You can call BS all you want but from a friend of mine who is a Light Sport Mechanic for school that operated CT's here's a few reasons why they do not anymore -
All CT's are required to have 100 hour inspections and most that we service run around $1500-$3500 per inspection based on make and model. Any paint chipping requires a full paint strip and re paint including around the front windows the last one we did cost the customer $25k. Any engine work other then oil changes almost guarantees the engine having to be removed a 12 hour min charge due to the engine sitting under the panel so to speak. The rudder pedals are almost always bent to some degree the cost for us to make them like new is $500 per set this leads to the point of if you sit in one and attempt to work the rudder pedals without forward motion the pedal will bend
. The brakes are on a center pull handle and makes ease for a quick pull that always flat spots the tires for early replacement and we always have to rebuild the master cylinder. Gear most will crack under a moderate hard landing and this runs around $8K for new legs. Seats- if you try to adjust the seat to size while sitting in it you have just paid for new carbon seat backs, cracks at the base every time cost $250 to fix. Engine mount we just replaced one from a few hard landings $5K just for the parts.
So yeah, go ahead a call BS but that looks pretty expensive to me.
I'm calling BS because you are talking BS. The 100 hour inspection is a ROTAX requirement, it applies to almost every LSA in the fleet. Most owners combine it with the annual, just do both when either one is due, both are usually done for less than $1000 unless squawks are found, then like any airplane it can go up from there.
Most CTs I have seen have paint chips, none have required a $25k repaint. I know of a bird strike on one CT that required replacement of the windshield and two carbon fiber panels, all structural components. Cost including repaint of the affected areas was about $10k.
The tires and brakes are a weak spot, because there is too much camber in the wheels causing fast tire wear and the Italian brake cylinder is not great. Both problems are fixed permanently by replacing with Matco brakes, costs $900. Since 2010 all CTs come with the Matcos.
The seats are designed to be adjusted on the ground, not in flight. The POH says so. They are fiberglass, not carbon. You can break anything if you use it wrong.
Yeah, if you botch a landing you can buy a new engine mount or gear leg. Just like any other tricycle airplane. Is it really a criticism that the airplane can be bent?? How much do you think a new Cessna, Sportcruiser, or Piper engine mount or gear will cost you? BTW, CT gear was beefed up in 2006, and even the old gear doesn't break unless you break it. Your argument is specious.
The engine sits nowhere near the panel, stood off from a flat firewall, most maintenance is easily done with the engine in place.
Sorry, "I know a guy who said..." Is not really working out for you. I own and operate a CT, and I'm telling you your anecdotes are either completely wrong or misleading. Every airframe has quirks or areas that are not ideal, but flight Design has been quick to address any it finds, and any failings are as cheap to correct as any other LSA, and much cheaper than most certified birds. And I burn 4-5gph of mogas, so I save a ton on fuel as well.
) would have me looking at a well preserved used example, as Andy did.