Guides for aircraft parts buyers
Practical answers to the questions that slow an order down: how to write an RFQ that comes back complete, what to do in the first hours of an AOG, what condition codes and release certificates really tell you, and how to read a lead time. Where it helps, we add numbers from the supplier quotes our own desk receives.
Newest guides
What is an RFQ? RFQ vs RFP vs RFI, and how an RFQ works in aircraft parts
What an RFQ is, how it differs from an RFP and an RFI, how an aircraft parts RFQ becomes a PO and a shipment, and what ARO, EXW and MOQ mean on a quote.
Subject to prior sale: why the part is gone when your PO arrives, how long a quote lives, and how to hold it
42.2% of quote lines we saw were stock, yet it can sell before your PO lands. Quote validity, subject to prior sale, and how to ask a seller to hold a part.
Transport Canada Form One, ANAC F-100-01 (SEGVOO 003), CAAC AAC-038: which release tags a buyer can accept, and what to ask for instead
Which countries' bilateral agreements accept Transport Canada Form One, ANAC F-100-01/SEGVOO 003 and CAAC AAC-038 — and what to ask for instead.
Buying by part type
Where to buy, and what to ask for by part type: hardware, seals, hydraulics, engine and APU parts, wheels and brakes, batteries, filters and lighting.
Where to buy aircraft parts: OEM, distributor, marketplace, broker or teardown
Where to buy aircraft parts for an airline, MRO or operator: OEM, distributor, marketplace, broker or teardown. Paperwork, speed, risk and checks before paying.
Buying aerospace fasteners: the RFQ line, the minimum order, new surplus stock and the paper behind the lot
How to buy aerospace fasteners: the full part number, MOQ and pack quantities, new vs new-surplus stock, lot traceability and suspect-part red flags.
Buying aircraft O-rings and seals: part numbers, compounds, cure dates and what to put on the RFQ
MS28775, NAS1611, MS29513, M83248: why the same O-ring size is not interchangeable, and what to put on the RFQ: exact P/N, cure date, certificate.
Buying an aircraft hydraulic pump or valve: part number, mod status, condition, release remarks and fluid type
Buying an aircraft hydraulic pump or valve: confirm P/N, dash and mod status, pick OH, SV or exchange, read 8130-3 block 12, match the fluid. Checklist inside.
Buying CFM56 parts: LLPs, hot-section parts and LRUs for the CFM56-5B and -7B, the paperwork each needs, and what to put on the RFQ
Buying CFM56-5B or -7B parts: LLPs vs hot-section parts vs LRUs, the paperwork each needs, PMA and DER repairs, used material and an RFQ checklist.
Buying APU parts and complete APUs: the model on your aircraft, life-limited rotors, LRUs, airframe-side parts, and buy vs exchange vs lease
Buying APU parts or a complete APU: 131-9A/B, APS3200 and GTCP36 LLPs, LRUs, exchange vs lease, the shop visit pack and an RFQ checklist.
Buying aircraft wheels, brakes and tires: assembly, wear remaining, retread level, exchange and release paperwork
Buying aircraft wheels, brakes and tires: wheel or brake assembly, wear pin, retread level, exchange and release paperwork. A checklist for the PO inside.
Buying aircraft batteries: Ni-Cd, lead-acid, lithium-ion and ELT packs — part numbers, shipping, age and paperwork
Buying aircraft batteries: why the P/N and chemistry are not interchangeable, how Ni-Cd, VRLA and lithium ship, age checks before installation, 8130-3.
Buying aircraft filters: element, housing or kit, micron rating, bypass, paperwork and what to put on the RFQ
Hydraulic, fuel, oil, IDG and cabin air filters: why element, housing and kit are different P/Ns, why micron and bypass follow the P/N, and what to ask for.
Buying aircraft lights and lamps: exact part numbers, TSO lights, LED retrofits and what to put on the RFQ
Aircraft lamps and light assemblies: why the exact P/N matters (voltage, base, beam), TSO-C30c and TSO-C96a, LED retrofits under STC or PMA, and the RFQ line.
Certificates, condition and trace
What the paperwork behind a part says, and how to tell a part you can install from one you cannot.
FAA 8130-3 vs EASA Form 1 vs dual release: which certificate to ask for
What FAA 8130-3, EASA Form 1, dual release, UK CAA Form 1 and a CoC each certify, when the EU and FAA accept each other's tags, and what to put in your RFQ.
