Here's a great article from The Savvy Aviator (Mike Busch) on recommended vs. required maintenance. The takeaway is that maintenance specified in a manufacturer's service bulletin is *never* required, it is only recommended, and this is backed up by a letter of interpretation obtained from the FAA's office of general counsel.
http://www.avweb.com...ed199001-1.html
From the article:
No manufacturer can mandate any maintenance requirement on a Part 91 aircraft owner; only the FAA can do so.The FAA may mandate a maintenance requirement in three different ways:
1) Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) for the aircraft, engine or propeller;
2) In the In an FAA-approved "Airworthiness Limitations" section of a manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness; or
3) In an Airworthiness Directive.
If a maintenance requirement is not mandated by the FAA in one of these three ways, then it is not required by regulation for a Part 91 operator.
While Mike Busch generally deals with certificated aircraft, I believe this also applies to us in the LSA world, with a few changes:
1) In the Type Certificate Data Sheet (TCDS) for the aircraft, engine or propeller; -- We have no type certificate, so this does not apply.
2) In an FAA-approved "Airworthiness Limitations" section of a manufacturer's maintenance manual or Instructions for Continuing Airworthiness; or
3) In an Airworthiness Directive. -- LSA do not have ADs, instead this would be a Service Directive.
Otherwise, since this applies to all part 91 operators, this should also be true for LSA. Of course, there are numerous other reasons to comply with service bulletins such as safety, warranty, or just wanting to abide by manufacturer's recommendations. But it's good to know what is required, vs simply recommended, so that as issues come up we can make informed choices specific to our circumstances on whether a particular maintenance item makes sense in our case.
Enjoy, and let the arguments begin!