Avionics News - October 2023 - 14

                   
B
Y
RIC
PERI
AE A VICE PRE SIDENT OF GOVERNMENT & INDUS TR Y AFFAIR S
The Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification
MOSAIC
T
he Federal Aviation Administration's headlines
from its website states: " FAA Proposes Rule to
Enhance Safety and Performance of Light-Sport
Aircraft. " According to David Boulter, FAA associate administrator,
" This rule will encourage manufacturers to make lightsport
aircraft operations safer, more versatile and accessible
while maintaining rigorous safety standards. "
The second major element of the proposal, linked with the
expanded LSA aircraft, is the expansion of sport pilot privileges.
The elimination of the LSA weight restriction and broad
increase of size and performance of LSA thereby also increases
the number of aircraft makes and models that the sport pilot
would be eligible to fly.
Like all rulemaking, there is the good, the bad, and the
unknown. The Aircraft Electronics Association's role is to
not be distracted by the " shiny object " of the good, but rather
investigate the unintended consequences of the bad and
unknown.
The good
Light-sport aircraft are arguably one of the most highly
restricted aircraft on the market. Currently, LSA are designed
to be a simple aircraft defined by weight, propulsion, landing
gear, and pressurization. Also, rotorcraft, or powered-lift aircraft,
are exempted from LSA. The concept that a two-place
aircraft could be designed and built that requires a pilot to
reduce the fuel load, and therefore range, in order to actually
14 AVIONICS NEWS * OCTOBER 2023
Like all rulemaking, there is the good,
the bad, and the unknown. The Aircraft
Electronics Association's role is to not be
distracted by the " shiny object " of the
good, but rather investigate the unintended
consequences of the bad and unknown.
carry a passenger is mind-boggling. One of the common GA
accidents is fuel starvation (e.g. running out of gas), so being
able to design and build a true two-place aircraft with full
functionality is a solid win. We also are seeing developments in
powered-lift aircraft as well as electric propulsion. In the past
two decades since LSA regulation was codified on July 27,
2004, the technology of aviation has changed dramatically. The
elimination of the prescriptive approach to light-sport aircraft
will go a long way to making LSA operations safer and more
versatile and should make new entry-level aircraft more accessible.
Also
included in the July 27, 2004, regulation, was the creation
of the Sport Pilot: Subpart J to 14 CFR Part 61. Currently,
a sport pilot may only act as pilot in command of an aircraft
that meets the definition of light-sport aircraft as defined in 14
CFR Part 1. In 2022, the FAA's data shows that there are slight

Avionics News - October 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News - October 2023