Aircraft part condition codes: what NE, NS, OH, SV and AR mean, and what paperwork backs them
What NE, NS, FN, OH, SV, RP and AR mean, which release paperwork backs each code, and how condition moved price across 112,000 supplier quote lines.
Aircraft part tag date: how old can an 8130-3 or EASA Form 1 be?
No rule sets a maximum age for an 8130-3 or EASA Form 1. What the tag date records, why new surplus carries old tags, and how to put tag age in an RFQ.
Transport Canada Form One, ANAC F-100-01 (SEGVOO 003), CAAC AAC-038: which release tags a buyer can accept, and what to ask for instead
Which countries' bilateral agreements accept Transport Canada Form One, ANAC F-100-01/SEGVOO 003 and CAAC AAC-038 — and what to ask for instead.
Aircraft parts traceability: trace sources, back-to-birth, non-incident statements and what to ask before the PO
What trace to OEM, 121, 129 or 145 means, when back-to-birth and a non-incident statement matter, LLP cycles remaining, and what to ask on the RFQ.
Aircraft parts receiving inspection: a checklist built on AC 20-154A
A receiving inspection checklist for aircraft parts built on FAA AC 20-154A: documents to expect by source, checks at the dock, what to do on a mismatch.
Back-to-birth traceability for life-limited parts: the documents in the pack, the non-incident statement, and where the chain breaks
What an LLP back-to-birth pack contains, who signs the status sheet and non-incident statement, where the chain breaks, and what to write on the RFQ.
How to verify an aircraft parts supplier and the documents behind a part
After AOG Technics: check a parts supplier's ASA-100 or AS9120 claim, verify an 8130-3 or EASA Form 1 with its issuer, spot red flags, report SUPs.
PMA parts vs OEM: what the FAA approval covers and when a PMA part is the right buy
What FAA-PMA approval covers, how PMA parts are marked and released, when EASA accepts them, when leases rule them out, and how to ask for them on an RFQ.
Alternate, superseded and interchangeable part numbers: what a buyer can accept
Where aircraft part interchangeability is really stated: IPC notations, SBs and ADs, one-way vs two-way, dash numbers, NSNs, and alternates in an RFQ.
Standard aircraft hardware (AN, MS, NAS): which certificate to ask for, and how to buy ten pieces
Do AN, MS and NAS bolts, nuts and rivets need an 8130-3? What the FAA says, what a certificate of conformance should state, and how to buy ten pieces.
Aircraft parts shelf life: cure dates, sealants and how to ask for remaining life
Only 2.2% of seal quote lines we received gave any date or lot. How O-ring cure dates, AS5316 and sealant shelf life work, and what to ask for.
Sourcing and urgency
Getting complete quotes back fast, reading a lead time, and what to do when the aircraft is on the ground.
What is an RFQ? RFQ vs RFP vs RFI, and how an RFQ works in aircraft parts
What an RFQ is, how it differs from an RFP and an RFI, how an aircraft parts RFQ becomes a PO and a shipment, and what ARO, EXW and MOQ mean on a quote.
How to write an aircraft parts RFQ that gets complete, comparable quotes
What to put on each line of an aircraft parts RFQ — condition, certificate, trace, need-by date, AOG flag — so quotes come back complete. Free Excel template.
How to read an aircraft parts quote: every field, what it usually leaves blank, and what to ask before the PO
83.4% of quote lines we received named no Incoterm, 56.3% no trace. Every field on an aircraft parts quote: what it means, the gap, what to ask.
NSN lookup: turning a 13-digit stock number into a part number and an RFQ line, and when military surplus may go on a civil aircraft
NSN lookup for aircraft parts: what the 13 digits encode, free ways to find the part number and CAGE code, and when military surplus may go on a civil aircraft.
What to put on an aircraft parts purchase order: a checklist and a reusable template
What to put on an aircraft parts purchase order: condition, certificate, trace, tag age, Incoterm, packaging and export data, each tied to the risk it removes.
AOG parts sourcing: a buyer's checklist for the first two hours
An AOG buyer's checklist: what to gather before the RFQ, how to send one request to several sources, compare offers fast and check documents before you pay.
Aircraft parts lead time: from “stock” on the quote to the part at your hangar
What stock, ex-stock, ARO and TBA mean on an aircraft parts quote, and how to add ships-from, EXW, freight, customs and DG time to find the real arrival date.
