April Fool's?
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]on
Behalf Of Gordon Smith
Sent: Wednesday, April 01, 2009 10:30 AM
To: Ercoupe Flying; Ercoupe Tech
Subject: [ercoupe-tech] LSA weight Limit Lifted
'Old Pilots Are Usually Fat, Too'
ANN APRIL 1st "SPECIAL" EDITION: The Federal Aviation Administration
announced Wednesday a major shift in policy in regards to the nearly
five-year-old Sport Pilot category, affecting light sport aircraft. The
agency will soon issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, stating the maximum
gross weight restriction for aircraft certificated as LSA will be raised to
1,800 lbs.
"Let's face it... older pilots are the primary beneficiaries of the
Sport Pilot rating at this point, and old pilots are usually fat, too," said
Acting Administrator Lynne Osmus.
"In addition to that reality, a number of European-sourced sport
aircraft are certified in their home markets for gross weights of up to
1,700 lbs; for them, the US 1,320 lb. restriction for land-based aircraft is
only a line on a piece of paper. Why should we subtract usefulness in the
name of bureaucracy?"
Of course, in addition to raising the allowable useful loads for a
number of existing light sport aircraft, the eased weight restriction should
also theoretically make available a number of older aircraft designs in the
LSA category; namely, the Cessna 140 and 152 lines.
"We realize how unpopular the agency's original decision in regards
to LSA weight was with some," Osmus said. "It's taken a long time, but the
FAA is starting to come around."
FAA Administrator-Designate Randy Babbitt is also said to be in
favor of the plan.
