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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0177.PDF
Older designs like the Commander 115 would have benefited from the new certification process licence and aircraft category when proposed early this year: the sport pilot licence and the so- called "Light Aircraft Category" (LAC). The Notice of Proposed Rule Making is expected any day now. It will create a new oper ating licence that provides more utility than the "Recreational Pilot" category of 1983, while retaining some of die restrictions placed on the recreational pilot. After 17 years, fewer than 1,000 people have earned a Recreational Pilot Certificate. Sport pilot licence holders, however, will enjoy utility that was never available under the recreational ticket. For example, a d Sport Pilot will have the option of flying cross country, compared to the 92.5km (50nm) limit imposed on the Recreational Pilot. Sport Pilots will also be able to enter special-use airspace under the same conditions applied today under FAR 91. But they will still be limited to VFR operations identical to the recreational pilot. The FAA made its biggest departure from past practice with medical certification requir ing either a standard third class medical or a valid driving licence. The LAC aircraft that Sport Pilot Certificate holders are eligible to fly will also be distinct: a maximum gross weight of 587kg (1,2921b), a non-turbine engine, two seats, a stall speed of no more than 39kt (72km/h), Lancair was one of the early companies to capitalise on certification improvement for light aircraft Eclipse Aviation was in negotiations with the FAA from the start to establish the CPIfor its Eclipse 500 and a maximum-speed limit of around lOOkt. Only several hundred designs of what's been 'called "light experimental "aircraft are eligible for certification as experimental/amateur built aircraft, and then only if the builder performs 51% of the construction. Flying an exper imental/amateur built aircraft requires a stu dent, private or recreational certificate. "If sport pilot comes about, there are about 3 0,000 aircraft out there that are basically heavy ultralights that would have to be test certificat ed for sport pilots to take advantage of them," notes Gallagher. "We swallowed hard at the thought of [certificating] 30,000 airplanes, but we moved ahead." TWO CATEGORIES The proposals envision two categories of light aircraft: ones that existed before the rule, the the other covering aircraft made after the rule goes into effect in the latter half of this year. "Basically, we're going to treat them differ ently," says Gallagher. The present designs will be eligible for experimental approval, while new ones will be eligible for the LAC designation through a self-certification process developed in concert with the manufacturer's DER and local FSDO officials. Sport pilots will be legal to fly these under either category if the plane meets the light aircraft guidelines. These LAC aircraft can be factory built and delivered to customers ready-to-fly with no home assembly required. And LAC-approved designs can be rented and used for-hire by flight schools to train Sport Pilots - a major change from today's restrictions on experimental/ ama teur built aircraft. HANDLING CERTIFICATION "This is going to be managed by the designees in the industry," Gallagher explains, "because we don't have the resources to handle certificat ing 30,000 existing airplanes." "After the rule is in effect, people get approved through the manufacturer coming in and self-certifying the plane as built to the stan dard. Manufacturers will also be required to establish a quality-control system, perform flight tests of new planes before delivery, provide customers with a flight manual, and establish a continuing airworthiness system to cover inspections and routine maint enance." Then, Gallagher notes, the company will get a special airworthiness certificate for light aircraft. Says the EAAs Poberezny: "This should open up flying to a lot more people than our existing venues allow. It should be very positive for the industry and very positive for the FAA. Put that one on the positive side of the FAA ledger." • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16 - 22 January 2001 27
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