While I do not mean to denigrate in any way the various approaches
which have been suggested to deal w/ the structural deficiency which
mod 72 is intended to correct, what comes up for me is an appreciation
of the amount of work which Europa04 has done to ensure the integrity
of the aircraft. I'm imagining the design calculations, the paperwork
for the PFA, and testing and the real costs associated therewith. The
costs of the hardware is negligible.
My concern is that I think the Europa design loses value if there is an
awareness in the experimental/homebuilt aircraft community that the
engine mounting frames were cracking and guys took it upon themselves
to install one or another kind of a fix of their own design. it seems
to me that it would be far more preferable for the story to be that
there were some failures in the engine mount, the problem was addressed
by E04, a fix was designed, tested, and approved, and every Europa
flying has had the mod installed.
I feel it is a huge benefit to me that E04 exists and continues to
service the design and kits sold by the predecessor company; I want to
support them to remain in business, and I don't begrudge them the 15
pounds for a couple of sleeves.
...just my 2 cents (or 15 pounds) worth of opinion....
Fred
A194
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