In light of recent developments, perhaps some ups and downs of FAA’s involvement with Light-Sport aviation can offer perspective. First some background; then an appeal for your help on behalf of LSA. POSITIVE In the summer of 2004, precisely 35 years after the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon, FAA gave birth to Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot. An agency of the government wrote a regulation obeying a 1995 law saying government agencies should relax the reins whenever reasonable. Presto! SP/LSA. In essence, the idea was to set aviation free from heavy-handed regs like Part 23 while also taming what some saw as the “wild west” of ultralight aircraft. This shrewd move propelled a rather fantastic 127 new SLSA models in only seven years… like nothing in aviation, worldwide, ever. For three years, LSA sales were firecracker hot! NEGATIVE A couple years after the birthing, FAA started evaluating the producers.
You Can Help Prove the Safety of LSA
Airframe manufacturer audits are document and process verifications.
While time consuming to complete, FAA's survey gives useful info to regulators and others; your participation might help LSA be compared more equally.