Buckaroo Posted November 13, 2016 Report Share Posted November 13, 2016 I just purchased a minty 2007 CTSW with 600 hours on her. She will be based in Townsend Montana. I'm a little nervous about maintenance on the plane and engine as I'm far out in the sticks in Montana. Is there a data base or listing of qualified Rotax mechanics I can call in Montana? I've searched the web to no avail. I plan on doing general maintenance myself but am concerned she'll be down for long periods of time if no ones local. By local anywhere in Montana would work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted November 13, 2016 Report Share Posted November 13, 2016 Welcome to the club, Buckaroo! Try these: http://www.rotax-owner.com/en/support-topmenu/find-service http://www.bydanjohnson.com/Index.cfm?b=6&m=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2016 Wow thanks! I'm a new paid member of Rotax-owner! Great source of information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Wow thanks! I'm a new paid member of Rotax-owner! Great source of information! You can change your own oil and filter easily. Annuals may require you to fly somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Welcome Buckaroo. Because you are located in a fairly remote area where perhaps A&P mechanics who are familiar with Light Sport aircraft are few and far in-between, you may want to consider performing inspections and maintenance on your CT yourself. The link below is a good summary by Carol Carpenter (Rainbow Aviation in Corning California) which gives good information on this topic. You will note that there is a 80 to 120 hour workshop which one can attend and obtain the Light Sport Repair-Maintenance rating (LSRM) which qualifies one to maintain, inspect and repair Light Sport aircraft, including those personally owned. Another option is to take a shorter 20 hour workshop to qualify for a Light Sport Repair-Inspection rating (LSR-I) which allows one to do light maintenance and yearly inspections on E-LSA aircraft. You will note that these options are related to whether the aircraft is Special Light Sport (SLSA) or Experimental Special Light Sport (E-SLSA). http://www.askbob.aero/content/rotax-training-requirements-and-your-lsa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Dick, even better, the Light Sport Repairman - Inspection rating class is only 16 hours. As you noted, it authorizes the holder to inspect an E-LSA owned by the inspector. Also, once an aircraft is E-LSA there is no limit on the maintenance that the owner can perform (it doesn't have to be "light maintenance"). On my E-LSA CTsw, I am permitted to do any maintenance I want. I believe that there are no restrictions on who can do maintenance on an experimental registration aircraft. There are restrictions on who can legally sign-off on annual condition inspections. As always, forum readers should not take my word on this, ensure your authorization and competence to do maintenance before starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 I'm planning to take my CT to E-LSA status shortly. I'd definitely be thinking along those lines if I lived in Montana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 If I go to E-lsa will it drive my insurance up? Right now I've got an amazing rate of $1003 a year from Falcon. Also what are the negatives of E like resale etc? I heard once your experimental you can't go back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 My insurance carrier said that if I just intend to do maintenance, the rate doesn't change. If you make significant modifications to the airplane, you will have to talk to them about rates. Resale *might* go down some, but there are conflicting reports on that score. Some buyers will see it as a negative, some as a positive. To be conservative I'd expect a hit on resale, maybe 5-10% or so. Just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Can you register it back do you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Can you register it back do you know? In theory yes. The reality is that no DAR is going to let you do it. Consider it a one way street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted November 14, 2016 Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 Can you register it back do you know? Only go the E-LSA route if you expect to fly the plane till you part it out. Or take a hit selling it to another do-it-yourselfer aviator later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2016 This is a definite conundrum for me! I'm going to take this decision slow and just pray I can get some flying time with her without something breaking!???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug G. Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 You are only about 6 hours from me. (Eastern ND) I went the route of the 120 hour class to become an LSRM-A. It allows you to work on your own and others S-LSAs. I also took Rotax training. Put that together with the people on this forum and, assuming you are mechanically (electrical doesn't hurt either) capable you can do most things. The other option would be to look on the Rainbow Aviation listing to find a LSRM-A somewhere in your general area, or make the trip to one of the folks on this forum. Another possibility would be to find a local A&P, but you would need to educate them about Rotax. I have even seen some suggest that you offer to help pay for Rotax training for them. They are all excellent options. Welcome to the group! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckaroo Posted November 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 This whole thing is familiar to me! Back in 1985 I decided to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle because I learned the company had restructured and was building excellent quality bikes from a newly formed company. To ride one was a sign of rebellion and a hells angel mind set! It was fun looking like a bad guy! Well the rest is history! Now I'm getting an interest in LSA and I suppose in a few years these planes will be in everyone's garage next to the lawn mower and Harley! Lol! I'm fairly capable wrenching and am thinking now I must hit some Rotax schools in order to keep flying and not be dependent on others 1000 miles away! So here we go training schedules will begin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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