SPORTCRUISER UNDERGOES PFA FULL DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

Background Of Testing
As the leading SLSA aerospace manufacturing company, Czech Aircraft Works' quality craftsmanship is only part of the equation in developing and successfully producing  a  versatile and capable airplane design. Competent research & development, (R&D), along with testing and evaluation (T&E) are key areas we focus our efforts and attention, before any of our airplanes are brought to market. In the production of SLSA aircraft, CZAW's manufacturing  processes, quality control, and the quality assurance in all of our airplanes are based on ASTM compliance and the accepted practices and standards set forth by the ASTM  Working Group F37, which is the body responsible for defining the Standards for Light Sport Aircraft. However, there is actually quite a bit more work involved in producing an aircraft to say the least, than just following standards.

What Is The PFA Full Destruction Test
The PFA is an independent third-party aircraft testing and verification organization established in the UK. It is equivalent to the EAA, and in some respects the FAA in terms of the administration and management of the  issuance of airworthiness certifications. The PFA conducts full destructive load testing on airframes in order to document and certify aircraft structural load-limit test results. The significance of this comprehensive test serves to verify the maximum structural loads the aircraft can actually withstand in a static test environment. These stress tests involve placing the airframe through certain torsion and shear loads as well as loading the airframe and wings to the ultimate load factors (+6/-4) and beyond, in order to determine the actual points of failure. All evaluations and tests are conducted solely by the PFA to insure testing integrity and uniformity!

In addition to the airframe, which  consists of the wings, tail, and fuselage,  all control surfaces, ailerons, rudder , and elevators, torque-tubes, control arms, and linkages are tested as well for stress and failure points. Included at no extra charge are a few drop tests from predetermined heights.

Why CZAW And The PFA Conduct This Test?
Our SLSA line of aircraft are designed primarily for two missions, the typical cross-country and the flight school trainer. CZAW conducts these tests to better understand and predict the structural integrity of the airframe and its components in order to match the airplanes mission closely.  These tests have a direct association to certain aircraft parameters. Airplane performance parameters such as the maximum maneuvering speed (V_A), maximum structural cruising speed (V_NO), maximum forward/aft C.G. limit, etc are all directly related to the airframes structural load capacity.  Therefore as a manufacturer, verification through testing becomes useful information to engineers and pilots alike because from these values, the airplanes actual flight performance envelope data can be assembled, plotted  and graphed more accurately. This type of testing allows us, the manufacturer, to validate our design and manufacturing integrity and to confidently assert the values published in the POH. This information allows the pilot to operate our aircraft with confidence and with assurance in our engineering and manufacturing process.
 

What Did We Learn From This Test?
This is yet another example of CZAW's commitment to our customers satisfaction, commitment to quality, and to the safety of the pilots and operators of Czech Aircraft Works airplanes.

Designer and Test-Pilot, Danny Defelici, whose Florida-based Sport Aircraft Works helped develop the SportCruiser and is the US importer, distributor, support, and flight center, said the public release of the test demonstrates the company’s confidence in the aircraft and the process.

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE


SPORT AIRCRAFT WORKS

SportCruiser’s Ballistic Test Video Made Public

“We want people to understand.” –Chip Erwin, design team leader

“So much more than the obvious goes into the integration of a full-airframe recovery system,” said Chip Erwin, President of Czech Aircraft Works, as he announced his decision to release professional video of a test of a Ballistic Recovery System (BRS) deployment on his SportCruiser LSA.

The dramatic footage shows the formal structure attachment test on the SportCruiser, CZAW’s newest certified design and value-leading S-LSA (factory-built, ready-to-fly Light Sport Aircraft).

Danny Defelici, whose Florida-based Sport Aircraft Works helped develop the SportCruiser and is the US importer, distributor, support, and flight center, said the public release of the test demonstrates the company’s confidence in the aircraft and the process. “There are very, very few companies in our field that have taken an entire aircraft through full-destructive testing,” Defelici said. “We have done this, not only with individual components and systems, but also with the entire aircraft.”

“The SportCruiser verifiably exceeds all ASTM guidelines, on all fronts,” beamed Defelici. (ASTM International is the independent engineering organization through which standards are set for the LSA class of aircraft.) “To our delight and a little surprise, these tests proved the SportCruiser at levels 20 to 30% over its ultimate design loads.”

The SportCruiser is an LSA-specific design for the large American market, a roomy low-wing metal machine that optimizes performance within the LSA rules. Designed for low initial cost ($ 74,500.00
FOB Indiantown, including pilot checkout), low operating costs, easy inspection and maintenance, and easy insurability, the SportCruiser is being delivered to individuals and flight schools in ever-increasing numbers, as the newly-expanded CZAW factory brings more and more of its capabilities on-line. CZAW manufactures over 100 aircraft and complete aircraft kits per year.

More: