U.S. Department of Transportation FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION



# REGULATORY EVALUATION

Additional Revisions to the Ce rtification of Aircraft and Airmen For the Operation of Light- Sport Aircraft

FINAL RULE (14 CFR PARTS 43, 61, 91, 141)

Office of Aviation Policy and Plans Operations Regulatory Analysis Branc h, APO-310 May 2009TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. i I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................

.. 1 II. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................

... 1 III. CHANGES FROM THE PROPOSED RULE TO THE FINAL RULE................................. 3
I V. COST OF THE FINAL RULE ............................................................................................... 7 V. BENEFITS OF THE FINAL RULE..................................................................................... 10 VI. DETERMINATION ...........................

................................ ................................ .................. 11i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This final rule will amend the rules for sport pi lots and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating. The FAA believes these changes are necessary to better manage the sport pilot
program.

The total cost of this rule will be roughly $683,000 ($472,000 discounted). This cost is due to the new requirement that owners and operators of special light-sport aircraft keep a record of the current status of applicable safety directives and to transfer that information on sale of the aircraft. This rule will benefit sport pilots by establishing more appropriate training requirements and eliminating unnecessary endorseme nts. Additionally, this rule will benefit pilots of powered parachutes and weight-shift-control aircraft by allowing them to fly at lower altitudes legally, enabling them to better ta ke advantage of their aircraft’s features and abilities. Also, this rule wi ll increase the maximum altitude at which sport pilots (or student pilots seeking sport pilot privileges) may fly, up to a maximum of 10,000 ft MSL or 2,000 ft AGL, whichever is higher. The FAA believes the benefits of this final rule justify its costs; therefore, this rule is cost-beneficial.

The FAA has determined that this final rule w ill not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This fi nal rule will have no significant impact on international trade. This final rule does not contain an unfunded mandate.1 I. INTRODUCTION This final rule will amend the rules for sport pilots and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating. The FAA believes these changes are necessary to better manage the sport pilot program.

II. BACKGROUND On July 27, 2004, the FAA issued the “Certification of Aircraft and Airmen for the Operation of Light-Sport Aircraft” final rule (69 FR 44772) . That rule established the certification requirements for sport pilots and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating in part 61. The rule also established requirements for the certificatio n, operation, maintenance, and manufacture of light-sport aircraft. Since adopting this rule, th e FAA has been evaluating the rule and has since proposed several changes, most of which either clarify current regulations or provide relief to sport pilots, student pilots seeki ng a sport pilot certificate and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating. The FAA believes these changes will improve the sport pilot program.

This final rule will do the following:

• remove the requirement that persons exercising sport pilot privileges have an aircraft make-and-model endorsement to operate a specific set of aircraft;

• remove the requirement for all flight instructor s to log at least 5 hours of flight time in a make and model of light-sport aircraft before providing training in any aircraft from the same set in which that training is given;

• allow anyone exercising sport pilot privileges an d the privileges of a student pilot seeking a sport pilot certificate to fly up to an altitude of not more than 10,000 feet MSL or 2,000 feet AGL, whichever is higher;2 • allow private pilots to receive compensa tion for production flight-testing of powered parachutes and weight-shift-cont rol aircraft intended for certification in the light-sport category in §21.190;

• revise solo cross-country navigation and co mmunication flight training requirements for student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate;

• clarify cross-country distance requirements for private pilots seeking to operate weightshift-control aircraft;

• revise the aeronautical experience requirem ents pertaining to operations at towered airports for anyone seeking to operate a powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft as a private pilot;

• remove the requirement for pilots with pow ered parachute and weight-shift-control aircraft ratings to take a knowledge test for another rating at the same certificate level;

• revise the number of hours of flight training an applicant for a sport pilot certificate must log within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the practical test ;

• remove expired ultralight transition provi sions and limit the use of aeronautical experience gained in ultralight aircraft;

• clarify that an authorized instructor must be in a powered parachute when providing flight instruction to a student pilot;

• remove the requirement for aircraft certificat ed as experimental light-sport aircraft under §21.191 (i) to comply with the applicab le maintenance and preventive maintenance requirements of part 43 when those aircraft have been previously issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category; Deleted: within 60 days before taking the practical test3 • require aircraft owners or operators to keep a record of the current status of applicable safety directives for spec ial light-sport aircraft;

• provide for use of aircraft with a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category in training courses approved under part 141; and

• revise minimum safe-altitude requirements fo r powered parachutes and weight-shiftcontrol aircraft.

