McFarlane Flight Control Cables
McFarlane has over 4,500 cable assemblies and chains in stock. We have FAA-PMA approved cables available in corrosion resistant stainless or high strength galvanized steel for most 100 and 200 series Cessna aircraft, PA28, PA32, and PA34 series Piper aircraft and G-164 series Ag-Cat aircraft. McFarlane also stocks cables for single engine piston and many turbine and twin engine Beechcraft, and stabilator adjust cables for Piper J3, PA11, PA12, PA14, PA16, PA18, PA18A, PA20 and PA22 aircraft.
McFarlane quality is second to none!
Cables available in galvanized or stainless steel
Cables are sold in kits or separately
When you order cable and terminals from McFarlane you will always receive a certified product!
Our large volume purchases give you great prices
We are one of a few DOD QML-6117 certified manufacturers of aircraft cable assemblies!
Quality
McFarlane Aviation flight control cables offer quality that is second to none in the aircraft industry. Our quality assurance procedures and personnel are relentless, ensuring that our aircraft flight control cables meet the highest standards possible. These standards exceed the military specifications that govern aircraft flight control cables.
Each McFarlane cable assembly is made from the highest quality U.S. manufactured materials from suppliers that have been listed by the U.S. government as being tested and qualified for government use (QPL listed). McFarlane Aviation, Inc. is also a D.O.D. approved cable supplier. Before cable assemblies are accepted a sample from each lot is subjected to a test load equal to 100% of their rated minimum breaking strength and then destroyed. Every cable terminal swaged on a cable assembly is inspected for proper dimension. All cable assemblies produced are pre-stretched to eliminate rigging and growth changes after installation. In addition, each and every McFarlane cable assembly must endure a sustained proof load equal to 60% of the cables minimum rated breaking strength assuring the safest and highest quality aircraft flight control cables available.
Stainless Steel or Galvanized Steel Cable?
Stainless steel is corrosion resistant and works well in environments such as salt air, water saturation, or agricultural chemicals. Galvanized carbon steel and stainless cables are soaked in a Mil-SPEC rust preventative and lubricating compound. In normal environments the galvanized cable will not suffer from corrosion damage for decades. How to Determine Flight Cable Composition
The advantages of galvanized cable are its wear resistance and cost. Galvanized cables resists abrasion wear four or five times longer than stainless steel. Stainless steel wire is high in nickel and much softer than the carbon steel wire. Stainless steel cable will show signs of wire wear at pulleys and fairleads much quicker than the galvanized carbon steel wire. Stainless steel cable costs about 30% more than galvanized steel cable. We recommend using galvanized steel cables except in coastal geographical areas, agricultural aircraft, float planes, and other applications where the cable is exposed directly to water. Only McFarlane has FAA-PMA approved galvanized cables for the new production Cessna aircraft.
The majority of cables for Cessna aircraft follow a numbering system to designate the cable as stainless steel or galvanized steel. Cables with a dash number from 0 to 99 or from 200 to 299 are typically galvanized steel. The equivalent stainless steel cable is typically found by adding 100 to the dash number of a galvanized cable. For example, part numbers MC0510105-16 and MC0510105-208 are galvanized cables and MC0510105-116 and MC0510105-308 are stainless cables. There are exceptions to this system. AG-CAT and Cessna 188 Series ag-aircraft cables are mostly stainless steel, and any cable with a dash number that includes an S or CS is also stainless steel.
All Beechcraft cables are made from galvanized steel cables and coated with MIL-PRF-16173. This is the same process used on Beechcraft original cables. It provides additional corrosion protection beyond the standard MIL-SPEC rust preventative oil. This provides both exceptional wear resistance and corrosion protection for many years. Same superior corrosion protection as the original!
Trim Control Chains
McFarlane offers the trim control chains for Cessna single engine and most Beechcraft aircraft. Don't forget to replace your trim control chains!
Buy Complete Kits and Save!
McFarlane has compete flight control cable and trim chain kits required to service most single engine aircraft from the Cessna model 120 through model 210 and cable kits for most Beechcraft and Piper single engine airplanes. Most of the light aircraft fleet has seen many years of service and have endured many flight hours. Worn, rusty and frayed cables are now common. It is a tedious, time consuming job to research the part manuals for all of the cables required for a complete aircraft. McFarlane has done the research and has all of the part numbers for your aircraft.
We stock kits in either galvanized or stainless steel. All applicable Cessna cable kits contain four MC0422280 aileron bellcrank bushings, which should be replaced when replacing aileron cables. If you can't find the cable you are looking for, McFarlane offers Custom Cable Fabrication services.
