Light Aircraft Association

LAS sell an Airpath compass repair kit, comprising some fluid and gaskets, for the princely sum of £46, so with VAT and postage, I'm looking at nearly £60. The self same kit bought in the US, retails for less than $12.
How annoying. I can make gaskets, but can anyone suggest where to get the correct fluid without selling the aircraft to pay for it?

If it's for a permit aircraft, use Johnson's baby oil.

Seriously!

In USA they are referred to as Whiskey compasses because they were filled with alcohol.

Gin might do the trick and is possibly less viscous than baby oil.

I went to blag some fluid from the maintenance place on our airfield. The ever-helpful mechanic gave me a bottle labelled "Compass Fluid", gave me a look, and said "It's Jet A1".

The compass fluid is treated as dangerous goods which probably accounts for the high import cost (oddly a compass containing the fluid is OK). The fluid is quite similar to white spirit, which should work OK, but is a bit less viscous.

It's a good idea to replace the diaphragm when servicing the compass as they are prone to swell and contact the compass wheel.

You should be able to buy the kit without fluid and use white spirit instead.

Take care when using the kits as the rubber diaphragm only just seals the rear of the compass and the cover needs to be tightened very carefully. Also I've found that you can get two or three compasses out of one bottle of fluid.

Cheers

Robin

Thanks for the helpful replies. I'll crack on with the job... when using whiskey or gin, at least there's a source of enjoyment available in the cockpit!
Cheers,
Dave