Sport Pilot Talk

drseti wrote:I just heard this from DAR Mike Huffman:

I’ve not expected an NPRM anytime soon; right after the announcement, I talked with Terry Chasteen who told me it would be 3-4 years.

(Terry is head of the FAA Light Sport program in Kansas City.)

Which in FAA terms means 5-6 years.

Waiting...

Aes256 wrote:Waiting...

I sure hope you're not holding your breath while you wait.

Well ... Godot would probably qualify as johnny on the spot compared to these guys or is that too harsh ?

That have talked about this since 2018 or earlier. It's time for action. Im not getting any younger.

Keep up with news from Dan Johnson and LAMA. They'll give you updates when things move forward.

Warmi wrote:Just saw it on Facebook from AOPA ...

In January the FAA will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking increasing max weight for a light sport airplane

Notice they didn't say January of what year.

I've been following Dan Johnson. It was a great initial article but its getting stale.

Aes256 wrote:I've been following Dan Johnson. It was a great initial article but its getting stale.

We're probably going to see a draft for the new rule in 2021. Government goes slow so we just have to wait.

fatsportpilot wrote:

Aes256 wrote:I've been following Dan Johnson. It was a great initial article but its getting stale.

We're probably going to see a draft for the new rule in 2021. Government goes slow so we just have to wait.

With the way 2020 is going, the FAA specifically and the feds in general might have priorities in 2021 other than rocking the LSA boat.

MrMorden wrote:

fatsportpilot wrote:

Aes256 wrote:I've been following Dan Johnson. It was a great initial article but its getting stale.

We're probably going to see a draft for the new rule in 2021. Government goes slow so we just have to wait.

With the way 2020 is going, the FAA specifically and the feds in general might have priorities in 2021 other than rocking the LSA boat.

We'll just need to wait for the NPRM.

I can't wait another 5+ years either. I would be happy with an expanded category that could also include legacy certified 2-seat SEL (e.g., Beech Skipper, C-140, C-150, C-152, Piper Tomahawk, etc.) as they are no more difficult to fly than a S-LSA (and some are probably easier), and I would be ecstatic with a further expanded category that also includes basic 4-seat SEL with fixed-pitch prop and fixed gear like the Beech C-23 Sundowner, C-172, and Piper Warrior and Archer (being a bit heavier they are actually easier to fly than S-LSA and legacy certified 2-seaters). If the goal is to re-invigorate the lower rungs of GenAv, the S-LSA is a miserable failure, as few can afford the ridiculous prices for new models (some of which are over $150-$200k now), and even a decent used S-LSA often pushes $100k. It's no wonder that new L-LSA sales have slowed to a trickle. I suspect the $25-75k range with around $50k is the sweet spot for attracting a lot more pilots, so why isn't more emphasis being made there?

I think you mistakenly believe that the FAA's purpose in establishing the LSA rules was to invigorate GA. I suspect their real goal was merely to rein in all those unlicensed scofflaws that were flying around in unregistered ultralights, with neither oversight nor the benefit of training. Any benefit to GA is purely coincidental.