Even 700 Euro’s a very high number (for just testing without leaking finding). Leak finding can be very time consuming and therefore expensive. On a typical aircraft the test takes about 1 our for very simple aircraft, upto 3 hours for high complex IFR aircraft with all equipment redundant and a ceiling of 35.000 Ft.
+1 !
I use Lambert Engineering in Belgium. The tech guy will go anywhare in Europe, so if you can get 2 – 3 planes together then you can split the expenses to get him out.
Just like Achim said, they charge about 30€ – 70€ (net VAT) per instrument.
A typical IFR installation runs about 205€ – 300€, all in.
And as Jesse says, typically 1h – 2h , unless there are problems in the static lines.
Since a simple static test can be performed by an A&P, I test BEFORE the tech comes out to be sure it’s tight. I had a Saratoga that had sat around for a few years and was badly negelected. Took me TWO full days to cahes down all of the leaks, but that was a very extreme case. Once the leaks fixed, the techy spent just 1.5 hours to certify to 91.411 & 91.413.
Thanks for the excellent feedback everyone!
Achim, that’s exactly the plan when I exempt air frame work from my trip to Avionicare
Regarding the excessive prices in Germany I generally (+/- 5€ each) get quoted:
12 Anlagen a´ 65,- Euro ergibt 780,- Euro zzgl. Mwst
1x Stau Statik Test 220,- Euro zzgl.Mwst
Which means 12 electronic units plus pitot static test.
My avionics annual in the UK was about 200GBP.. Including VAT
I am adamant that I am on G-Reg and unwilling to pay the cartel conditions
12 Anlagen a´ 65,- Euro ergibt 780
What is included in this ?
VSI ? TC ? CDIs ?
this is an actual offer I received.. I hope this translates well.. otherwise let me know
I can’t understand. I doesn’t take anywhere near an hour to test each of the listed items. The most time is into the pitot static testing, as it requires hooking up hoses, making sure everything is free of leaks etc.
As stated before on a typical Pipercub (Altimeter, VSI, Airspeed indicator, encoder, VHF COM, Mode S) I tend to spend about on hour.
Of a high end pressurized aircraft with a 30.000 Ft ceiling, dual altimeter, encoder, dual vsi, dual air speed, dual com, dual nav, A/P, DME etc, wouldn’t take longer than 3 hours.
Most customers using my service would come around 125 Euro for a Piper Cub to around 225 Euro for an lets says 172, 182, TB20 etc, an up to 275 Euro for a Cessna or Piper Twin or turbine (excluding VAT) This does not include troubleshooting or leak finding.
It seems like the prices in Belgium and UK as given by others are close to this, and are fair prices IMHO. I can not understand why your received such an offer for the same work.
I can’t understand.
Jesse,
It has nothing to do with how long it takes. It’s a cartel in Germany.
The fact that you do it for a lot less is great for customers (and since you are outside Germany, nobody will probably jump at you as long as you keep a low profile and people will not switch over in the hundreds). The cartel works because most aircraft owners seem to be unware that technicians (who are unaware of the prices charged in Germany) in the neighbouring countries charge a lot less and can still produce the required piece of paper for D-regs.
Thanks Jesse for giving me a sanity check.. Achim may testify that this sort of billing is common in Germany. Hence my original post..
@mrfacts: 1244 Euro is over the top. I have just looked at my last bill for the annual avionics check. The airplane is also a Cessna T182T as yours with some differences to your plane: KLN94, no ADF. The german avionics shop charged me 670 Euro, that is 797,30 Euro with MwST (VAT). This is the regular price for the last years, of course checking only, no repair. I also would be happy to reduce the costs for one hour work.
This “cartel” in Germany has also resulted in a whole industry where people do nothing but perform these avionics tests. They often have little to no qualification besides that, don’t perform installations, don’t do trouble shooting or repair. They travel with their vans and cash in 500-1000 € for an hour worth of testing.
The actual test is trivial. All you need is an Aeroflex 4000 and an idea how to use the device (plus the device for DME/Mode S). Everybody can do this. My favorite test is the autopilot test (also charged with 50 €). The guy does not understand my autopilot and there is nothing you can do on the ground other than check that the light is green. And a GNS430 counts as 3 devices at 50 € + VAT each: VHF + NAV + GPS.
I have no idea why this cartel in Germany is so stable, it’s a pure parasite business. Even the chimney sweeper monopoly ended and there I at least got 25 min of useless activity for 40 € instead of 30 min for 700 €.
making sure everything is free of leaks etc.
Thats the theory. In practice, last time one of the swiss avionics cartel (the company that does “minimum cost” quotes) tried to do it on my aircraft, they made a huge fuss about a leak in the static line, which turned out they just didn’t properly connect the test set…
