"When we look at the whole sport pilot/light-sport aircraft (SP/LSA) market three years after [the FAA finalized] the SP/LSA rule, we’re doing pretty good," said Earl Lawrence, EAA’s vice president of industry and regulatory affairs. "It’s not perfect, but we’re certainly not doing badly. I’m impressed with how well the rule was written and how well the policy process has worked."

Lawrence’s remarks were made to about 30 key people from EAA, the FAA, LSA manufacturers, and other industry groups who gathered on Monday afternoon to report on "the state of SP/LSA." This meeting is a sort of an annual checkup on industry’s progress with SP/LSA regulations, polices, and standards.

Lawrence reported that under the rule there are 2,100 new sport pilots, 232 certificated sport pilot instructors, and 240 SP pilot examiners.

The FAA reported it has given nearly 3,700 sport pilot written tests, and that some 2,000 individuals have completed coursework to qualify as LSA repairmen.

Cessna’s entry into the LSA market is causing a "sea change" in the marketplace, Lawrence told the group. And Cirrus Design this week announced its plans for a new LSA, adding another "major player" to the market. With big names like Cessna and Cirrus in the SP/LSA game, manufacturers, suppliers, instructors, mechanics, and potential pilots who have been playing "wait and see" are now moving ahead with their plans to engage these new opportunities.

"SP/LSA is real, and we need to be players," Lawrence said. Public interest in SP/LSA is clearly growing, he added.

Infrastructure is still the big obstacle for many would-be sport pilots—SP instructors and pilot examiners and LSA training aircraft are in short supply in many parts of the United States, as are LSA mechanics and repair stations. But that is expected to change as major manufacturers like Cessna enter the field.

There are issues to resolve and challenges to meet as the SP/LSA industry moves forward, however. At Monday’s meeting, FAA and industry leaders updated each other on the recent progress on various "action items" and identified current and future issues to be addressed by the industry, the FAA or both. EAA has been the facilitator and a key participant in this working group each year since the SP/LSA rule was finalized.

One of the key concerns discussed is the rapidly approaching deadline for conversion of two-place ultralights to LSA. With the recommended August 15 deadline for requesting N numbers fast approaching, EAA fears that too many owner/pilots are putting off conversion, thinking they can "get through the summer flying season and then get it done." EAA has sold about 4,800 conversion kits, but only about 550 conversions have been completed. There may be as many as 6,000 aircraft eligible for conversion, and it remains an open question whether or not the FAA and industry would be able to handle a last-minute flood of UL-to-LSA conversion requests this fall.

The approval process for conversions takes about three weeks, Lawrence told the group, "and the message [EAA is] putting out is, ‘Don’t wait; get it done now.’"

"There will be no extension of the deadlines," said John Hickey, FAA director of aircraft certification. "And if they miss the deadline, that’s it—no second chances.

Other issues identified included:

• The need for an FAA policy to address non-compliance issues on factory-built light-sport aircraft.

• The need for an FAA policy on "international adoption"—foreign-licensed LSA brought into the United States by their owners.

• The availability of two-place trainers for the ultralight community.

• The long-term need for more trained LSA maintenance technicians and inspectors.

• The need for accurate and relevant accident reporting and analysis for LSA.

The group identified several other "action items" it will work on in the coming weeks and months. In each of these discussions, one saw a spirit of cooperation and a sense of shared goals, and a unanimous desire to work together to solve problems.

"As we focus on the problems that remain," for SP/LSA, said Doug Macnair, EAA’s Washington, D.C., representative, "it is important for us to remember how much progress we’ve made and how far we’ve come."

As to future concerns, FAA’s Hickey told the group, "A lot of these issues need to be driven by EAA." The FAA will work with the industry he said, and take up those issues as they come to the agency, "but EAA has more influence [than the FAA] to get people talking, to get conversation going" in the search for creative and effective solutions.