For the next two days, dozens of sport aviation industry experts and luminaries will be huddled together at Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight Aviation Museum. They are attending an Aero-News Network-sponsored meeting designed to take some serious "next-steps" on the road to building the oh-so-critical consensus standards mandated by the FAA for Sport Pilot aircraft certification.

We're pleased to note that solid progress is being made. Several extensive fixed wing specs, under the enlightened Chairmanship of FlightStar/HPower's Tom Peghiny, have been voted on and initial approval has reportedly been reached on the most important (and involved) of what will be a number of pivotal standards. Specifications and standards for powered parachute certification will also be discussed though those standards seem a mite immature for the moment. Weight-shift aircraft standards have been written and are under discussion, as well. Under the expert guidance of Rotax expert Eric Tucker, engine/powerplant standards will also be discussed and dissected en masse.

At the moment, the long awaited Sport Pilot rule seems delayed until at least Oshkosh 2003 (July) though welcome rumors of some unexpected compromise on contested ultralight training waiver issues has reportedly been discussed favorably. ANN Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, a member of a number of ASTM committees, will be in attendance this week and will be reporting each day. More info to follow.

FMI: http://www.astm.org