John Lasko is first person to fly under new Sport Pilot rule

By ANN Contributor Jon Thornburgh

At dawn on September 1, 2004 pilot John Lasko took off from runway 19 at El Monte Airport (CA). He was flying a tube-and-fabric, open-cockpit Quicksilver MX II Sprint.  Lasko thus became the first person in the United States to fly a Light Sport Aircraft under the new Sport Pilot rules recently promulgated by the FAA.

The long-awaited Sport Pilot initiative, which became effective on September 1, not only creates a new "sport" pilot certificate, but also modifies FAA regulations pertaining to aircraft certification, pilot medical requirements, flight instructor certificates, pilot examiners, aircraft manufacturing and aircraft maintenance. In addition, it creates two new categories of aircraft: "powered parachute" and "weight-shift," which is a large, engine-powered hang glider known as a "trike."  The purpose of the Sport Pilot program is to make flying more affordable, and to remove the requirement to learn skills and regulations that are not necessary for simple, easy-to-fly light-sport aircraft.

By FAA definition, a light-sport aircraft (LSA) must weigh less than 1,320 pounds. This is almost 300 pounds less than the traditional Cessna 150 trainer. An LSA must also have a single engine, no more than two seats, and a top speed of not more than 138 mph.  Most aircraft that meet these criteria look like ultralights. Indeed, most of the ultralights currently flying in the United States will have to be converted into light sport aircraft by August 31, 2007.

The Quicksilver Sprint that John flew at El Monte is in the experimental amateur-built category, call sign N62351. The wings and fuselage are made of aluminum tubing covered by Dacron fabric. It is powered by a two-cylinder, two-cycle Rotax engine. It has minimal instruments on board, and the pilot sits in the open air with no cockpit surrounding him. The maximum weight of the airplane is 850 pounds. In keeping with the intent of the Sport Pilot initiative to make flying fun and affordable, the Sprint costs about $18,000.

John Lasko flew the Sprint without an FAA medical certificate.  Under the new Sport Pilot rule, a sport pilot may fly an LSA without taking the traditional FAA medical exam. A sport pilot only needs to have a valid driver's license issued in one of the 50 states or one of the US territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam or the US Virgin Islands. Although John is a private pilot, his FAA medical certificate has expired. John intentionally did not renew it so that he could demonstrate that pilots can legally fly without a medical certificate under the Sport Pilot provisions.

John is the director of foreign sales at the Quicksilver manufacturing plant in Temecula (CA). He has over 25 years of ultralight experience and was once a member of the USA World Cup Ultralight Flight Team, and at one time was a nationally-ranked hang glider pilot. John said that Quicksilver is prepared to market light sport aircraft as soon as the FAA finalizes the manufacturing specifications.

The Sprint is owned by Terry Johnston of Lawndale (CA). Terry is an FAA certified flight instructor as well as an ultralight instructor. He is also slated to graduate next month from A&P school at West Los Angeles College. He and John flew familiarization flights in the vicinity of the El Monte Airport on August 31, so that John would be ready to fly solo on the morning of September 1, the effective date of the Sport Pilot rule.

El Monte Airport is located north of Los Angeles. It is a radio-controlled airport in a city environment, which the FAA refers to as a “congested” area. Under the new Sport Pilot provisions a sport pilot will be able to fly out of radio-controlled airports in congested areas if the pilot has appropriate training and a logbook endorsement.

Terry said that El Monte Airport's administrator, Richard Smith, was very accommodating, as were the tower controllers. The Sprint cruises at 45 MPH, so the controllers were forced to integrate the slower-flying Sprint with the faster general aviation airplanes. Sometimes Terry and John had to extend their downwind leg in order to allow faster planes to go ahead of them. At other times, Terry and John did a “short-approach” with a quick descent in order to scoot in front of a general aviation airplane on a two-mile final approach.

Administrator Richard Smith said that the airport is looking forward to seeing more light sport aircraft in the pattern. However, he noted that it will be a challenge for the controllers to integrate powered parachutes into the flight operations, since the parachutes only fly at 30 mph.

After his historic flight in the Sprint, Lasko next soloed a Quicksilver GT-500. Although the GT-500 qualifies as an LSA, it has an enclosed cabin and looks more like a traditional general aviation airplane than the Sprint. The GT-500 is faster and more sophisticated than the Sprint, and costs about $10,000 more.

John was checked out in the GT-500 by the author of this article, Jon Thornburg. This particular GT-500, N5500R, is registered in the FAA-certified “Primary Category.” It is certified under FAR Part 21, rather then the traditional FAR Part 23 for “Standard” airplanes. The Sport Pilot rule provides for another category of certified aircraft: the "Special" Light Sport Aircraft (Special LSA).

Special LSA will not be manufactured under FAA rules, such as Part 21 or Part 23. Instead, the manufacturer will adhere to an industry-wide set of "consensus" standards. These standards are presently being developed by an ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) committee. The standards are not expected to be available to manufacturers until January 2005.

Manufacturers will not be able to deliver Special Light Sport Aircraft until early next year. In the meantime, an FAA pilot may fly any "N"-numbered airplane that meets the definition of an LSA, even if he does not have a medical certificate (This is true except in cases where the pilot has had his FAA medical denied, suspended or revoked. -- Ed.). In addition to many experimental amateur-built aircraft and the primary category GT-500, there are several lightweight standard category aircraft that fall within the LSA criteria. These include certain versions of the Aeronca, Ercoupe, Interstate, Luscombe, Piper (including the J-3), Porterfield and Taylorcraft. AOPA provides a list of such aircraft at www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/sport_aircraft.html.

Besides the Special Light Sport Aircraft, there will also be an "Experimental" LSA. These will be kit and plans-built aircraft that conform to the Sport Pilot industry consensus standard. The buyer who purchases the kit will be able to assemble the airplane, which will reduce the cost of buying an airplane. An interesting feature about the Experimental LSA is that the buyer does not have to build the "majority" of the aircraft, as must presently be done under the experimental amateur-built rules (known as the "51% rule").

Thanks to the new Sport Pilot initiative someday hundreds of light airplanes, trikes, and powered parachutes may fly over the Los Angeles basin, as well as many other cities and rural areas in the United States.

Photos by Kevin Byrne. Jon Thornburgh is an FAA CFI and ultralight instructor. He is a periodic contributor to Aero-News Network.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.aopa.org, www.eaa.org, www.sportpilot.org, www.aerosports.org, www.usua.org