III. CHANGES FROM THE PROPOSED RULE TO THE FINAL RULE As well as those changes that will be enacte d as discussed above in Section II, the FAA originally proposed to change the way sport pilots and sport pilot instructors were certificated. These proposed changes would: (1) replace sport pi lot privileges with aircraft category and class ratings on all pilot certificates; (2) replace sport pilot flight instructor privileges with aircraft category and class ratings on all f light instructor certificates; an d (3) remove current provisions for the conduct of proficiency checks by flight in structors and include provisions for the issuance of category and class ratings, typically by design ated pilot examiners. The regulatory evaluation for the NPRM included the costs of these proposals.

Currently, for a holder of a pilot certificate to earn added aircraft category and class privileges at the sport pilot level, that person must complete a proficiency check provided by an authorized instructor. On successful completion of that proficiency check, that person receives a logbook endorsement from the instructor. That endorsement allows the person to exercise sport pilot privileges in the category and class of aircraft in which the proficiency check was administered. Deleted:4 Similarly, for a flight instructor to earn privile ges to provide instruction leading to the issuance of a sport pilot certificate in an added category or class of light-sport aircraft, or to the issuance of a private pilot certificate in a powered parachut e or a weight-shift-control aircraft, that person must complete a proficiency check given by an au thorized instructor. On successful completion of that proficiency check, that person receives a logbook endorsement from the instructor who gave the proficiency check. That endorsement allows the person completing the proficiency check to provide instruction as a flight instruct or with a sport pilot rating in the category and class of aircraft in which the proficiency check was administered.

The FAA introduced these proposals because of concerns the agency may not be receiving documentation from authorized instructors afte r proficiency checks have been successfully completed. This led to the following concerns: (1) if there were an accident or incident, it may not be possible to determine if an individual was authorized and qu alified to operate the aircraft; (2) if a person lost his or her logbook, it could hinder that person’s ability to prove that he or she had privileges to operate a specific category and class of aircraft; and (3) if the FAA does not know which pilots are authorized to exercise added category and class privileges through logbook endorsements, the agency cannot provide safety information to affected pilots.

With these concerns in mind, the FAA proposed that holders of sport pilot (or other) certificates with category and class privileges obtained th rough instructor endorsements be issued pilot certificates with the category and class ratings corresponding to the privileges previously granted through instructor endorsements; and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating obtain5 appropriate category and class ratings, which would be indicated on that person’s flight instructor certificate.

Under the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), there would have not been any added burden on current certificate holders if the FAA had a record of their endorsements. However, those whose records were not on file with the FAA would have had to complete an Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application- Sport Pilot (FAA Form 8710-11). This would be presented, with evidence of their endorsements, to a designated pilot examiner or FAA inspector before the FAA would issue that person a ce rtificate with corresponding category and class ratings. However, as discussed in the p reamble to the NPRM, the FAA is withdrawing the proposal to remove the requirement for persons exercising sport pi lot privileges and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating to have to carry their logbooks while in flight.

The FAA also had proposed the practice of gainin g privileges to operate a light-sport aircraft after completion of a proficiency check by an au thorized instructor would be discontinued. Instead, ratings (indicated on a person’s pilot certificate rather than by endorsement in a logbook) would be issued after completing a practic al test typically given by an FAA-designated pilot examiner (DPE). The FAA’s rationale fo r proposing to require applicants to take a practical test from a DPE was th at DPEs receive initial and recurre nt training in giving practical tests, and they are directly supervised by an avia tion safety inspector. Also, a DPE’s designation can be terminated if the FAA determines that person cannot administer a practical test in accordance with the Practical Test Standards. In contrast, authorized instructors are generally Deleted: P

Deleted: proposed requirement for

Deleted: not6 not trained to give tests leading to the issuance of certificate privileges, and the FAA does not have procedures in pl ace to oversee this.

