Light Sport Aircraft

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 22:30:18 GMT, (sleepy6) wrote:

In article ,
says...

Is it correct to say that the consensus standards do not apply, when
it is a plans built? How about kit meeting 51% self built rule?

I'm still not exactly sure I understand what an experimental LSA is, a
and what hoops must be jumped through.

An ELSA is simply an SLSA that has been pulled off the production line
at whatever point the customer wants. The customer then finishes the
planes following the EXACT factory instructions but it must be
identical to the SLSA. All factory parts and no modifications at all.

It is subject to the same maintaince etc requirements as SLSA but can
not be used for instruction or rental.

Sleepy is correct. The LSA regs do not affect the classic 51% homebuilts *at
all*. The same old process is in effect. If your 51% homebuilt meets the
definition of a Light Sport Aircraft (gross weight, stall speed, etc.) it can be
flown by a person with Sport Pilot privileges (either someone with an actual
Sport Pilot license, or someone with a higher license and an lapsed medical) but
the licensing and maintenance regulations are the same as they've always been.

One small point that I'll correct Sleepy on: The Experimental LSA is not quite
subject to the same maintenance requirements of a Special Light Sport Aircraft.

On the SLSA:

1. Preventative maintenance can be performed by the owner (just like FAR 23
aircraft).
2. Normal/major maintenance must be performed by an A&P or a person with a
Light Sport-Maintenance (LS-M) Repairman Certificate
3. Annual inspections must be performed by either an A&P or a person with a
LS-M Repairman Certificate.

For the ELSA:

1&2. Preventative AND Normal/major maintenance can be performed by the owner
3. Annual inspections must be performed by an A&P, a person with a LS-M
Repairman Certificate, or someone with the other new Repairman Certificate,
Light Sport- Inspection (LS-I).

The LS-I Repairman Certificate is similar to the Amateur-Built aircraft
repairman certificate, with two significant exceptions:

First, the applicant must complete a 16-hour training course. You can NOT
receive an LS-I just by assembling an ELSA. You MUST take the course.

Second, a person with an LS-I may perform the annual inspection on *any* ELSA
they own. Unlike the Amateur-Built Repairman Certificate, it is not applicable
to only one aircraft. Once you earn the LS-I, you can buy another ELSA kit or a
completed ELSA aircraft and perform the annual inspections on it.

Sleepy touches on one sporty item about the ELSA category. Like he says, the
ELSA kit *must* be built exactly to the LSA kit manufacturer's instructions.
You cannot install an alternate engine, use a different covering system, etc.
It must be built precisely to the manufacturer's callout.

However... as far as I can tell, the owner can then modify the aircraft however
they chose, once the plane receives its formal ELSA airworthiness certificate.

Owners of SLSAs (the production LSAs) must maintain their aircraft in precise
accordance to the manufacturer's maintenance plan and continued safety
directives to continue to conform to the consensus standard. But the FAA also
says that owners of SLSAs can avoid having to follow the SLSA's manufacturer's
safety directives by changing their plane's airworthiness to ELSA.

It follows, then, that ELSAs are NOT required to continue to comply to the
consensus standard, and owners can modify them once they've received their
original ELSA certification.

Ron Wanttaja