The latest controversy in the UL pilot community on the on-going process of learning about the new FAA rules on SP/LSA is about using an E-LSA for training.
Before the new rule, there was an exemption the FAA granted to allow 2-seat ultralight (UL) trainers. There was a giant loophole in that exemption that many people exploited, resulting in a very large number of 2-seat UL trainers flying around. Most of those weren’t being used for training but luckily there were still a significant percentage being used to properly train wannabe UL pilots.
So, in their omniscient wisdom, the FAA eliminated the exemption, effective January 2010, making it very difficult for wannabe UL pilots to get proper instruction in the right kind of aircraft. But that’s another problem. Today, we’ll focus on the aircraft themselves.
So, if you don’t convert your UL trainer to an E-LSA by January 2008, then it become a lawn ornament. If you do convert it to an E-LSA, and you want to continue using it as a UL trainer, then the FAA permits that BUT there is a logbook endorsement that says, essentially, in January 2010, the aircrafts airworthiness certificate expires. So, your plane becomes a lawn ornament.
The regs also say that, at that time, a “recurrent�? airworthiness certificate can be applied for, but it doesn’t say much more. Consequently, the guy that inspects aircraft — the DAR — can charge you again for an inspection. Or, you can get in line for an FAA inspection, which are free, but in some areas hard to come by.
Ok, so, what am I saying? Well, I’m not saying there isn’t a way get and keep your plane in the good graces of the FAA. There is. But it’s obvious — even if I explained it well, of which I have my doubts — that these rules are complex and burdensome, not to mention potentially expensive and aggravating. It certainly begs, again, the question of: why did the FAA impose all these regulations on a system that, although a bit liberal, was working? Why do people that have operated safely for decades with no regulatory requirements suddenly have to pony-up dollars and time just to keep doing what they’ve been doing?
It’s just yet another example of freedom-erosion in our country.
There’s an old saying about how your life and property are in peril as long as the legislature is in session… whoo boy, nothing’s changed, has it? …except that it’s getting worse.