Why all-metal for the SportStar?

The SportStar was designed with particular care and regard for:

• occupant safety
• performance and excellent flight characteristics
• superior cabin comfort
• high aircraft durability
• long service life
• ease of maintenance
• low operational and maintenance costs.

An all-metal structure meets the best in all these requirements. Modern duralumin alloys are the most-used material in aviation today and are well known for outstanding strength and fatigue characteristics, structural stability, durability and low maintenance costs together with a very long service life.

The advantages of an all-metal airframe bring value for pilots especially in the following areas of aircraft operation:

High durability and proven long service life

The all-metal anodised Alclad 2024 grade aluminium airframe of the SportStar provides high durability and a guaranteed long service life. Not only is the entire airframe etch-primer corrosion proofed, but every joint is mastic bonded as well as riveted and all hollow rivets are mastic filled before painting.

Thanks to material stability, metal structures are durable and resistant to the external environment and, unlike composite structures, are not susceptible to structural changes caused by UV radiation, high temperatures and other weather effects. Owning an all-metal aircraft protects your investment for the future as a long service life helps to keep its price high on the used aircraft market.

High safety for crew

Most aircraft accidents occur during two critical phases of flight: immediately after take-off or during landing manoeuvres, when the best ballistic parachute system cannot protect the crew of the aircraft.

With respect to this, the SportStar manufacturer has paid the highest attention to the construction of the cockpit and the result is a structure that can absorb crash energy and protect the cockpit area and therefore the crew.

An all metal airframe has better crash characteristics, thanks to energy absorption by gradual deforming of the metal structure, whereas composite materials can break or fragment dangerously. Further, the mastic bonding of SportStar joints helps prevent crash 'unzipping' which can occur with non-bonded metal airframes.

Easy and inexpensive maintenance

Repair of damage on all-metal aircraft is much less expensive than composite aircraft thanks to the simple replacement of damaged parts. Thanks to extended application of metal structures in aviation, qualified service centres with very fast, high quality and inexpensive services are widely available.

Outdoor long-term parking

Durability and resistance to outdoor weather conditions of the metal structure enables long-term outdoor parking of the SportStar without danger of structural damage due to solar radiation or adverse weather conditions. This is very attractive especially in the areas with sunny and hot weather climates, where considerable hangaring costs can be saved.

Aluminium vs Composite Construction

(Courtesy Meyers Aircraft Company)

Here are some quotes from Meyers Aircraft Company in the USA, who have been involved in aircraft construction for many years:

"Aluminium construction has the great advantage of years of reliable data on fatigue and stress. It, likewise, remains the metal of choice for commercial airlines and military aircraft. Many experts feel that aluminium construction will remain the mainstay of aircraft materials for the foreseeable future."

"Composite construction utilised in most kit-built planes has been touted in the past as the wave of the future but has been shown to not be the answer in most cases for aircraft construction. Many of the better current designers feel that composites are not viable for the long term in today's market. Maintaining consistent quality of composite components is a major problem for manufacturers"

"There are some major disadvantages to composite construction, including:
- Strength varies from batch to batch.
- Ultraviolet light degradation due to sunlight.
- Delamination problems due to moisture.
- Composites tend to break without warning at failure loads, unlike aluminium which can bend and still survive and usually provide some warning prior to failure.
- Requires expensive paint kept in perfect condition without chips or scratches to keep sunlight and moisture out; otherwise composites degrade like an old fiberglass boat. Both Lancair and Cirrus require special paints and limit colours per the Type Certificate Data Sheets."

"To sum up what we at Meyers Aircraft Company have determined, we will quote from a Boeing engineer as stated in a recent Aviation Consumer article:
"The more we learn about composites, the better aluminium looks."