Totally a hoax.
Jerry E.
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]on
Behalf Of Glenn Putnam
Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 10:14 AM
To: Gordon Smith
Cc: Ercoupe Flying; Ercoupe Tech
Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] LSA weight Limit Lifted
Is thia real or an april fools joke? Glenn
On Apr 1, 2009, at 11:29 AM, Gordon Smith wrote:
'Old Pilots Are Usually Fat, Too'
<image.tiff>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.