In a related proposal, the FAA sought comments on whether to move the requirements for flight instructors with a sport pilot rating currently fou nd in part 61 subpart K to part 61 subpart H so that all flight instructor requirements would be located in one subpart and standardized. As stated in the NPRM, if the proposed changes for issuing flight instructor certificates with a sport pilot rating were adopted, the privileges and li mitations of those flight instructors and the methods by which they are certificated would be so similar to those of flight instructors currently certificated under subpart H that separate subparts for the certification of all flight instructors would no longer be necessary.

In light of several unfavorable comments received, the FAA has decided to withdraw the portions of the NPRM related to replacing sp ort pilot and sport pilot flight instructor privileges with aircraft category and class ratings. In addition, the FAA is withdrawing the proposed requirement that proficiency chec ks be replaced by practical tests conducted by the FAA or DPEs instead of authorized instructors, as well as the proposal to move all requirements for flight instructors with a sport pilot rating from subpart K to subpart H. Instead, the FAA is employing non-regulatory measures to address the agency’s concern that flight instructors have not been filing the appropriate documentation with the FAA, leading to the FAA’s airman database being in complete. (Further details can be found in the p reamble to the Final Rule.) Deleted: P7 The FAA also believed, in the NPRM, that current training requirements for sport pilots seeking to operate light sport aircraft with a V H greater than 87 knots CAS should be changed. Specifically, many sport pilots operate aircraft with instrument flying capabilities, but have not received training on how to use those capabilities. The proposed rule would require 1 hour of flight training on the control and maneuvering of an airplane solely by reference to instruments for student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate to operate an airplane with a V H greater than 87 knots CAS. This training would also apply to sport pilots operating airplanes with a V H greater than 87 knots CAS. After receiving several comments in opposition, the FAA has decided to withdraw this proposal.

IV. COST OF THE FINAL RULE In this analysis, the FAA estimated future costs for a 10-year period, from 2010 to 2019. As required by the Office of Management and Budget, the present value of this stream of costs was calculated using a discount factor of 7 percent. In addition, it is assumed the number of special light-sport aircraft pilots gr ows by 2.86 percent per year. 1 All costs in this analysis are in 2008 dollars.

The final rule will include clarifications and revisi ons for operators of light-sport aircraft. It will amend §43.1 to except experimental light-sport aircraft previously certificated as special lightsport aircraft from the maintenance and preventi ve maintenance requirements of Part 43. The final rule will require owners and operators to keep a record of the current status of applicable safety directives and to transfer that information when the aircraft is later sold. It is estimated

1 This growth rate was estimated from data provided by the Light Sport Aviation Branch, AFS-610.8 that operators will spend no more than two hour s per aircraft per year complying with this requirement. As a result, the FAA expects that operators will incur a cost of roughly $683,200 ($472,400 discounted) over a ten-year period. Table 1 below shows how these costs were calculated. Table 1: SLSA Maintenance Requirement Costs

Year Number of SLSA Aircraft Hours Required Per Aircraft Value of Pilot / Operator Time Total Cost Discount Factor Discounted Cost a b c a x b x c 2010 953 2 $31.50 $60,039 0.93458 $56,111 2011 980 2 $31.50 $61,740 0.87344 $53,926 2012 1008 2 $31.50 $63,504 0.81630 $51,838 2013 1037 2 $31.50 $65,331 0.76290 $49,841 2014 1066 2 $31.50 $67,158 0.71299 $47,883 2015 1096 2 $31.50 $69,048 0.66634 $46,010 2016 1127 2 $31.50 $71,001 0.62275 $44,216 2017 1159 2 $31.50 $73,017 0.58201 $42,497 2018 1192 2 $31.50 $75,096 0.54393 $40,847 2019 1226 2 $31.50 $77,238 0.50835 $39,264 $683,172 $472,432

The final rule includes some provisions that will provide relief to sport pilots and student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating. Although there may be some cost savings resulting from these pr ovisions, the FAA is unable to quantify them. The final rule will remove the requirement for p ilots with only powered parachute and weightshift-control aircraft ratings to take a knowledge test for another rating at the same certificate level (see §61.63). It will also re duce the number of hours of flight training an applicant for most types of sport pilot privileges must log within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the practical test from three to two (see §61.313). For thos e seeking a sport pilot certificate with (1) powered-parachute category land or sea class privileges or (2) lighter-than-air category and balloon-class privileges, th is rule will only require that one hour be logged within the preceding 2 Deleted: training that applicants for most types of sport pilot privileges must log within 60 days prior to taking the practical test9 calendar months from the month of the practical test . For gliders, this rule will reduce the aeronautical experience that must be logged in preparation for the practical test from 3 hours to 3 training flights. This rule will remove the requirement for student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate to receive training on the use of radios for VFR navigation and two-way communications, unless those radios are insta lled in the aircraft to be flown.

