Certification of Aircraft and Airmen for the Operation of Light-Sport Aircraft

The FAA is creating a new rule for the manufacture, certification, operation, and maintenance of light-sport aircraft. Light-sport aircraft weigh less than 1,320 pounds (1,430 pounds for aircraft intended for operation on water) and are heavier and faster than ultralight vehicles and include airplanes, gliders, balloons, powered parachutes, weight-shift-control aircraft, and gyroplanes. This action is necessary to address advances in sport and recreational aviation technology, lack of appropriate regulations for existing aircraft, several petitions for rulemaking, and petitions for exemptions from existing regulations. The intended effect of this action is to provide for the manufacture of safe and economical certificated aircraft that exceed the limits currently allowed by ultralight regulation, and to allow operation of these aircraft by certificated pilots for sport and recreation, to carry a passenger, and to conduct flight training and towing in a safe manner.