Found two original A320 overhead panels on ebay, 30VU (AIR COND) and 21VU (EVAC, EMER, GPWS, OXY, CALL,…). I guess some take words, Beyond Repair to seriously! Panels where completely broken with the intention of prevent further reuse in real aviation. They were relatively cheap for this reason. Even if broken they still had almost all the Korry switches and knobs.
I removed all the all switches and other components from both panels. I figured panel 21VU could still be fixed to some extent… I was bashing that aluminum panel base plate for some time and managed to straighten it and reinstalled glued front panel. Three small pieces were missing but still, it looks like a panel. I swapped the broken wiper switch with pack flow switch from irreparable 30VU panel.
I had more luck three months later when I got a positive answer from one of biggest US dismantlers. They were ready to sell me some AR (as removed) overhead panels they had in stock. WOO HOO, I couldn’t believe what I was reading in that email, not only they where ready to sell but the prices where also quite normal. You probably know what I’m talking about, so far all prices where in thousands of dollars regardless of the part or condition they are in!
Anyway, dollars to euro exchange rate was good so, I quickly decided to take main four overhead panels 25VU, 30VU, 35VU and 40VU. I could go on but that’s what I could afford, I had to think about postage and customs! In about 10 days the package, so big arrived it almost didn’t fit our family station wagon.
I guess now it is time to sell my DIY panels and move on…
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