Sport Pilot Talk

Hello all,

Haven't written to this board in a while, admittedly I haven't been flying LSA much if any anymore as all my flying is in gliders as I finish out my commercial rating. At any rate, from what I've heard we may be in to hear from the FAA on the MOSAIC soon, and depending on what comes of it I'll probably get back into flying powered should 172s get knocked into the "LSA-eligible" category, what are you guys most hoping to see come to light sport aviation?

I'm looking forward to the myriad of aircraft that fit into the European ultralight category but are too fast, heavy or "complicated" for our LSA rules.

I'll go out on a limb. I'd like to see night flight with an endorsement.

rcpilot wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 1:36 pm I'll go out on a limb. I'd like to see night flight with an endorsement.

I don't think that's likely because the Flight Standards division is behind 14 CFR § 61.315 and they are the ones who determine night flight in (c)(5) and other stuff like altitude restrictions in (c)(11). That regulation allows sport certificate holders to fly anything designated LSA in (a). If Flight Standards doesn't change anything but the Aircraft Certification division does change the definition of LSA then it will automatically pass on to us. Unlike the Aircraft Certification division, Flight Standards is much more strict and doesn't like change.

fatsportpilot wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 10:57 pm
I don't think that's likely because the Flight Standards division is behind 14 CFR § 61.315 and they are the ones who determine night flight in (c)(5) and other stuff like altitude restrictions in (c)(11). That regulation allows sport certificate holders to fly anything designated LSA in (a). If Flight Standards doesn't change anything but the Aircraft Certification division does change the definition of LSA then it will automatically pass on to us. Unlike the Aircraft Certification division, Flight Standards is much more strict and doesn't like change.

I've heard this as well, though I was hoping they'd at least revisit (c)(4) which limits us to one passenger. If they are expanding the aircraft seats, it'd be nice to be able to use them as such.
Hoping they do, but not optimistic they will.

Anyone at AirVenture hear of any presentations about the status of this? I would have thought they would be providing some level of update as to what the timeline looks like.

Thanks
Jeremy

I'm not in Oshkosh, but this article popped up in my feed earlier this week.
https://bydanjohnson.com/oshkosh-2022-d ... -underway/

I read his article. Didn't sound promising. Typical government BS.

Expect anything with government to take 4x longer than it should and cost at least twice as much.

I thought it was a really interesting example of how the so-called regulation reducing rules were only ever really for show and demonstrated very little understanding of how government actually works. It didn't reduce the overall size of regulation, and has demonstrably slowed down the progress of regulations we are waiting eagerly for. It makes me wonder how much the same pattern has been repeated all over government.

Anyway, the delay is disappointing. I was really hoping for some clarification on how much the changes would affect Sport Pilots as compared to just expanding the size of aircraft that consensus standards would apply to.

So apparently, in part because they decided to separate out manned and unmanned aircraft, the "new" date for release of the proposed rules is August 2023. Maybe in time for my 64th birthday. I won't hold my breath.

rcpilot I'm in the same boat - won't come soon enough. Looks like the FAA is trying to do too much all at once, and my concern is that will ultimately sink the entire effort and we'll all be left with a big nothing burger. Looks like LSA is still the only game in town for those of us who can't wait - at least that is certain for now.

Seems we are about 1 month away from seeing what's new. Personally I hope to fly a 4 seater and it seems they are leaning on letting us but the whole "you can only have one passenger in a 4 seater is kind of stupid". I hope they scrap that trash and just make it simple, if it's an LSA we can fly it!

tmarinshaw wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 2:16 pm the whole "you can only have one passenger in a 4 seater" is kind of stupid

That's just a carryover from the old Rec Pilot rule from decades back. It was kind of stupid then, and IMHO, it still is.

If some of the more common "trainer class" legacy Standard Category aircraft are made Sport Pilot Eligible, that would open up a lot more rental opportunities. Ex: C150/152, C172, PA-28. This is where I find MOSAIC most interesting.

Anything beyond that would just be a bonus, in my opinion.