Light Sport Aircraft Regulations Under the New MOSAIC Rules

Light sport aircraft regulations set out a simplified corner of federal aviation law: a defined class of smaller, slower aircraft that a sport pilot can fly with less training than a private pilot license requires and, in most daytime conditions, on a valid driver’s license instead of a formal FAA medical certificate. The framework was reshaped by the FAA’s Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) final rule, published in July 2025, with staggered effective dates running through July 24, 2026. Sport pilot operating privileges are already in effect; the new manufacturing standards take hold on that 2026 date.¹

What Counts as a Light Sport Aircraft

The traditional definition sits in 14 CFR § 1.1 and stays in force until July 24, 2026. To meet it, an airplane must weigh no more than 1,320 pounds at takeoff (1,430 for seaplanes), fly no faster than 120 knots in level flight at maximum continuous power, stall no faster than 45 knots clean, carry no more than two people, and use a single reciprocating engine driving a fixed-pitch or ground-adjustable propeller. Landing gear must be fixed except on seaplanes and gliders, and the cabin must be unpressurized.²

Those limits were tight on purpose. A 1,320-pound airplane held to 120 knots carries little kinetic energy, which allowed simpler structures, simpler systems, and lower stakes when something went wrong.

MOSAIC moves away from that rigid weight-and-speed formula toward performance-based standards. Aircraft eligibility for sport pilots is now governed by the performance limits in 14 CFR § 61.316 rather than the old numbers. The old 1,320-pound cap and 120-knot ceiling no longer control what a sport pilot can fly.¹

What Sport Pilots Can Now Fly

The changes with the most immediate effect on people learning to fly or already flying:

The maximum clean stall speed for sport pilots rose to 59 knots, and light-sport category airplanes may have a landing-configuration stall speed up to 61 knots. That opens the door to heavier, more familiar designs like the Cessna 150 and 172.
Sport pilots may operate airplanes with up to four seats, though they remain limited to carrying only one passenger.
The old single-reciprocating-engine restriction is being eliminated on July 24, 2026. Turboprop, diesel, and electric powerplants all become eligible. Turbojets remain excluded.
Retractable landing gear is permitted after additional ground and flight training and an instructor endorsement under 14 CFR § 61.331.
Manual controllable-pitch propellers are allowed for sport pilots who complete the required training and receive the endorsement.

Aircraft certificated before July 24, 2026, keep their airworthiness certificates as long as they stay in their original or properly altered configuration. Nothing forces an existing airplane back through certification.

Getting a Sport Pilot Certificate

The sport pilot certificate is governed by 14 CFR Part 61 Subpart J. For airplane single-engine privileges, the regulatory minimums are 20 hours of total flight time, at least 15 hours of dual instruction with an authorized instructor, and at least 5 hours of solo flight. Other categories have their own numbers: gliders can require as few as 3 hours for pilots who already hold 20 hours in heavier-than-air aircraft, powered parachutes require 12 hours, and helicopters with simplified flight controls require 30 hours.³

Candidates also have to pass an FAA knowledge test covering airspace, weather, and aircraft systems, followed by a practical flight examination with a designated examiner. Most flight schools plan on 25 to 35 hours of actual training before a student is checkride-ready, so the 20-hour figure is a regulatory floor, not a realistic budget.

Flight Review and Passenger Currency

Every pilot must complete a flight review at least once every 24 calendar months to keep acting as pilot in command. That review includes a minimum of one hour of ground training on current flight rules and one hour of flight training on safe piloting skills, with the instructor deciding what to cover based on the pilot’s experience.⁴

Before carrying a passenger, you must have logged at least three takeoffs and three landings within the preceding 90 days in the same category and class of aircraft.⁵ Letting that 90-day currency lapse doesn’t affect your certificate. You just have to go up alone and knock out three landings before you can bring anyone with you.

Medical Rules and the Driver’s License Option

One of the biggest attractions of sport pilot flying is skipping the formal FAA medical certificate. Under 14 CFR § 61.23(c), a valid U.S. driver’s license serves as proof of medical fitness for daytime sport pilot operations, provided:

You follow every restriction on your license and any court or administrative orders related to driving.
If you have ever applied for an FAA medical certificate, your most recent application resulted in at least a third-class medical being issued.
Your most recently issued medical certificate has not been suspended or revoked, and no Special Issuance authorization has been withdrawn.
You have no known medical condition, and no reason to suspect one, that would prevent safe operation.

That second point is where people get caught. Apply for a medical, get denied, and you have just locked yourself out of the driver’s license option. An expired medical is not a denial, so pilots whose old medicals simply ran out are fine. A failed application is a different matter, and there is no easy way to reverse it. Think hard before applying for a medical if sport pilot privileges are the fallback plan.⁶

You do not need a sport pilot certificate to fly a light sport aircraft. Private, commercial, and airline transport pilots can all fly LSA under sport pilot operating limitations and use a driver’s license for medical eligibility under the same conditions. That matters most for older pilots whose medicals lapsed or who developed a condition that makes the formal medical process burdensome; as long as their last medical was not denied, suspended, or revoked, the driver’s license keeps them flying.

