May_June_2022 - 18

COVER STORY
The lead times on parts is causing some
customers to opt out of engine overhauls
and stick with simpler repairs.
PINNACLE AIRCRAFT ENGINES
benefit of two sets of eyes on one problem is
that it ensures different approaches.
Where one person may see a problem as
easily routine, Cryer continued, " Another
guy can look at it and say, 'Hey, you might
want to try this because it's not as common
as you think.' "
The Parts Problem
What's become the most common problems
each is facing is parts and wrestling with an
increasingly strained supply chain.
For Kuti, cylinders have become more
and more difficult to secure.
" There's a lot of problems with supply
chain. Mainly, the biggest thing right now
is cylinders. Getting cylinders for some of
these engines is very difficult, especially
if you kind of have an oddball engine that
makes it even harder. Because the manufacturers
aren't changing over tooling to build
cylinders for an engine that there's just not
a lot of them out there, " he said.
The scarcity is not limited to cylinders,
however.
18 MAY/JUNE 2022
" I think it's really across the market,
everybody is seeing it, even oil filters and
spark plugs are difficult to get, for us and
also for maintenance facilities as well, to
be able to complete some of the tasks that
need to be done, " Kuti continued.
It's oil filters that Cryer is having the
toughest time with finding.
We try to order as much
stuff as we can as soon as we
know the engine's coming,
and try to get stocked up.
" The biggest thing right now we see,
as far as what's hard to get, are oil filters.
You can't get a Champion oil filter. They're
hard to get. And if you can get them, you
can get one or two at a time, " Cryer said.
" We've always used Champions. But now,
just because we can't get Champions, we're
putting Tempest on as well. So, whatever
we can get oil filters, we're just buying
them and getting them, so we have them. "
Tires may be the next hard to find item,
Cryer said he's heard, so they've been stocking
up on those while they're still available,
should that prediction come true.
Stocking up on what can be found is,
so far, the best solution to overcoming the
problem, with hunting for parts becoming
almost a full-time job by itself.
" We try to order as much stuff as we can
as soon as we know the engine's coming,
and try to get stocked up. We buy stock as
much as we can, " Kuti said.
" We have to hunt pretty much every day
for parts, " he continued. " If I have an engine
in here that I know cylinders are hard to
get, we're looking every single day, because
sometimes a larger distributor may get the
cylinders in and not have them sold yet. So,
they'll actually put them up for sale, and
if you don't check every day, they're gone.
They sell super fast. So, it's really just staying
on top of it. Every single day, hunting
for what you need, and just hoping that
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
May_June_2022

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