The FAA has estimated costs for compliance with AD 2018-02-01 as follows:
Costs of Compliance
We estimate that this AD affects 323 helicopters of U.S. Registry. We estimate that operators may incur the following costs in order to comply with this AD. Labor costs are estimated at $85 per work-hour. Inspecting the spindles takes about 15 work-hours for an estimated cost of $1,275 per helicopter and $411,825 for the U.S. fleet per inspection cycle. Replacing a cracked spindle costs $8,164 for parts and no additional work-hours. Replacing a set of three spindles that have reached their life limit takes about 14 work-hours and parts will cost $17,500 for a total cost of $18,690 per helicopter.
IF those estimates are accurate, then there's no economic case for NOT doing the TT strap STC when 1500 hrs TIS is reached. Prior to 1500 hrs TIS there's potentially 2 inspection intervals when spindles could be returned to service after the MPI at an hourly DOC increase of $2.55 and then replaced after the 3rd 500 hrs, so at least there's some options.
I feel the pain of an almost $20K expense outlay but I'm trying to look on the bright side...