Where and When You Can Fly

Sport pilot privileges come inside a defined operational box. Under 14 CFR § 61.315:

You must maintain at least 3 statute miles of flight visibility and keep visual reference to the surface. Instrument flight is not permitted.
You cannot exceed 10,000 feet mean sea level, or 2,000 feet above ground level, whichever is higher.
Class A airspace, which begins at 18,000 feet MSL, is entirely off-limits.
Class B, C, or D airspace, and towered airports, require a specific endorsement.
Even in a four-seat airplane under MOSAIC, sport pilots may carry only one passenger.
You cannot carry passengers or property for compensation or hire, and you cannot fly in furtherance of a business. Sharing direct operating expenses with your passenger is permitted; profiting from a flight is not.

Violating these limits can lead to suspension or revocation of the certificate. Airspace incursions and unauthorized commercial operations draw the sharpest attention from the FAA.⁷

Night Flying

Sport pilots were flatly barred from night flying before MOSAIC. The new 14 CFR § 61.329 opens night operations to sport pilots who complete additional training: at least 3 hours of night flight training in the appropriate category and class with an authorized instructor, at least one night cross-country flight landing at an airport at least 25 nautical miles from the departure point, and at least 10 takeoffs and 10 full-stop landings at night. An instructor logbook endorsement certifies proficiency.⁸

Night operations also require you to hold either a formal FAA medical certificate or qualify under BasicMed (14 CFR § 61.113(i)). A driver’s license alone is not enough at night. If you have been flying on your license only, adding night privileges means getting at least a third-class medical or completing BasicMed first.

Controlled Airspace Endorsement

Sport pilots cannot fly in Class B, C, or D airspace, or at airports with operating control towers, without meeting 14 CFR § 61.325. That requires ground and flight training in radio communications, radar services, and towered airport operations, followed by a logbook endorsement from the instructor. There is no additional checkride. Pilots who trained at a towered field usually already covered the material; those trained at non-towered airports need to seek out the instruction before venturing into busier airspace.

Maintenance and Inspection Requirements

Maintenance rules differ depending on whether the aircraft carries a special light-sport airworthiness certificate (factory-built) or an experimental light-sport certificate (kit or amateur-built). Factory-built aircraft face the stricter framework under 14 CFR § 91.327.

All maintenance on factory-built light-sport aircraft must be performed by one of three people: a certificated repairman with a light-sport maintenance rating, an appropriately rated mechanic holding a full airframe and powerplant certificate, or a qualified repair station. Owners cannot perform their own maintenance on a factory-built LSA the way they might on a standard certificated airplane under the owner-performed preventive maintenance provisions.⁹

Experimental light-sport owners have more room. The builder is typically authorized to perform condition inspections and maintenance on their own aircraft after completing an FAA-accepted 16-hour inspection course and obtaining a repairman certificate with an inspection rating.¹⁰

Every light-sport aircraft with a special airworthiness certificate must receive a condition inspection at least once every 12 calendar months, following procedures developed by the manufacturer and signed off by a qualified person. Aircraft used for flight training for hire or glider towing for hire face an additional 100-hour inspection, matching the standard for traditional rental and training aircraft.¹¹

Owners must also track and comply with any airworthiness directives and follow the manufacturer’s service bulletins. Skipping a required directive can ground the airplane and void its airworthiness certificate. All maintenance must align with the current FAA-accepted consensus standards listed in the aircraft’s statement of compliance.

How Light Sport Aircraft Are Certified

Light sport aircraft have never been type-certificated the way a Cessna 172 or Piper Cherokee is. Manufacturers build to industry consensus standards, historically developed through ASTM International, and self-certify compliance by submitting FAA Form 8130-15, a Statement of Compliance, declaring that the aircraft meets the applicable consensus standards for design, production, quality assurance, and continued airworthiness.¹²

That structure keeps production costs lower and allows faster design iteration than traditional type certification, which can take years and cost millions. The tradeoff is that the FAA does not independently test and approve each design; the manufacturer bears responsibility for meeting the agreed-upon safety standards.

Under MOSAIC, the consensus-standards approach continues but moves into a new regulatory framework, 14 CFR Part 22, effective July 24, 2026. Manufacturers producing aircraft after that date must comply with Part 22, which expands the scope of what consensus standards must cover, including structural integrity for aerial work operations, instruments and equipment for safe flight in all authorized operating conditions, and environmental design characteristics for the aircraft’s intended use. Existing consensus standards will need revision to account for the wider performance envelope MOSAIC allows.¹

Whenever the aircraft was built, the manufacturer’s maintenance and inspection procedures govern its care throughout its life. Unlike traditional general aviation, where FAA Type Certificate Data Sheets set maintenance standards, light sport aircraft rely on the specific manuals the builder provides. Losing track of those documents, or ignoring manufacturer service bulletins, is one of the fastest ways to end up with an airplane that cannot legally fly.

1
Federal Register. Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification
2
eCFR. 14 CFR 1.1 – General Definitions
3
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.313 – Sport Pilot Aeronautical Experience
4
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.56 – Flight Review
5
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.57 – Recent Flight Experience: Pilot in Command
6
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.23 – Medical Certificates: Requirement and Duration
7
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.315 – Privileges and Limits of a Sport Pilot Certificate
8
eCFR. 14 CFR 61.329 – Night Operations for Sport Pilots
9
eCFR. 14 CFR 91.327 – Light-Sport Category Aircraft Operating Limitations
10
eCFR. 14 CFR 65.107 – Repairman Certificate (Light-Sport) Eligibility and Training
11
Federal Aviation Administration. AC 65-32A – Certification of Repairmen (Light-Sport Aircraft)
12
Federal Aviation Administration. FAA Form 8130-15 – Light-Sport Aircraft Statement of Compliance