The final rule also includes provisions that are relieving to owners of experimental light-sport aircraft and sport pilot instructors. It will remove the requirement for an aircraft certificated as an experimental aircraft in the light-sport cate gory to comply with the applicable maintenance and preventive maintenance requirements of part 43 when those aircraft have been previously issued a special airworthiness cer tificate in the light-sport category (see §43.1). It will also allow for use of aircraft with a specia l airworthiness certificate in th e light-sport category in training courses approved under part 141 (see §141.39). It will remove the requirement for all flight instructors to log at least 5 hours of flight time in a make and model of light-sport aircraft before providing training in any aircraft from the same set in which that training is given (see §61.415).

The final rule also includes several no-cost clarif ications and revisions. It will amend §91.119 toallow powered parachutes and weight-shift-control aircraft to be operated over other-thancongested areas at less than 500 feet above the surface, provided the operation is conducted without hazard to any person or property on the surface. It will also allow anyone exercising sport pilot privileges and the privileges of a student pilot seeking a sport pilot certificate to fly up to an altitude of not more than 10,000 feet MSL or 2,000 ft AGL, whichever is higher. It will clarify the cross-country distance requirements for weight-shift-control aircraft private pilot Deleted: within the 60-day period b efore the practical tes t10 training. However, this clarification will not impose any new requirements on pilots or instructors and thus will impose no extra costs. The rule will also clarify that an authorized instructor must be on board a powered parachut e when providing flight instruction to a student pilot. Since this is required under current regu lations, this will not impose any extra costs.

The final rule will remove all expired ultralight transition provisions. The removal of all expired ultralight transition provisions from Part 61 will not affect the cost of this rule. Similarly, provisions of the rule that serve to clarify cu rrent practice or that affect the placement of regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations will also incur no added costs.

As a result, the FAA estimates the total cost of this rulemaking to be $683,200 ($472,400 discounted). This cost comes from the final ru le requirement that owne rs and operators keep a record of the current status of applicable safety directives.

V. BENEFITS OF THE FINAL RULE This rule benefits sport pilots, student pilots seeking a sport pilot certificate, and flight instructors with a sport pilot rating in several ways; however, the FAA is unable to quantify them. Pilots of powered parachutes and weight-shi ft-control aircraft will benefit, as they will be allowed to safely operate over other-than-conge sted areas at altitudes of less than 500 feet, provided the operation is conducted without hazard to people or property on the surface. Many of these aircraft have been designed with the in tent of conducting operations at altitudes below those allowed by the current regulations. This rulemaking will allow thes e operators to fly at lower altitudes, enabling them to more fully use th e features of their aircraft. Conversely, this Deleted: legally11 rule also increases the maximum altitude that sport pilots or anyone seeking sport pilot privileges may fly at up to a maximum of 10,000 ft MSL or 2,000 ft AGL, whichever is higher.

The final rule will benefit those pilots of powered parachutes or weight-shi ft-control aircraft who wish to engage in production flight-testing. The rule will allow these pilots to receive compensation for production flight-testing of a spec ial light-sport aircraft. This final rule will benefit those who buy special light-sport aircraft, as the new owners will have all the applicable safety directives for their aircraft and can use that information to more safely operate their aircraft. Finally, the final rule clarifies severa l existing regulations, resu lting in easier program administration for both the FAA and those in the field.

VI. DETERMINATION The FAA concludes the final rule will improve aviation safety by ensuring that directives are up to date while imposing only small costs on members of the sport pilot community. In addition, the other provisions are either relieving or impose either no or minimal cost without degrading safety. Therefore, the FAA has determined the rule will be cost-beneficial.