Submitted by ChickenTeriyakiBoy1 t3_zq2cv6 in technology
Comments
Reasonable_Ticket_84 t1_j0w4914 wrote
>But the big money comes from the parts suppliers. There facilities and manufacturing processes have to be approved. When they are they quite often are the only source for certain parts.
Partially. The biggest problem is in the last few decades companies have been buying each other up, it's so bad now that I believe Rockwell owns 70% of all parts companies for aviation. Basically, one giant monopoly. Even Boeing has shit its pants and is starting to slowly inhouse some manufacturing again.
RverfulltimeOne t1_j10m7g4 wrote
Indeed you are right. Massive consolidation has lead to massive increase in base prices for even simple things.
themagicbong t1_j0wg295 wrote
I worked making parts for Blackhawks for a lil while, and though there is obviously a large diff between military and civilian, there was definitely a giant chunk of change spent on the chain of custody information, and certainly a huge chunk of the cost to produce any part was in labor. The actual pre preg carbon we used was cheap in comparison. Something like a rotor blade may have over 100 layers of carbon, all hand placed, mind you, and ANY foreign object like a hair or something landing on the black carbon between any layer can cause the part to not bind together in that location. All parts were ultrasounded after coming out of the autoclave and before moving onto trimming, and then finally the part went to assembly. I worked in layup. If any void or any imperfection is found, 99% of the time, the $50,000 1' x 1' panel would be thrown in the trash, not much of any repairs allowed. And while we may not have sold a 1' x 1' panel, if we did, that is actually just about what it would cost to purchase from the company I worked for. Everything was meticulously watched by computers, as well as every step of the layup that I did had my name, date, and signature attached.
RverfulltimeOne t1_j10ub0z wrote
Glad read this. Most just step into a plane and think nothing of it. Massive amount of work from all sectors make it possible then countinious never ending maintaining of the things.
phredbull t1_j0wimct wrote
Small, manned aircraft in urban environments is still one of the dumbest ideas ever.
RverfulltimeOne t1_j0vvk5a wrote
Nothing new here..and this is a very costly time consuming process. Its why planes cost so much. I work on Aircraft for a living have most of my adult life. You can't install anything on a FAA approved plane that does not have airworthiness certificates.
Should see the load of paperwork required for one simple fix. The actual forms themselves, then copies of the airworthiness conformity report that comes with the part you installed.
But the big money comes from the parts suppliers. There facilities and manufacturing processes have to be approved. When they are they quite often are the only source for certain parts. Its why rivets cost 3 bucks a piece. Why a washer is over a dollar. Why a 17inch monitor is 20,000 dollars.
But on the flip side should your plane get into a accident as long as paperwork has been done right they can narrow a failure down to a batch of screws that were made.