Originally Posted by
Silvaire1
This gets a bit complicated... one step at a time.
A Tecnam P92 would be sold as an FAA Light Sport (LSA) aircraft in the US, not a conventionally FAA certified aircraft. LSAs are subject to different regulations than conventionally certified aircraft, and contrary to what might be your expectation LSA maintenance issues are often more problematic for the owner. One of the differences is that an LSA aircraft must be maintained in compliance with all aspects of the manufacturers maintenance manual and other written service bulletins. Therefore, while you understand correctly that the owner of a conventionally FAA certified engine in private service need only comply with a limited subset of manufacturer recommendations (the Airworthiness Limitations Section of the MM and overhaul procedures) plus FAA ADs, and specifically can maintain the engine 'on condition' for an unlimited number of hours and/or calendar time with no special documentation, the same may not be true for an LSA engine. It depends on what the individual LSA aircraft manufacturer recommends in its manuals.
Some LSA owners under FAA registration are moving their aircraft to Experimental LSA (E-LSA) for this and other associated reasons, for example allowance for buying parts in the open market versus from one source only. This possibility was included in the FAA LSA regulations because of the expectation that many of the manufacturers would go out of business within the life of the plane and no longer provide 'support'. Maintenance for an E-LSA is similar to that for an FAA Experimental Amateur Built aircraft, meaning even more straightforward than an FAA certified plane. So the E-LSA route makes sense for a lot of owners who use their planes only privately.
I flew a Tecnam in Italy a few years ago and was enthusiastic enough to research all this stuff. In the end it was substantially less expensive to go with an FAA certified plane but I still like Tecnams
that's really the clear picture I was looking for.
Many thanks!
