New Rotax Airworthiness Directive

[TGio]

FAA came out with an AD number 2011-25-02 for 912-914 engines. It is for crankshafts P/N 888164. The serial numbers are: 40232-40267; 40293-40374; 40408-40433; 40435-40507. I know experimentals are do not have to comply, but it may be worth a look. The AD says it could lead to cracked journal and failure of the crank support bearings, engine shutdown, ect...ect...

[jrthomas]

It seem to me that if a problem exists that is so serious that injury or death could result, a recall would be more appropriate than a few words of warning. Does Rotax plan on making things right by replacing these defective parts? Ford recently recalled my F150 because there was a possibility that the airbag could accidently deploy, possibly causing an accident. Ford did the right thing to protect their customers at their own expense. It seems to me that an aircaft engine suddenly coming apart is much more likely to result in serious injury or death to loyal Rotax owners. The cost to the owner to comply with this directive will likely cause most of us to ignore it and hope for the best. I suspect most Kitfox builders and owners are moderate income people or else we would be buying higher end, factory built planes. Buying a new 912 was a major purchase for most of us already without the added expense or costly precautionary repairs. I would like to think Rotax will "man up" and accept responsibility for making things right. I remember HKS voluntarily replacing some of their early engines that were found to have a possible defect. I hope Rotax will do the right thing too. I'll be holding my breath.

[jdmcbean]

Serial numbers listed are the certified versions... The affected engines seem to be in the later series of the UL series.

http://legacy.rotax-owner.com/si_tb_...sb912059ul.pdf

The above link should be the ASB issued.

http://www.rotax-owner.com/

[airdawg]

I just complied with this ASB in the field a few weeks ago for one of my customers here in Jacksonville. He was one of the few unlucky ones that this affected. We did not find any cracks on the crankshaft journal. This ASB only applied to a small number of engines that were manufactured in 2010. It anyone has any questions about how to perform this ASB please feel free to contact me. It's actually fairly simple.

Ryan Aringdale
AP3538464
Rotax #030813130519-01