Glen Davis Posted November 6 Report Share Posted November 6 My mixture cable needs replacement and the McFarland replacement cost about $800 according to my mechanic. It’s a 1989 M20J. Could that be correct? Seems expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSMooniac Posted November 6 Report Share Posted November 6 that is 2-3x what it was 8-10 years ago when I purchased, so that is probably right between inflation and new private equity ownership of McFarlane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted November 6 Report Share Posted November 6 I replaced mine a few years ago and it was half that. Capitalist owners doing capitalism at McFarlane. I'm told this is optimal for us. Unfortunately, they were also the OPP option, so maybe there's another cable fabricator somewhere? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ragsf15e Posted November 6 Report Share Posted November 6 1 hour ago, Glen Davis said: My mixture cable needs replacement and the McFarland replacement cost about $800 according to my mechanic. It’s a 1989 M20J. Could that be correct? Seems expensive. Interesting that they are different, but here’s the one for an F on their website. Honestly, I think I paid close to that for my throttle cable 5 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeOH Posted Thursday at 04:19 AM Report Share Posted Thursday at 04:19 AM Wow! Free shipping...such a deal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Bee Aeroproducts Posted Thursday at 04:32 AM Report Share Posted Thursday at 04:32 AM Cablecraft was the best mfg Iam not sure who they sold the aviation division to . To prolong service life , cover with 3/8 as1072 firesleeve , same as I do to reduce heat on my custom 304 tubing for fuel psi . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schllc Posted Thursday at 02:09 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 02:09 PM These prices are not only here to stay, they will be going up and will never go down again. All of these manufacturers know they have us by the short and curlys, and they are going to pound us relentlessly. I don't know what the threshold is before our niche pushes back but they are intent on finding the limit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PT20J Posted Thursday at 03:37 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 03:37 PM My A&P tried to buy a throttle cable from Beechcraft for a Sundowner and was quoted just shy of $10,000. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted Thursday at 03:51 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 03:51 PM This is just going to drive more and more OPP home-brew replacements out of necessity. If people are going to keep older airplanes flying, there won't be any other choice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1980Mooney Posted Thursday at 04:50 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 04:50 PM 18 hours ago, KSMooniac said: that is 2-3x what it was 8-10 years ago when I purchased, so that is probably right between inflation and new private equity ownership of McFarlane. 18 hours ago, EricJ said: I replaced mine a few years ago and it was half that. Capitalist owners doing capitalism at McFarlane. I'm told this is optimal for us. Unfortunately, they were also the OPP option, so maybe there's another cable fabricator somewhere? 11 hours ago, Gee Bee Aeroproducts said: Cablecraft was the best mfg I am not sure who they sold the aviation division to . Torque Capital acquired Cablecraft and a couple other companies in 2021 and combined them. Torque's "investment criteria" is clear - "Typically control equity investments where we can actively partner with management to maximize returns". Partner with?...post Private Equity acquisition, the former company management is just a dog on a leash. http://torquecap.com/investment-criteria Vance Street Capital acquired McFarlane and a number of other aircraft part suppliers. When they acquired McFarlane they also announced that they were "partnering with" their target - complete BS - more like slavemaster and slave "partnership". https://vancestreetcapital.com/news/2021/10/vance-street-capital-partners-with-leading-general-aviation-pma-manufacturer-mcfarlane-aviation/ They formed Victor Sierra Aviation Holdings LLC (“VS Aviation”) to market them. They have 14 companies so far. https://victor-sierra.com/news-insights/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schllc Posted Thursday at 04:52 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 04:52 PM Yep Equity firms see us as a cash machine, and they know they can put nearly any price on their goods and we have to accept it because there isn't anywhere else to go. They will wring these providers out for every cent, until GA collapses or morphs into jets and uber rich hobbyists are all thats left. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeOH Posted Thursday at 07:11 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 07:11 PM 2 hours ago, 1980Mooney said: ...where we can actively partner with management to maximize returns". Partner with?...post Private Equity acquisition, the former company management is just a dog on a leash.... Typically, they just euthanize the present 'dog', and put their already trained dog on a new leash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted Thursday at 09:23 PM Report Share Posted Thursday at 09:23 PM On 11/6/2024 at 4:26 PM, EricJ said: I replaced mine a few years ago and it was half that. Capitalist owners doing capitalism at McFarlane. I'm told this is optimal for us. Unfortunately, they were also the OPP option, so maybe there's another cable fabricator somewhere? Indeed, GA suffers from a surplus of capitalism…what we need is greater regulation. That should do it. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted Friday at 04:34 PM Report Share Posted Friday at 04:34 PM All the throttle, prop and fuel cables on a Thrush we got from a boat cable manufacturer in FL. I thought it funny that the box they came in proclaimed that they were NOT to be used on aircraft. Unfortunately as we had power levers and not vernier controls that won’t work on our recip aircraft. Jacking up prices to increase profits often doesn’t work, often it just means your sales go to almost nothing as people and shops find alternate sources of supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
