BACKGROUND: As a safety precaution we are making the following information available to all SportCruiser owners and operators. The objective of this communication is to notify current customers of a safety related issue involving the failure of welded areas in the following parts:         

               (1) Nose-gear leg assembly and  (2) Exhaust sub system

Many aircraft in the world-wide fleet have reported cracks developing in these areas. The current factory administration has prevented itself from disseminating timely and critical safety information relating to this particular subject. In light of the numerous cases being reported, the present factory management has chosen to do nothing about the issue of technical safety data vital to safe operation of the SportCruiser. Sport Aircraft Works has been monitoring this problem for quite sometime. We have not heard the proper response from the factory by way of a Safety Directive on this matter. Since we have confirmed a high number of cracks existing within the  worldwide fleet, Sport Aircraft Works, Inc. is issuing the following Authorized Safety Directive pertaining to the SportCruiser fleet (SLSA, and Kits delivered world-wide) made under Czech Aircraft Works SRO. View the complete Safety Directive SD-SC-007 here.

PROBLEM: A high number of SportCruiser nose-gear leg assemblies have been cracking predictably near the shock absorber attachment bracket  located near the upper airframe attach point. (Click on references photos above for more detail.) (Cracks in the exhaust muffler system have also been uncovered on numerous aircraft.) IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE CRACKS DEVELOPING IN THIS GENERAL AREA, FAILURE OF THE NOSE GEAR LEG BELOW THE FORWARD PART OF THE SHOCK MOUNT, IS IMMINENT if this problem is not attended to and corrected immediately. CAUTION: The nose gear is an especially critical area that needs visual attention and inspection in order to avert any other more serious damage from occurring after a hard landing, i.e. a prop strike and structural damage and  associated repair costs related to a complete nose gear failure.

SOLUTION: Certain areas in the welded portion of the nose gear leg and exhaust muffler need stiffening reinforcement in order to prevent it from failing from structural loads experienced not only from  normal life-cycle fatigue but as well as from hard landings. Failure to have this problem corrected will leave the operator open to any problems. WARNING: The Continued use of stock factory nose gear legs will have a higher probability of failing caused by fractures in areas determined to be prone to fail in certain high loading situations like a fast and hard landing or a 3 point landing with heavy side load, etc. This problem will not go away and will worsen with continued use. Cracks forming in the areas described on the nose gear  leg needs to be addressed by each owner /operator immediately.  At the minimum, an immediate visual inspection should be carried out and an inspection schedule to reflect Safety Directive SD-SC-007, which addresses this issue in detail should be observed hereafter.

Sport Aircraft Works has also developed a turnkey repair solution to address this Safety Directive. There will be a small fee associated with this safety fix. The cost is minimal and will correct the nose gear leg by adding the proper stiffening and extrusion material thickness to strengthen and repair the defective nose gear legs as required. The fix will also add a sleeved-doubler in the lower section of the leg to prevent bending moments that are also occurring. The exhaust muffler welds will also be completely redone.  Click here for details discussing the fix  or click here to view SD-SC-007 Safety Directive.

The owner /operator will need to have their maintenance personnel remove the gear leg and muffler from the engine and send it to our repair facilities here in Palm City, FL.  The landing gear leg and exhaust system will be serviced and sent back to you via FedEx Shipping free of charge. For more information contact info@sportaircraftworks.com or call our repair facilities in the USA direct, Palm City, Florida  at 1-772-597-2443. There is no fixed cost. The cost of the repair is per inspection. Shipping both ways is free. If you are an existing owner or operator, you will be notified through email and regular US Mail of the safety issue recall.
 

And now a pattern change in the way aircraft orders are being placed with the company should cause each purchaser to reconsider and question the order process in place. A possible warning signal that the company is doing something else with your money!

Meanwhile, Czech Aircraft Works,  final registration tally in the US grew to 91 total aircraft delivered up to June of 2009. This is the final official count of Sportcruisers produced by CZAW.

The SportCruiser design was originally conceived by the original owners of the company. The original founders of the company, Chip Erwin, and Danny Defelici envisioned and designed three aircraft for production one of them being the Sportcruiser.  "We will continue to support the Sportcruiser Fleet only because we know we are the only facility with the most extensive knowledge base and mechanical experience and expertise with this product. And we will continue to provide service to our existing fleet of owners and operators, until they no longer call on us for help."

So if you still think the Slavia Sportcruiser is your aircraft of choice we would recommend that you wait for the next version of our new and improved "Cruiser". It will be priced more realistically and will have substantial performance upgrades over the current Sportcruiser aircraft. This is in part due to the fact that we have learned much from the aircraft already delivered and supported in the flight school environment and for general personal use over the last two years in the US. The aerodynamic and airframe improvements will be quite evident in our new 2010 design. Remember, we created and refined the original design of the Sportcruiser airplane through research and development here in the U.S. and continue to do so even as we speak in this communication. As we have stated before, in its current state, the Sportcruiser is in its mid-life of product evolution. The much needed design improvements on the existing Sportcruiser will be engineered into the new airplane. I can only say that you will be truly impressed with the new look and feel of the next generation of "Cruiser" class aircraft we are developing and testing to bring to market.

So stay tuned for another exceptional product design coming soon to an airfield near you.