Evektor EV-97 Eurostar wing inspection - ( Possibly silly question )

[Phil Perry]

I gather that the Evektor company sell a design remarkably similar to the EV-97 Eurostar aircraft in Australia, marketed as the Sportstar ( ? ) the reason for my question is that Our CFI, who has one single EV-97 used for daily training, told me this morning that he has, very soon got to remove the wings and freight them back to the Czech factory, for a strip down inspection / reassembly at 4,000 hours. He was unaware that this process cannot be undertaken in the UK as no wing jigs exist in the country for this purpose.

 

He is naturally a bit miffed, as this will entail the aircraft being out of service for at least a month, quite possibly longer with shipping time both ways; along with the manufacturers being very busy also. . . leaving him with no means of earning a living. I wonder if anyone in God's own country has heard anything about what happens to 'Sportstars' as I guess that a near identical looking design, made at the same factory would be subject to similar periodic requirements re maintenance.

 

 

[Birdseye]

Mentioned in another thread is complexities in repairing the airframe due to the rivet and bond techniques used in the Evektor. Perhaps this is more the issue than jigs alone?

 

 

[Mick]

Structurally the Sportstar is quite different to the EuroStar. The EuroStar is built much lighter for the European 450 / 472kg categories. The Sportstar is built to operate at 600kg under LSA categories.

 

The Sportstar does require some big inspections at 3000 hours and onwards. I am sure they can be done here in Oz as there are some really high hour Sportstars in use in training, particularly some in Adelaide.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Thanks guys. . . I heard this morning that there has been a suggestion of forming a group of EV-97 owners to petition the BMAA and LAA for some suggestions on the situation, but other than the UK importer spending a shedload of money setting up the equipment to carry out the neccessary work in the uk, WITH factory oversight,. . . I can't see what good that would do. . . a friend recently purchased a brand new Eurostar, but he says that since ho only flies a small amount of hours per month, the situation will not become a problem for him for a VERY long time. . . I would imagine that many private owners could possibly feel the same way.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

will it be worthwhile for Evektor maintaining support for UK customers after Brexit?

 

 

[Phil Perry]

will it be worthwhile for Evektor maintaining support for UK customers after Brexit?

Wouldn't have a clue mate TBQH. . .I rather doubt that any supplier / manufacturer of luxury goods is going to play silly buggers though, the trade deficit is hugely in favour of the UK being a net importer of billions of squids worth from European countries. . .Governemnts don't do 'Business' Businesses do that. . and any attempt by the EU to harm htheir own exports isn't going to go down well methinks. . .I don't for one minute expect to see undreds of thousands of Mercs, BMWs, Renoults, Citroens, Volkswagens et al rusting away in farmers' fields if the UK is forced to retailiate with any silly tariffs. . . this 'The UK cannot be seen to succeed post Brexit' is pure BS, as I'm sure you are quietly aware. . .

 

Anyway, it will all get watered down in the end,. . .it was NOT supposed to happen, this Brexit thing you know,. . .they thought that the fix was in, but it obviously wasn't 'IN' hard enough. They will find a way to get back on track. . . Hopefully my CFI mate will have had his Eurostar wings re-jigged by then. . . . .I've been joshing the Stingey bugger for ten years to look around for a spare training aircraft but he's so tight he squeaks when walking slowly. . . ( Someone will grass me up for saying that so I'll have to say 'I didn't really mean that Mick. . . ' )

 

Nice to see you again anyway mate,. . .thought you'd emigrated or summat. . .

 

Oh, By the way,. . .this forum is all about Flying. . . you mustn't drag politics up here. . .tut tut. . .

 

 

[Camel]

I owned a Sportstar before and have read it before, here is the bulletin. Maybe it's the British laws as its say depending on regulations. As far as I knew it did not need any special person.

 

http://www.evektor.com.au/public/editor_images/SportStar_Bull_011a_En_3000hourinspection.pdf

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Phil its ok to discuss Brexit from a practical and policy perspective in relation to aviation, just not about getting square with foreigners.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

I owned a Sportstar before and have read it before, here is the bulletin. Maybe it's the British laws as its say depending on regulations. As far as I knew it did not need any special person.http://www.evektor.com.au/public/editor_images/SportStar_Bull_011a_En_3000hourinspection.pdf

Thanks for that Camel, . . I'll forward it to the man for his info.

 

Phil.

 

Phil its ok to discuss Brexit from a practical and policy perspective in relation to aviation, just not about getting square with foreigners.

Putting it another way then, ' Customer Support' is some sort of contract between the supplier and the user. And unless some supranational body decrees this illegal, or Immoral, I can't see a problem.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I though that the EU overlords had broken the back of the English aircraft industry with onerous red tape

 

 

[Phil Perry]

I though that the EU overlords had broken the back of the English aircraft industry with onerous red tape

I think our British overlords started that rot. . . .there was a time when many small airfields had their own bijou aircraft factories building stuff for the leisure flying folks who could afford such fripperies . . . my friend and early flight veteran Billy Turner, says that the government buggered the private flying industry by putting a tax on aviation grade petrol in the early 1960s when it had been sold at One Shilling per Gallon for a long time. . .I don't know what the percentage tax was, but I've no doubt that encyclopedia Wikitannica will have a record of that somewhere. . .

 

Whether that in itself began the rapid decline of the private aircraft industry is debatable. . . there were possibly other reasons which is why many folks nowadays tend to buy aircraft made in Europe. Although there are a handful of small LSA manufacturers remaining in the UK.

 

 

[snarf007]

2000 and 3000hr inspections look expensive and then every 500 to 1000hrs. It must affect the resale value and operating cost for a flight school that puts lots of hours on an aircraft.

 

Read somewhere that the sportstar airframes has got a design lifespan of 6000hrs?

 

 

[Mick]

2000 and 3000hr inspections look expensive and then every 500 to 1000hrs. It must affect the resale value and operating cost for a flight school that puts lots of hours on an aircraft.Read somewhere that the sportstar airframes has got a design lifespan of 6000hrs?

The bulletin linked above indicates the 2000 hour figure only applies to the EuroStar, not the Sportstar. The 3000 hour figure applies to the Sportstar.

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Thanks for all the info guys. . . in the particular case of the SUBJECT aircraft,. . . I it doesn't affect me personally, but it makes good reading. I've passed on all the links and comments to Mad Mick the stressed out Fleigen Fuhrer. . . .

 

 

[spacesailor]

Killing the UK aviation was going on long ago!.

 

Look at the disgraceful Fairy aviation affair, the owner used a road roller to destroy his creations, then burnt the blue-prints.

 

Still can't make a replacement for the "Fairy Rotor-Dyne"

 

spacesailor

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Killing the UK aviation was going on long ago!.Look at the disgraceful Fairy aviation affair, the owner used a road roller to destroy his creations, then burnt the blue-prints.

Still can't make a replacement for the "Fairy Rotor-Dyne"

 

spacesailor

I well remember the Fairey Rotodyne,. . .one of my 'Airfix' kit builds. Then, later on we had the TSR-2 Tactical aircraft debacle, a most promising aircraft; which was treated in the same manner, all tooling and blueprints destroyed by order of the then Government, with indecent haste, so that the UK had to buy American products. . .

 

'Sad' is the word which springs to mind.