I machined one up from a nylon rod in about 15 mins…
Of course you don’t need a Form 1 for this, but generating Form 1s is Socata’s business. And some companies insist on one even for simple screws.
If the nylon is flexible enough to take the form of the static tubes, then I now people who would interested to buy your production without the form!
I don’t have any static port plugs for my plane. Are they a big issue?
Yes; insects like to climb into holes and die there, and eventually this blocks the altimeter plumbing. Also, even though the pipe behind the vent is normally bent upwards to make water entry harder, heavy driving rain will drive water in there.
These things are easy enough to machine, but the tolerance is really tight – about 0.02mm / 0.001" – for them to fit just-right.
Hi,
Does anyone know where to buy those plugs?
Just broke one the other day.
Socata sell them but no idea how much.
The important thing is to leave the bend in them. It matches the upwards-pointed bend in the vent hole moulding. It is tempting to straighten that out which will of course eventually break the tip off.
It’s not a good solution. It is just cheap.
One of my TB20 static port plugs disappeared when the aircraft cover got blown about in a storm. I looked around on the web but the best I could find was for a TBM850 for $50 for a pair.
Peter – what nylon did you use and do you happen to have the dimensions still to hand? Seems like an excellent solution and will give me an excuse to unpack my lathe.
I looked for the dimensions but can’t find them.
The nylon is just a standard nylon rod, bought on Ebay like most materials
The TB receptacle bends the pin into an angle and you need to leave this bend, not straighten it because that will eventually cause it to break, and it will break inside the receptacle.