible with the
applications. None of these are known to be true of parts
manufactured today by the Chin Wah Auto Parts Company and marketed by
Tractor Supply or Pep Boys or NAPA or whomever. And you can be sure
that if the Chin Wah Auto Parts Company determines that they let a
bad batch of diaphragms (100,000 pieces, no doubt) slip through, they
are not going to inform Continental, Univair, the FAA or you. Ditto
if they make a production change that, coincidentally, is fine for
every automotive application, but causes the pump used on the C90-14F
to break off at the drive end and send a big chunk of metal through
the oil pump gears.
Fuel pump parts from the Chin Wah Auto Parts Company COULD be legal
for use on Ercoupes IFF someone like Skyport were to provide the FAA
with engineering data indicating their suitability and establish a
quality assurance program to ensure that they continue to meet those
requirements (and sufficient product liability insurance to
CMA). Skyport then becomes the PMA holder for that part. The
approval process is arduous and even worse when the part is
manufactured outside the US and even more so if the manufacturer is a
foreign entity.
Note that the identical part purchased from Pep Boys STILL is not
legal for use on an Ercoupe.
John Cooper
Skyport Services
PO Box 249
4996 Delaware Tnpk
Rensselaerville, NY 12147
518 797-3064
Fax 518 797-3865
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