There is a lot of rumor-mongering circulating, at the moment, concerning the welfare and status of the FAA's much-ballyhooed Sport Pilot Rule.

A high-level source, in regular contact with the FAA and Sport Pilot-associated officials, has confirmed the worst... that there are more delays in the works for the oft-delayed, over-promised Sport Pilot rule.

It now appears that the FAA has taken back the Sport Pilot rule (albeit temporarily) from the officials who are working it over at OMB. The reason for this is simple... to work on the questions OMB was raising with certain aspects of the program.

This may be a smart move since it allows the FAA to answer the questions that were building up over at OMB without having to run it back through the validation process ALL OVER AGAIN. Better yet; this move may prevent the possibility of the rule getting killed off by those same remaining questions and concerns. If questions and concerns persisted to the end of the process, there was the danger that OMB could have rejected the entire package out of hand and doomed over a decade's worth of work to failure and an expectant industry to further damage and malaise.

It's NOT good news... but it's better than an absolute failure. At this point, we do not expect to see any final Sport Pilot Rulemaking by Lakeland and are now getting concerned about whether it will make it to Oshkosh... the one place where it's announcement might be best made. We'll keep you informed as situations warrant... Cross your fingers.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.omb.gov