231MJ Posted Friday at 08:46 PM Report Share Posted Friday at 08:46 PM My throttle is a little stiff. I asked McFarlane if they could recondition/lube mine. No was the answer - you need to buy a new one. (But I'm not really sure if the cable is lubed or just the vernier mechanism). Crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted Saturday at 04:09 PM Report Share Posted Saturday at 04:09 PM On 11/7/2024 at 11:52 AM, Schllc said: Yep Equity firms see us as a cash machine, and they know they can put nearly any price on their goods and we have to accept it because there isn't anywhere else to go. They will wring these providers out for every cent, until GA collapses or morphs into jets and uber rich hobbyists are all thats left. The GA supply chain is in desperate need of some regulatory relief and has been for quite some time. It may be too late to make a difference. I’m nervously watching Univair and Wag Aero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schllc Posted Saturday at 05:17 PM Report Share Posted Saturday at 05:17 PM On 11/8/2024 at 11:34 AM, A64Pilot said: Jacking up prices to increase profits often doesn’t work, often it just means your sales go to almost nothing as people and shops find alternate sources of supply. That is the challenge with GA, there aren’t alternatives. The barrier to entry is enormous, and the market is small. You are right that it likely won’t be sustainable, but the equity firms dont care about longevity. They only look at cash flow per quarter and after their nut is made they don’t care about the company. the only solution is as @Shadrachsays, regulatory relief. It needs to be huge and fast if it has a chance of working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted Sunday at 02:05 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:05 PM (edited) 22 hours ago, Shadrach said: The GA supply chain is in desperate need of some regulatory relief and has been for quite some time. It may be too late to make a difference. I’m nervously watching Univair and Wag Aero. It just might could trickle down IF a certain Billionaire gets the job that he says he’s prepared to do. For what it’s worth it wouldn’t be the first time, Ronald Reagan commissioned a waste fraud and abuse study in 84 by a private businessman, and saved a whole bunch of money. This is NOT meant to be a political post in any manner, but just perhaps the FAA in particular might just get a mandate to back off and concentrate on Airliners and airliner manufacturers etc. This isn’t some nut job blogger, it the Wall Street Journal. Edited Sunday at 02:11 PM by A64Pilot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A64Pilot Posted Sunday at 02:21 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:21 PM The FAA changed in 1996 from the Valujet crash, up until that time their mandate from Congress was to PROMOTE and regulate aviation, after that crash they convinced Congress that promoting aviation got in the way of them regulating it, Congress removed promote and the whole culture began to change, so since then it’s OK to strangle businesses. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffy Posted Sunday at 02:53 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:53 PM 23 minutes ago, A64Pilot said: wThe FAA changed in 1996 from the Valujet crash, up until that time their mandate from Congress was to PROMOTE and regulate aviation, after that crash they convinced Congress that promoting aviation got in the way of them regulating it, Congress removed promote and the whole culture began to change, so since then it’s OK to strangle businesses. Just as an aside note- The Capt of that Valuet was a very close friend of mine. I gave her eulogy. She was a good pilot an a great person to know. Just one of several friends that are no longer here because of various accidents in this game we call "flying" It is the main reason why I sometimes become pedantic in my postings trying to stress safety and following the rules in aviation. It saves lives! Sorry for the drift 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted Sunday at 02:59 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 02:59 PM 19 minutes ago, A64Pilot said: The FAA changed in 1996 from the Valujet crash, up until that time their mandate from Congress was to PROMOTE and regulate aviation, after that crash they convinced Congress that promoting aviation got in the way of them regulating it, Congress removed promote and the whole culture began to change, so since then it’s OK to strangle businesses. Something as simple as simplifying the mfg certification for parts that are non critical to flight. The FDA classifies medical devices according to risk. The level of regulatory oversight is determined by classification. Then there is FDA approval vs clearance which is a process to determine safety by comparison to an existing approved product. I’m not saying it’s a perfect fit, but we should not be regulating light bulbs and fuel servos under the same set of regs and level of scrutiny. It’s bad for everyone, including the FAA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadrach Posted Sunday at 03:12 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:12 PM 6 minutes ago, cliffy said: Just as an aside note- The Capt of that Valuet was a very close friend of mine. I gave her eulogy. She was a good pilot an a great person to know. Just one of several friends that are no longer here because of various accidents in this game we call "flying" It is the main reason why I sometimes become pedantic in my postings trying to stress safety and following the rules in aviation. It saves lives! Sorry for the drift I’m very sorry for your loss Cliff. That was one of the most horrific commercial aviation accidents of my lifetime. There was no way out of it. My sincere condolences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffy Posted Sunday at 03:18 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:18 PM Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCarlton Posted Sunday at 03:42 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:42 PM On 11/6/2024 at 12:57 PM, Glen Davis said: My mixture cable needs replacement and the McFarland replacement cost about $800 according to my mechanic. It’s a 1989 M20J. Could that be correct? Seems expensive. For my F, I paid $723 for the mixture cable last Dec with 3.7 hours labor to install. Although expensive, for a specialized part made in the US in limited quantities, it seemed reasonable to me. Guessing they sell if for twice the cost it takes to make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cliffy Posted Sunday at 03:43 PM Report Share Posted Sunday at 03:43 PM To add to the GA Cash Cow mantra one only has to look at the proliferation of RAMP FEES. When one or two operators take over an entire airport (at the sponsors approval) we have no choice but to "pay up" at the point of a virtual gun. Until regulations change it will remain so BUT - there is a reason why GA certified Standard category aircraft have a better safety record than Experimental Regulation change (or loosening) is a two edged sword, do you accept the inevitable increase in accident rate or don't you? The two are concomitant with each other By being locked into a "Type Design" where every part down to the smallest screw is called out for in that APPROVED Type Certificate and that design is a protected product for life (maybe a sunset law on how long a type design is protected -much like the life of a patent) we are stuck with what we have. Question= Why is Type Design protected more than a patent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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