The Evolution is a hot ship and needs pilots who are capable to handle it. Apparently at least the guy with the electrical failure in broad VMC overhead an airport did not qualify to fly his plane once the electrics called it a day… which is a massive lack of flying skills.
But for the US insurances it doesn’t count what is at fault, it counts whether they are likely to get involved into a liability law suit which has been the downfall of all the Aviation Industry in the US since the 1970ties. So if Evolution can’t find a new insurer based on the perception by the insurers that an airplane like this might be too difficult for the owners to operate, they might simply refuse to insure them which would ground them. Unfortunately, planes in this price range might well be bought by people who have more cash than capability to fly and one or two of those plus relatives unwilling to see that uncomfortable truth (or be honest about it in the face of a possible large insurance payout) can bring a company down.
I thought that US law had been adapted to prevent this kind of thing from happening but apparently there is still a huge problem there.
Austin’s blog might give clues to a possibly large number of incidents which seriously damaged the plane but in accordance with normal aviation practice 
didn’t get publicised much. I know some stuff myself which I can’t talk about either.
However the insurance issues could be decisive in this case. Anybody who has paid the price for an Evolution is clearly not exactly a beggar, and most likely has enough assets to be a litigation target, starting with a very nice family home. These people aren’t going to fly without 3rd party and passenger insurance – just like I would not for exactly the same reason.
The Evolution might have a lot of power but I am sure it is nothing extraordinary to fly. It isn’t a MIG21… They did claim it is Part 23 certifiable and even if that is not actually true it should mean that – unlike the Lancair kitplanes – it has enough roll control authority at Vs, enough elevator authority at Vs, i.e. the “60kt” Vs is not entirely fictional like it is on their kitplanes. BTW I know of a guy who killed himself by crashing a TB10 because the luggage door came open… these things simply happen.
I don’t buy the general GA product liability story. IMHO this has been a wonderful excuse for dropping a product (or postponing production for a number of years while the stock overhang is reduced a bit) which is not selling… for example nearly all of piston GA in the 1990s
Peter wrote:
I know some stuff myself which I can’t talk about either.
I think you should either mention what you know or stop making such statements. Like this it’s just FUD.
Come on Achim you don’t want me to actually do that, do you Think about that.
What should the reader’s take be on this? That there is a conspiracy that only you know of but you can’t talk about it because otherwise the CIA/KGB/Illuminati will kill you?
When you badmouth Evolution (or any other company), you should be specific in my view.
The forum was supposed to be “informative”, wasn’t it?
No conspiracy (which is a criminal thing, anyway, on the usual definition). There are things which happened to individuals who don’t want to disclose them or be identified, for a variety of reasons. One previous thread is here. In this case it was a structure related issue which would be a major hassle for an owner, especially without factory support. Probably no worse than what Austin writes about, some of which is really bad.
There is no requirement to be insured in the US, so if they’re uninsurable it doesn’t mean the fleet is grounded. You just need to make sure you don’t screw up ever.. 
Sure, but I wonder how many high net worth individuals, anywhere, would fly without 3rd party cover.
Hull cover is something else; a justifiable omission if you can afford to throw the plane away. Lots of people do that in light GA too, sometimes because they feel they cannot afford hull cover.
It’s sad to see the probable end of the Evolution. I was looking at it for a long time.
It’s sad to see the probable end of the Evolution.
Yes and no. Sad because everyone wishes that very complex machines could be designed, built, operated and maintained by amateurs. Not so sad (for me) because it shows that very complex machines are best designed, built, maintained and operated by teams of experienced professionals (thereby making sure that my job(s) are safe).
AdamFrisch wrote:
There is no requirement to be insured in the US, so if they’re uninsurable it doesn’t mean the fleet is grounded. You just need to make sure you don’t screw up ever
Just how many people would fly in an uninsured plane? 3rd party cover is compulsory in Europe and rightly so. Not only to prevent some short-sighted stinges to save in the wrong place but to protect the potential victims if he does screw up and take some others with him…
I have 3rd party, hull and passenger injury on mine where the latter is so small an amount but potentially will be a big relief that it’s just stupid not to do it.
What I wonder about is that in the US the insurances have quite some power usually relegated to regulators elsewhere. It appears to me that it’s comparatively easy to get a rating and the privileges to fly a particular airplane but that insurances will put a stop to it if they augur that a pilot may be a risk? Thankfully in Europe things are a bit more relaxed in that regard or rather insurances have more confidence in the examiners who pronounce someone fit to have certain privileges or not.
