The fleet of Antares aircraft has approximately 75,000 hours of service behind it. This gives us data to assess operational safety and maintenance requirements. No aircraft in this class has proven as reliable and low-maintenance as the Antares 20E. This brings great advantages for operators. The electric drive operates almost maintenance-free. With our experience, we were able to define the inspection intervals as 600 operating hours or 24 months. In the meantime, only a very few checks need to be performed, such as checking the rudder cables every 200 hours. Maintenance can also be performed by the pilot/owner in accordance with EASA regulations. Of course, an ARC (Airworthiness Review Certification) still has to be done every year, but this is then purely a paperwork exercise. All parts of the Antares are designed for extremely long service life and low maintenance: for example, a large part of the control system, welded gas-tight and cadmium-plated from the outside, so that corrosion is practically impossible. Now here are some examples for the maintenance and overhaul of the runtime limited parts: The 3,000-hour check will be very easy, as all relevant parts are very easy to reach and corrosion has no chance with the metal parts. The service life of the cell, known as the design life, is currently set at 12,000 hours, but this has not yet been reached. With appropriate experience, a service life above this will be possible without any problems from today’s perspective. Due to the extremely low vibration of the electric drive, in contrast to piston engines, the cell is subjected to much less stress. – We initially gave the electric motor a TBO (Time Between Overhaul) of 900 hours. However, the design of such an external rotor electric motor is such that a multiple of this service life will be achievable. Experience from other applications in the industry already proves this. Thus, after 900 hours, the overhaul of the engine will consist only of the replacement of two bearings. Furthermore, we only replace the dust wiper rings after 200 hours or a maximum of 10 years. The overhaul of the propeller takes place after 300 hours, here, in addition to a careful inspection, it is necessary to replace the bearings, which we prescribe every 150 hours. This takes a maximum of 2-3 hours of work, the parts cost about 100€. – Other relevant maintenance events are the replacement of the hydraulic oil every 4 years and the replacement of the brake fluid every 6 years. This work is no problem for the experienced pilot/owner, but is also done without much effort by the aeronautical companies recommended by us.
Maintenance: Antares – Perfectly designed, reliable and easy to maintain
