On Sun, 1 Feb 2009 20:53:47 -0600, Maxwell wrote:

"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...

Actually, part of it is because I goofed. I should have said 800Kg for
the weight--because I wanted my weight to include the common existing
basic trainers, such as the 152 and Tomahawk which actually weigh about
760Kg. The other big problem with the weight is that it still seems to
press the limits of the available materials, so that many of the LSA
aircraft are forced to use a lot of carbon fiber in an effort to give a
practical usefull load--and even then it is not enough because so many of
the pilots who have a problem medical certification are overweight.
Therefore, I strongly suspect that a large proportion of LSA aircraft are
simply operated over gross.

I also have two problems with the speed range allowed. First, I fail to
see any good reason that an entry level aircraft should not deliver a
practical speed for travel. The second is safety--the slower an aircraft
lands and takes off, the less crosswind it can usually tolerate.

In addition to my personal belief in nationalism, it would have been so
much simpler to just create the Light Sport Pilot classification to cover
2 seat aircraft that are neither complex nor high performance. That would
have allowed the development of a far more capable class of LSA--and one
free from the poor initial accident record tat we have experienced.

Peter

Splendid outline, I couldn't agree more. But it seems to me the deliberately
intended to limit all LSA pilots to the fat ultralights that had grown out
of control.

I don't think they were trying to do anyone a favor, just pencil whip a
problem that had grown beyond there desire to control it.

Golly Maxwell, welcome the world of sane discussions. You're not a
complete asshole after all.