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Thread: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

  1. #1
    Senior Member Av8r_Sed's Avatar
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    Default Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    I just came across information on another forum that the FAA has issued an Unapproved Parts Notification letter against Ameri-King Corporation.

    "The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined Ameri-King Corp., located at 17881 Sampson Lane, Huntington Beach CA 92648, manufactured, sold or distributed parts and articles for installation on FAA type certificated aircraft, which did not conform to an approved design, but were represented as FAA approved."

    The FAA letter can be found here: http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/p...13NM460018.pdf

    The landing page for Ameri-King indicates the web site is temporarily closed??? http://www.ameri-king.com/

    It appears at the moment that any products manufactured by them after Dec 28, 2015 cannot be installed on type certified aircraft. Further, the FAA is investigating older products and may issue an Airworthiness Directive if they are found to be unsafe.

    This could turn out to be another gotcha for a lot of us. I've just got their SK 350 encoder, but a lot of folks have one of their ELT's.
    -- Paul S
    Model III SN910
    582 IVO Med

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Av8r3400's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    I've got one of their 406 ELTs in the mangy and an old one of their 121.5 models in the yellow plane.

    I saw this on AVWEB too...
    Av8r3400
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    AV8R_Sed,

    Interesting.......back in January I posted a question in this section of the List titled "Encoders" (I believe you responded to it), which was inspired by failures of two different Ak-350 encoders in our kitfox. The first one, purchased when our Kitfox was built went way out of calibration and could not be re-calibrated by my avionics shop. The second one was installed a bit less than 2 years ago and went out of calibration this winter (per my post of 1/2016). On the second one my shop was able to adjust the "low" setting to meet requirements. Both of the AK-350's I have had experience with were manufactured within the last 10 years. I know another list member had one that has held up for around 25 years - mileage varies.

    What I am curious about, and what is not included in the FAA Unapproved Parts Notification on Ameri-King is if the failure to comply with the parts approval is a technical paperwork issue or flat out junk component parts used in the product that can affect performance and durability.

    For the two encoders I had screw up - they failed in between two year periods for routine inspection.

    Sincerely,

    Dave S
    Kitfox 7 Trigear
    912ULS Warp drive
    St Paul, MN

  4. #4
    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    The FAA document says that they were not confident that the parts were being manufactured in accordance with their approved design. This would not be a paperwork issue. Rather, it is alluding to poor quality manufacturing, poor QC or components not meeting the approved design specs.

    It is a rare move for the FAA to shut down a company for multiple products. This didn't happen because of a bad batch of products or subcomponents, in that case the FAA would have made and AD with a specific date or serial number range which would need to be removed from service or inspected.

    The avionics guys where I work say that the inside of the AK products have very poor/horrible workmanship.

    I feel bad for all of you that have AK ELTs and encoders. It makes me glad that I ended up with an ACK ELT.
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

  5. #5
    Senior Member jdmcbean's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    We have used this as well... for some time.. We changed over to the ACK about 3 years ago..

    We are a dealer for ACK.. so if your looking to replace give us a call.
    John McBean
    www.kitfoxaircraft.com
    208.337.5111

    "The Sky is not the Limit... It's a Playground"

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    I had my condition inspection Friday and learned that my 3 year old Ameri-King
    ELT had died (121.5 only).
    Probably in my best interest to go to a 406 since who is monitoring 121.5 ?
    I have to ask who is monitoring the 406's or whatever the frequency is?
    Do the replacement batteries for the ACK E-04 406 really cost $150 and do they need to be replaced yearly?
    Is it a mistake to go with a EBC 502 that transmits on 121.5 and 243.0 MHz?
    I had one in my other Kitfox for 21 years and it still works and easy to install.
    Who monitors 243.0 MHz?
    I will appreciate any advice on ELT's.
    Thanks
    Herman

  7. #7
    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    Nobody is monitoring 121.5 . . . sort of. I believe control towers still monitor 121.5. SAR planes, like CAP, still have equipment to find downed planes with 121.5 ELTs. But there aren't satellites monitoring 121.5. To get SAR to launch somebody has to hear the ELT signal or it will happen when you file a flight plan and don't show up.

    The 406 ELTs will get picked up by a satellite within minutes and give a very accurate position. If a 406 ELT has GPS capabilities (built in GPS or connected to an external GPS data source) it sends your GPS coordinates and the accuracy is within a few feet. When you buy a 406 ELT you have to register it; this means they know the aircraft, owner, have your contact info, etc. The SAR process will get started immediately.

    The ACK-04 406 ELT has a 5 year battery. Yes, they cost about $150, but that is only $30/yr.

    IMO I wouldn't put a 121.5 ELT in an aircraft these days. The 406 ELTs have so much more to offer. I put the ACK-04 406 ELT in my plane and it is gets GPS position data from the Garmin G3X.
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

  8. #8
    Senior Member Dave S's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    Herman,

    To get a good background on how the Sarsat system functions (which works off the 406 ELTs) go to http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/ . Its the same system PLBs work off of.

    Regarding the cost of the batteries, I installed an Artex unit (about $900 when I bought it) which was fairly new at the time and had an "official" battery life of 5 years. The Lithium batteries used with this unit have had pretty good service life and the replacements are now good for 7 years (Officially) and lists for $178. I found when I replaced the original battery at 5 years it was still healthy.

    FWIW - My decision to go with the 406 from the start was based on the fact that the 121.5 - well...if nobody is home and the lights are out...what good is that?

    Sincerely,
    Dave S
    Kitfox 7 Trigear (Flying since 2009)
    912ULS Warp Drive

    St Paul, MN

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    Dave and Phil
    Thanks for the great info. and it makes total sense to not waste time with 121.5.
    I will order a 406 as soon as the McDeans return my call from today.
    I would appreciate the advantages regarding integrating the 406 with a GPS versus not integrating.
    Is it a matter of more accurate pin pointing the Lat and Long in case of an incident?
    Does it track like a SPOT does but continuously versus every 10 minutes like my current SPOT does?
    Is there a yearly fee like the SPOT has?
    I appreciate this forum for the readily available info..
    Thanks again
    Herman

  10. #10
    Senior Member PapuaPilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ameri-King in Trouble with FAA

    Herman,

    The GPS input gives a much more accurate location in the event the ELT is activated. They are not a like a SPOT and can't be used for tracking. They are just an ELT. There are not any fees, but you need to register them with SARSAT NOAA.

    Many pilots and trekkers are carrying PLBs too, which also need to be registered. These use the same frequency as the 406 ELT and should be activated only in the event of an emergency. They are good to have but not a replacement for an ELT. A PLB won't do you any good if you are incapacitated in an accident.
    Phil Nelson
    A&P-IA, Maintenance Instructor
    KF 5 Outback, Cont. IO-240
    Flying since 2016

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