Did I miss the Era of GA?

"Dana M. Hague" d(dash)m(dash)hague(at)comcast(dot)net wrote

A lot of people (mainly ultralight pilots) are finding nothing good
about SP/LSA, and I agree that it just about completely missed its
original target (which was the absorbtion of "fat" ultralights).

But it did absorb the so-called "fat" ultralights - they can now be
certified as LSA which only require a sport pilot license to fly. Before
SP/LSA they were technically aircraft that required a recreational or
private license to fly, so the rules have been relaxed quite a bit.

The problem is that unlicensed ultralight pilots were illegally flying these
aircraft which clearly didn't fit the Part 103 definition of an ultralight,
and they were hoping that the SP/LSA initiative would include a
re-definition of what an ultralight was. But that was never promised. In
fact, I believe the FAA specifically said that that was not being
considered.

Ultralight pilots are "finding nothing good about SP/LSA" because they will
no longer be able to operate outside of the CFRs without being noticed. I'm
not so sure that this is a bad thing.

BDS

BDS writes:

Ultralight pilots are "finding nothing good about SP/LSA" because they will
no longer be able to operate outside of the CFRs without being noticed. I'm
not so sure that this is a bad thing.

I'm not sure that it's a good thing, either. What problems were they causing
in the past?

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On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:45:53 GMT, "BDS" wrote:

But it did absorb the so-called "fat" ultralights - they can now be
certified as LSA which only require a sport pilot license to fly...

Yes, and not necessarily a bad thing... but now they're finding just
how much money and hassle that is going to involve (compared to the
relative freedom of Part 103). Also some owners are having a hell of
a time geting their grandfathered aircraft inspected before the
deadline, because there just aren't enough inspectors.

However, the industry (and media) focus is not on the absorbed
ultralights, but on the [expensive] LSA aircraft which have more in
common with the GA aircraft than ultralights.

...they were hoping that the SP/LSA initiative would include a
re-definition of what an ultralight was. But that was never promised. In
fact, I believe the FAA specifically said that that was not being
considered.

No, and that IS a good thing. Part 103 never would been created in
this day and age, and any attempt to rewrite 103 would doubtless
result in a LOT less freedom.

Ultralight pilots are "finding nothing good about SP/LSA" because they will
no longer be able to operate outside of the CFRs without being noticed. I'm
not so sure that this is a bad thing.

No, it's not bad... and actually may well lead to a revitalization of
"true" ultralights, for all the pilots who don't want to deal with the
hassles of registration, licensing, etc., for whatever reason.

I've had a PPL for 30 years... but at the moment I'm flying
ultralights because it's just so much simpler-- and not all that
different from buzzing around the local area in the T-Craft I used to
own.

-Dana


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On Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:08:52 -0400, Dana M. Hague
d(dash)m(dash)hague(at)comcast(dot)net wrote:

I've had a PPL for 30 years... but at the moment I'm flying
ultralights because it's just so much simpler-- and not all that
different from buzzing around the local area in the T-Craft I used to
own.

Dana,

If you're up for flying a Sundowner one of these days...

barry at bburke dot com and I'll shoot you a phone number!

You can leave the Gremlin at home and I'll pick you up in Chester.