Just had the weirdest day on the line with a Cessna 172

So this morning, I'm doing a routine 100-hour inspection on a 172N. I'm checking the nose gear torque links, and I find a crack in the left one, which is normal enough. But then I go to pull the part from our stock, and the bin is empty. Our supplier is backordered for three weeks. I'm about to ground the plane when our lead, Mike, remembers he saw a serviceable one in a scrap bin from a parts trade last year. We dug it out, cleaned it up, and it passed inspection. The whole thing took an extra four hours, but we got it signed off. Has anyone else ever had a common part just vanish from inventory like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

brookes371d ago

Classic aviation supply chain. You'd think a torque link for a 172 would be like finding a paperclip. Sounds like Mike's hoarding habit finally paid off for once.

verac4021h ago

Right? brookes37 nailed it. I waited six weeks for a simple Cessna door seal last year. The distributor swore it was backordered from the factory. Found three in an old coffee can at a swap meet the next day. Mike's hangar is probably a gold mine of impossible to find parts.