No More Catering
AD eng 4/7 is an alternate system of maintenance available to operators of piston engines beyond TBO and or Calendar renewal time limits only private and airwork.
It is not a casual tick and flick thing, there are substantive reqirements in the AD to make sure the LAME and C of R holder are acting responsibly.
Yes the aircraft is insurable, which is quite different from the issues in the adoption of the FAA Manufacturers Recommendation position.
It is all but impossible to insure an aircraft in the US operating beyond Manufacturers recommendation for public liability that will allow operation into a mainstream FBO airport.
It is a legal fact that if you go outside manufacturers recommendation for ANY product at any time you void any liability the manufacturer has in respect to operation of the product, servicing of the product and warranties that may have been in force over the product. You are on your own.
In the Aviation case in Australia the adoption of AD eng 4/7 allowed operators to continue to use their aircraft legally beyond TBO and time limits within the Aviation Regulatory framework. A quite unique set of circumstances comparitively world wide.
We all need to be careful what we wish for, change for the sake of change is rarely a good thing, old aviation saying,"If it aint broke, don't fix it", meddling with this AD is fraught with the potential to create a regulatory nightmare and real danger of substantive cost penalties on Airwork Operators putting a lot of Flying Schools out of action.
This issue is not just about Insurance, nor is it operating "on the cheap" AD eng 4/7 was negotiated responsibly by folk who knew what they were doing and it has operated successfully for a long time with a very good history of outcomes.