My understanding (and I’m not an IA or an A&P) is that Seaplanes North believes that some or all of the HD extended gear legs may be missing the doubler.
The gear was installed as an approved part with appropriate FAA paperwork. That has not changed. But the claim is that IF the gear legs on an individual aircraft don’t have the doubler, then they don’t meet the requirements for an approved part.
We do not know if any one gear set has the doubler or not. Until the gear is removed and X-rayed or drilled, it can’t be known.
This doesn’t seem much different than any other “mandatory service bulletin” put out by a company seeking to force action by owners using their equipment. They are NOT mandatory. It might well be wise to comply, but until the FAA researches it and agrees the gear must come off (issuance of an AD) I don’t think any SB is “mandatory” especially not in Part 91 operations.
I have operated my aircraft virtually entirely off-field with this gear since 2014 on rough backcountry strips and on mountain meadows as well as on skis in winter. It has been fantastic for stability and strength.
Could it break tomorrow? Yes. But so could other gear.
My hope is that they determine some of the later gear legs were missing the doubler and that’s why some collapsed or bent within a single season of use while the early versions had double wall legs.
I just finished my annual this month (right before the SB was sent). I guess if next year my IA says it’s “mandatory,” then maybe it is, but that certainly has not been the case with prior mandatory SB’s for other aircraft. If the FAA elects to issue an AD, then “game over,” the planes are all grounded unless other gear can be found.
If that happens, I’ll probably buy Aviat extended gear because I don’t get the impression that Seaplanes North has the capability to correct/resolve/analyze this in a rapid manner.