"Good
progress" toward implementing sport pilot/light-sport aircraft rule
By David Sakrison
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The LSA Mall south of
AeroShell Square. Photo by Phil Weston |
Working together, the FAA
and the general aviation community are "making good progress"
toward full implementation of the less than 2-year-old sport
pilot/light-sport aircraft (SP/LSA) rule.
That was the consensus at
a meeting on Monday at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, attended by FAA officials
and organizations supporting SP/LSA and ultralight activities. The
meeting was facilitated by EAA to discuss ongoing implementation of the
SP/LSA regulations. The SP/LSA rule became effective in September 2004.
Both the FAA and EAA
cited strong evidence for the rapidly growing popularity of SP/LSA.
"The public is excited and lining up for training," said Earl
Lawrence, EAA’s vice president for governmental and public affairs. He
said one flight training school tripled its students in just one day
after announcing it would offer sport pilot flight training. "They
didn’t even have the aircraft yet," he added, "and people
were lining up to put down non-refundable $500 deposits for flight
training."
Lawrence also said many
people have told EAA they have been looking for a way to get into
aviation, but didn’t want to fly ultralights. "Now those people
are excited about sport pilot," he said.
Much of the evidence is
indirect or anecdotal, Lawrence admitted, "but something is
clicking out there. A lot of people are exploring sport pilot."
Larry Clymer, manager of
the FAA’s Regulatory Support Division, Light Sport Aviation Branch,
told the gathering, "We told a lot of people last year, ‘Let us
get the sport pilot infrastructure in place, and then you can go at it
hard this year.’ And that’s what they are doing." Both he and
Lawrence pointed to a rapid increase in applications "in the
pipeline," for sport pilots and SP instructors, mechanics,
examiners, and DARs (designated airworthiness representatives).
Some other signs of
progress:
• A total of 1,383
candidates have taken the sport pilot written test since January 2005,
with a 96.7 percent pass rate.
• As of early July, 396
people had earned the sport pilot rating and 96 had earned the sport
pilot instructor rating. The FAA is receiving 40 to 50 new applications
for sport pilot certificates every month.
• The EAA has compiled
a list of 423 qualified flight instructors who are available and willing
to provide sport pilot instruction, including 20 weight-shift
instructors and 21 powered parachute instructors.
• There are now more
than 500 light-sport aircraft registered in the United States and 37
newly certificated LSAs. And EAA has sold more than 2,100
ultralight-to-E-LSA conversion kits in the past 12 months.
Both Lawrence and FAA
officials agreed the number of sport pilots would probably be higher if
the manufacturers of light-sport aircraft were producing more airframes.
Of the 423 instructors on EAA’s list, only 37 percent have a
light-sport aircraft available in which to provide flight instruction.
Those 156 aircraft include 135 airplanes, 10 weight-shift craft, and 11
powered parachutes.
"Manufacturing
capacity is limited," said Lawrence. "A lot of these airplanes
are coming from Europe, and it takes time to get them built, shipped,
and U.S.-registered."
Many established flight
schools are hesitant to get into sport pilot, he noted. They are waiting
for the market and the manufacturers to prove themselves.
"Remember," he said, "this is still a very young
category."
Lawrence noted EAA and
the sport pilot community still have a number of concerns about
implementing sport pilot regulations, including medical certification
issues, delays in certificating pilots due to a lack of aircraft for
flight tests, compliance and proof of compliance with LSA manufacturing
standards, and certification of enough qualified mechanics and
examiners. But he pointed out that some significant concerns have been
resolved or are moving toward resolution. And he added that remaining
concerns should not detract from the tremendous progress that has been
made in the 23 months since the SP/LSA
rule took effect.
John Hickey, FAA director of Aircraft
Certification, told the gathering, "These [concerns] are real
problems, but we want to work with you to solve them."
