Av-101: "Arrrr" Aircraft Part Conditions

A friend of a friend told me about new employee in his company who asked him about buying an AR part. Not A-R, but Arrrr. Upon hearing the question, I ran straight to my calendar to see if was already September 19, International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Did I forget to wear my eye patch again?

“Arrrr, me hearty, yer butchery of aviation lingo will bite ya sumday like a hungry hammerhead,” sez I. “I’ll git yer straight or you’ll soon be walkin’ the plank!” To be honest, I’d rather participate in Talk Like A PILOT Day.

There are three simple rules that will guide you in your pursuit of used aircraft parts. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are. The best you're going to get is this Av-101 lesson, which will attempt to elucidate you regarding the basic conditions of used parts.

AR = As Removed

The perfect AR part may or may not exist, but it has already been rejected by QC. In theory, AR means that the part is in the same state as when it was removed from the airframe. In practice, it means almost anything you want it to.

Here are two parts correctly termed AR:

One part came from a teardown of a recently retired B737NG. It was correctly identified, carefully cataloged, paperwork attached, and lovingly handled with white gloves every step of the way. This is called a “clean” part.

The other one was ripped out of the plane because it wouldn’t work. It was tossed to the ground below, bounced a few times, and left outside overnight so as to build up a nice patina of rust.

Guess which one I bought?

The answer to that is “both”. I have learned to use my experience and good judgment. Unfortunately, that experience often came from bad judgment in the first place. So yes, I’ve bought both types of AR parts, and I’ve learned along the way to ask questions like, “Was this from a teardown, or was it removed for cause?” Another good question is, “Did you go to prison for washing AR parts and passing them off as Overhauled?” The lesson here is that you should know the pedigree, know your vendor, and know that when you roll the dice, you may be rolled.

SV = Serviceable

Everybody loves Serviceable…until they don’t. SV is the broad umbrella that covers parts that are supposed to work when they are installed on the plane. And that might be all that they do: “function on fit”, with a warranty of 30 seconds or 30 feet, whichever comes first. SV covers a plethora of possibilities. It includes Inspected (IN), Functionally Tested (FT), Bench Tested (BT), Repaired (RP), or just plain Serviceable (SV). SV is not just a gray area; it is truly fluorescent gray.

Assuming that the part required some repair, an SV unit has received, at the minimum, just enough attention to make it work. “Give it a cleaning and touch of paint and call it serviceable,” is a conversation that you’ll never hear – but it happens every day. Another is, “Calibrate it a little bit – then we’ll call it serviceable and sell it for a higher price.”

Here’s a digression: When there is only one shop in the entire world that claims to be able to tag a particular unit, they’re bending the rules somewhere. They’re the ones who perform the minor repairs that I just mentioned.

On the other hand, an ethical shop will analyze a unit’s faults, dismantle it as far as necessary, and replace/refurbish every piece part that needs it. And follow that with a by-the-book thorough testing.

To a buyer, the beauty of SV parts is that they are cheaper than the next step up, Overhauled. And to a seller, SV parts can carry the highest profit margins and the shortest warranties. Who is right? Yes.

OH = Overhauled

And what is Overhauled? Here is another conundrum. “An OH unit has the 100% kit,” is the common belief. “It’s got all new seals, gaskets, screws, and other expendables – that’s the 100% kit.”

Riiiiiiiight. OK then, show me in the Component Maintenance Manual (CMM) exactly what is in this 100% kit of yours. I’m waiting…. Oh, you can’t find it? The fact is that there are almost no CMMs that call for the replacement of every possible expendable item.

Shops like to go to town with overhauls because they make a profit from every single item. And they feel safer offering a long warranty when they know that the part has been thoroughly overhauled. Usually, they are right. On both counts.

But it may not always be necessary to replace every seal and gasket; in fact, at times it may be unwise to disturb a good seal. Especially if the Purchasing Department can’t find any of them for sale!

That is what you call a “light” overhaul, which may be materially no different than a good repair. But it’ll cost more and carry a longer warranty. Do not cast aside the concept of a light overhaul casually. It should be cast aside with great force.

NS = New Surplus

           Now we’re getting to the point where trace is becoming an issue.

           That’s not to say that it’s not an issue anyway, but now is when QC inspectors get a chance to really flex their muscles. For NS material they’re hoping for OEM certs, but they’ll settle for an ATA-106 cert from an FAA-authorized source. 

New Surplus is material that an airline purchased and never used. The only problem with “New” Surplus is that it could be 50 years old and still considered to be new. As with any other parts, consider the possibility that rubber parts may have deteriorated or exceeded their cure date. NS could have passed through several hands, but if it hasn’t been installed and the paper trail is complete, it’s still NS.

NE = New

NE material has never been used, but it may have been sold (and resold) to distributors. It still has a perfect back-to-birth paper trail, including the manufacturer’s material cert.

FN = Factory New

Top of the heap! Maybe.

There is no universally agreed-upon distinction between NE and FN, but this is how I see it: FN material comes straight from the OEM. We’re talkin’ OEM packaging, the works. It has the original manufacturer’s material cert. When the call is, “Show me the birth certificate!” FN comes through. This is the stuff that even the most persnickety QC inspector will pass without a murmur.

To conclude – there is no conclusion, this goes on forever. Every single condition carries its own caveats. Hence "Caveat Emptor!"