Mosaic. In the world of art, a mosaic is a piece of artwork made by combining many small pieces to make a whole object, whatever it might be.
In the aviation world, MOSAIC has taken on a new meaning. In ‘FAA speak’, MOSAIC is a new acronym that describes a new certification process that the FAA hopes to be implementing at a future date. It was announced on July 19, 2023, as a proposal, during AirVenture.
With the FAA, the MOSAIC ‘proposal’ stands for the proposed ‘Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification’. This is a mouthful! What does it mean? This proposal is being designed to enhance the safety and performance of Light Sport Aircraft, aka LSA’s.
According to Acting FAA Administrator for Safety, David Boulter, “this rule will encourage manufactures to make Light Sport Aircraft operations safer, more versatile and accessible while maintaining rigorous safety standards".
Under this new proposal, the aircraft’s weight limit is based on its stall speed. MOSAIC would permit higher stall speeds, and the proposal would bring aircraft weighing up to 3,000 pounds into the LSA regulatory framework, such as a Cessna 172, which typically weighs less than 2,500 pounds. But, under the MOSAIC proposal, the pilot and only one passenger could be carried in a four-seat airplane. Under the original LSA rules, a Light Sport Aircraft is limited to 1,320 pounds, including the pilot and one passenger.
The intent of this is to allow sport pilots to be able to safely operate larger aircraft that are used in more airborne roles.
Note that this is only a Proposal right now. There is a 90-day comment period, that started on July 19, after which the FAA will publish a final rule and will respond to the comments.
For more information on this, go to
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2023/july/25/mosaic-proposed-rule-published
Fly safely,
John
