Gaseous-Thanks for the "heads up".
The good news is that this issue is finally going to be officially resolved and we'll all know what the costs are. I talked with Eric at Airwolf a couple months ago and (IIRC) he said the cost of the TT strap STC conversion was $14,800 USD. That's a one-time outlay vs. an on-going expense for 500 hr inspections which an owner can use to decide which route to go.
I predict that 90% of Enstroms (including all new production henceforth) will have TT straps in the next couple years. Additional good news is that according to other owners I've talked to, the TT straps are operationally much superior to the Lamiflex bearings which frequently failed before their service life limit. Further, the spindle mod for the Airwolf STC removes the area where the cracking occurs, so the spindles don't have to be scrapped due to cracks if they're sent in to be converted.
It's a real shame to have this blot on the Enstrom's otherwise excellent safety record, and a tragedy for the souls that were lost in the precipitating accident, but I believe that in the long run it will be a positive outcome for the type, which I'm extremely fond of.