Racing the Federal Clock

As reported by the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) at the beginning of August 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration recently published its proposal for the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC). The proposal’s primary purpose is to expand the definition and number of aircraft eligible for future certification as a Light-Sport Aircraft (LSA), and expand, also, the authority and opportunities of those individuals certificated as Sport Pilots under Part 60 of the Federal Aviation Regulations.

Notwithstanding the buzz MOSAIC has occasioned amongst pilots and aeronautical stakeholders, little mention has been made in the aviation community or the press by which it’s served of the FAA’s intentions—under MOSAIC—to amend nine discrete regulations. Moreover, in supporting the proposal, the docket includes 17 supporting documents (including two draft advisory circulars), 129 footnotes with numerous standards and 26 Federal Register cites, and seven policy documents equating to well over one-thousand pages of directly relevant information.

The NPRM proposes to amend 14 CFR Parts:

• 1: Definitions.
• 21: Certification Procedures for Products and Articles.
• 22: (New), Design, Production, and Airworthiness Requirements for non-Type Certificated Aircraft.
• 36: Noise Standards: Aircraft Type and Airworthiness Certification.
• 43: Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Rebuilding, and Alteration.
• 45: Identification and Registration Marking.
• 61: Certification: Pilots, Flight Instructors, and Ground Instructors.
• 65: Certification: Airmen Other Than Flight Crewmembers.
• 91: General Operating and Flight Rules.
• 119: Certification: Air Carriers and Commercial Operators.

While the public’s focus has remained largely fixed on the expanded Sport Pilot privileges and limitations and the weight and performance increases of the Light-Sport Aircraft, the Aircraft Electronics Association has focused, primarily, on the following three areas:

Continued Airworthiness:

• The impact of the proposal on the general aviation maintenance industry.
• Replacement of parts and accessories.
• Alterations and modifications.

Personnel:

• LSA repairman (maintenance) privileges and limitations.
• Impact on workforce development.

Repetitive rulemaking:

• Part 23 rewrite versus MOSAIC.

As reported in the AEA regulatory update on 07 August 2023, MOSAIC is a tortuously complex proposal eminently and urgently deserving of thoughtful and thorough review. Ergo, in the interest of broader comprehension of the proposed regulation’s specifics and the ramifications thereof, the AEA, in conjunction with a number of industry partners, has requested a ninety-day extension of the MOSAIC NPRM comment period.

The NPRM may be read in its entirety at:  https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-14425.pdf .

Presently, public comments pertaining to the MOSAIC NPRM must be submitted no later than 23 October 2023.

Founded in 1957 to educate, communicate, and advocate for businesses engaged in the manufacture, support, and installation of aircraft electrical components and avionics, the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) represents nearly 1,300 member companies in more than forty countries.

FMI: www.aea.net