The long wait for MOSAIC will continue — at least through this summer.
At an opening day presentation at the 2025 SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo, those in the know shared the latest update on the proposed rulemaking from the FAA, known as the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certificates (MOSAIC).
Designed to update the 2004 rules that created Light Sport Aircraft and the Sport Pilot certificate, the final MOSAIC rule — which has been in the works for years — is expected to be released this summer.
Although the panel noted they would like to see the rule released in time for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025, which runs from July 21-27, they note that it will probably be August before the agency releases the final rule.
Once the FAA releases the final rule, it will have an “effective date” at least 30 days and possibly up to 60 days after the release date, the SUN ’n FUN panelists noted.
But there is an “interesting complication” to MOSAIC, said Adam Morrison, who is Vice Chair of ASTM F37, the committee on light sport aircraft.
ASTM, which stands for the American Society for Testing and Materials, is an international organization that develops voluntary consensus standards for a wide range of industries, including aviation.
“The standards of the MOSAIC rule are based on ASTM standards. If you don’t know what the rule is, it’s difficult to write the standards for them,” he said. “We all have a pretty good idea of most of what the regulation is going to be, but there can be some devil in the details, so there could be a period of time once the rule is released that the ASTM group needs to put together the final standards that meets the regulation.”
“Hopefully that can be done within that 30 day or 60 day window after the rule is announced and becomes effective,” he continued. “That’s going to be an obstacle that’ll need to be crossed, though ASTM is working diligently to do that.”
However, Jack Pelton, chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), noted that once MOSAIC is approved by the FAA, the definition of Light Sport Aircraft will change immediately. That means the rule will encompass airplanes like the Cessna 172 and Cessna 182, he said.
“There will be no waiting for an ASTM standard,” he said. “It’ll be based on when the regulation policy gets put in place.”
Pelton then threw another complication into the mix. During President Trump’s first term, he decreed that for every new rule that was created, two rules had to be eliminated.
“He’s upped that to for every new rule there has to be 10 rules eliminated,” Pelton said. “We’re watching this very closely.”
He added that since MOSAIC will have a “positive impact on our economy and aviation in general, we don’t think it’s going to get hung up in that trap of the trading one for 10. We do know the FAA is working on a Plan B, coming up with a list of things that could be eliminated.”
But he emphasized that there is “good news” coming out of the FAA.
“Nothing has slowed down, nothing has stopped. It’s still a priority within the FAA,” he said. “It’s still being worked on. There’s no, ‘let’s reevaluate it,’ it’s moving forward.”
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) President Darren Pleasance agreed, noting that in the conversations AOPA officials have had with the FAA, MOSAIC is considered “a win.”
“And they need a win right now,” he said. “So there’s a lot of energy to get this across the line.”
Win-Win
Once MOSAIC is finally put into place it will also be a win for the general aviation industry, according to the panel.
What MOSAIC does is transition LSA to a “performance-based regulation” as opposed to “the traditional prescriptive regulations” that require LSA weigh no more than 1,320 pounds and places additional restrictions on pilots who fly them.
The new rules are expected to:
Increase the maximum speed to 250 knots CAS
Allow controllable-pitch propellers
Allow retractable landing gear
Increase stall speed to 54 knots
The increase in stall speed will enable increased aircraft weights for more robust airframes, installation of safety-enhancing equipment, higher fuel capacity, and more seating capacity. The change also will allow airplanes up to about 3,000 pounds to be included in this rulemaking, general aviation advocates note.
EAA’s Pelton said the association is advocating the FAA increase the stall speed even more — to 58 knots. If that happens, he said that “probably close to 70% of every current certified single-engine piston aircraft in the fleet today would qualify to be flown as a light sport aircraft.”
And if that happens, “a whole host of aircraft become available to be used for light sport training and the sport pilot license,” AOPA’s Pleasance said. “And that can only reduce the cost of flight training.”
Being able to train for a sport pilot certificate in a 152, 172, or even a 182 creates a “stepping stone” for people to work their way up to a private pilot certificate and the other certificates “up the chain,” he said.
“This will lower the barriers to entry and should result in a lot of new folks coming into aviation,” he said.
Pelton agreed, noting that these new pilots can fly using BasicMed, known as the “driver’s license medical,” while opening up a “whole host of existing airplanes that are in the fleet and in the market today.”
Pelton added that while the focus of MOSAIC has been on the airplane, the real changes will be “wildly expanded opportunities for sport pilot airmen.”
“The capabilities of the aircraft you can fly are going to expand tremendously. A sport pilot will be able to fly a four seat, maybe a six seat aircraft, with only one other passenger in it, but you can have that capability. The sport pilot airmen will be able to fly constant speed or some derivation like that as a single lever control retractable gear. Many of these items may be with additional sign-offs, as would be appropriate, but that sport pilot airman is going to have that access. So it’s lowering the barrier to getting into aviation.”
He noted it will take “half the time and cost half as much money” to earn a certificate that will allow you to fly most of the general aviation aircraft on the airport ramp.
And he points to a practical point: Up until now, those with a sport pilot certificate have found it difficult to find an LSA to fly.
“Because nobody has any on their ramps, none of the FBOs have one. They’ve got a whole fleet of 172s out there that you just get to look at, but you can’t legally go fly — this now takes that away. So when you do get your sport pilot license, you now have access to the fleet that are at all of the flight schools around the country today and all of the FBOs.”
Scott Severen, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA), noted that “this is significant because the charge of MOSAIC is to revitalize general aviation.”
“That’s one of the issues,” he said. “The other — since way back — has been to make flying more simple, which leads to more safety.”
With MOSAIC, the standards can be adjusted and amended, which allows “aircraft to evolve and grow with technology and as new ideas come through,” he said.
Morrison agreed.
“There’s opportunities to keep aircraft up to date,” he said, noting this is a “big issue with type certificated aircraft since once the type certificates are issued, that aircraft has to stay in compliance with its type certificate. And as safety rules change and regulations change, the aircraft don’t change to stay up to date.”
The panelists concluded by saying MOSAIC is a “breakthrough” for aviation.
“Our last big one was the creation of sport pilot, but we didn’t get in that everything we wanted to,” Pelton said. “And this is going to be a huge life extender for aviation and for all of us flying and keeping planes that are out there today.”
“What an exciting time to be involved in aviation,” Severen concluded. “We often hear that there’s nothing new in aviation. I’m telling you there’s a whole lot new in aviation coming up.”