Subject to prior sale: why the part is gone when your PO arrives, how long a quote lives, and how to hold it
42.2% of quote lines we saw were stock, yet it can sell before your PO lands. Quote validity, subject to prior sale, and how to ask a seller to hold a part.
How to find obsolete aircraft parts, and what to check before you buy one
Where out-of-production aircraft parts still come from — surplus, teardown, alternates, PMA, repair — what to check on scarce stock, and how to write the RFQ.
Repair or replace an aircraft component: how to choose between a repair order, an exchange and buying another unit
Repair, exchange or buy? Weigh the repair quote against the outright price, turnaround against downtime, NFF fees, NTE caps, shop capability and the release.
Aircraft parts glossary: the abbreviations on RFQs, quotes, purchase orders and paperwork
A–Z of aircraft parts abbreviations on RFQs, quotes and POs: ARO, STK, TBA, OBO, MOQ, NE/NS/OH/SV, 8130-3, CoC, LLP, CSN, EXW, with links to in-depth guides.
Price, payment and returns
Why quotes for one part number differ, what the real bill includes, and how to pay and return safely.
Same part number, very different prices: how to compare aircraft part quotes
Same part number, same condition, quotes typically 3.6× apart. Why aircraft part prices vary — certs, trace, exchange, freight, units — and how to compare.
Aircraft parts quote comparison: how to put ten suppliers' answers into one table
Ten suppliers, ten formats, half the fields empty: a column template to compare aircraft parts quotes, what to chase when a field is blank, how to score.
The true cost of an aircraft part: minimum order charges, certificate fees and everything between the unit price and your door
Minimum order and line charges, 8130-3 and DAR fees, AOG and hazmat fees, freight minimums: what an aircraft part really costs to your door, and what to ask.
Aircraft part exchange without surprises: core charge, core return deadline, BER and over-and-above charges
Aircraft part exchange checklist: exchange fee, core charge, core return deadline, BER thresholds, over-and-above caps, and what to get in writing on the quote.
How to pay an overseas aircraft parts supplier safely
Changed bank details, lookalike domains, prepaying an unknown broker, sanctions screening: what to check before a wire, and what to do if you paid a fraudster.
Aircraft part warranty returns: out-of-box failure vs warranty claim, the RMA, freight and what to ask before you buy
Out-of-box failure vs warranty claim, RMA process, what voids a warranty, who pays freight both ways, what to check on receipt and what to ask on the quote.
Shipping, customs and export
Incoterms, duty, export licences, dangerous goods and bringing many small orders home in one shipment.
Buying aircraft parts from a US supplier when you are not in the US: the EXW buying sequence, step by step
Found the part in the US, now what. EXW on the quote, a US forwarder, who files the EEI in AES, screening questions, paying safely, papers, import at home.
EXW, FCA or FOB on an aircraft parts quote: who pays, who carries the risk, who files the export
85.6% of aircraft part quote lines we received named no shipping term. EXW vs FCA vs FOB: who pays, where risk passes, who files the export, what to ask.
Consolidating a long aircraft parts list: fewer suppliers, invoices, shipments and customs entries
A 300-line consumables list can become 30 minimums, invoices, wires and customs entries. Four ways to consolidate aircraft parts orders, plus a PO checklist.
Are aircraft parts duty-free? The civil aircraft relief and the 2025–2026 US tariffs
Aircraft parts that enter duty-free in the US, EU and UK: what the claim needs, which 2025–2026 US tariffs exempt them, and what to keep on file.
Export control for US aircraft parts: what a buyer outside the US should prepare
EAR99, 9A991 or ITAR? What decides whether a US aircraft part needs an export license, why suppliers ask for end-user statements, and what to prepare.
Dangerous goods in an aircraft parts order: batteries, oxygen, squibs and sealants, and what to ask before the PO
Batteries, oxygen generators, squibs, sealants: when an aircraft part ships as dangerous goods, what it does to cost and transit, and what to ask before the PO.
Have a list to price?
Send it as it is — Excel, PDF, a scan or the body of an email — to [email protected]. Customers can also upload RFQs and follow every quote and order in our client portal, RFQ Radar.
Aircraft on ground? See how our 24/7 AOG desk works. Before you buy, check what certificates and trace come with each part.