Sporting light
The burgeoning Light Sport Aircraft category is still one of the most misunderstood within the aviation community, yet the type holds benefits for both GA and RAAus pilots. Steve Hitchen explains the category and presents the most prolific models on the Australian market.
Since aircraft developed beyond the “I hope it flies” stage to being useful machines, designers have made them to fit a specific purpose; airliners, trainers, private jets, weapons of war, and more. Over the years it became a matter of choosing the machine to fit the mission, or using the nearest thing to it.
In the 80s and 90s the “ultralight” revolution proved a passion for aircraft that would do little more than get a human aloft, but since the 20th Century closed development in material and engine technology has turned them into serious aeroplanes. Indeed the term “ultralight” is now considered almost derogatory.
Largely, it is the technology and popularity of recreational aircraft that is responsible for the new category that was introduced to Australia in 2005: Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).
LSA was created to enable people to fly purely for pleasure without the burden of the heavy regulation and oversight that inflicts general aviation. Indeed, it has also acted to remove some of the workload from CASA, as the regulator is not responsible for ensuring the ongoing airworthiness of LSAs; that is up to the manufacturer.
Based on an FAA initiative, the birth notice of LSA in Australia came in the form of Advisory Circular 21-41(0), issued in September 2005, and followed-up with AC 21-42(1) six months later. Within these documents and CASR Part 21 are the conditions an aircraft must meet in order to be registered LSA with either CASA or Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus).
An LSA is considered to be a simple-to-operate, low performance aeroplane that conforms to the following rules:
• A maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 600kg for land planes, 650kg for seaplanes, and 560kg for lighter-than-air aircraft.
• A maximum stall speed in landing configuration of 45 knots CAS at the most critical centre-of-gravity.
• No more than two seats.
• If powered (gliders can be LSAs), a non-turbine engine with a prop.
• A non-pressurised cabin.
• Fixed landing gear for land planes, but seaplanes can have repositionable gear and gliders can have retractable gear.
• A maximum speed of 135 knots CAS if the aircraft is a glider.
There is, of course, a litany of other requirements relating to manufacturers and administration, but we will let you read through those documents yourself.
But most importantly of all, the manufacturer of the aircraft has to certify that it complies with the LSA rules and take responsibility for issuing Airworthiness Directives for the life of the aircraft, just the way CASA does with most general aviation VH registrations.
“LSA aircraft are certified by their manufacturer,” says CASA, “not by a regulatory authority, so we do not have any records of who has certified what as we would for aircraft we have certificated ourselves. The LSA rules were very deliberately drafted with the intent of freeing that part of aviation from a lot of the regulatory burden, for certification, airworthiness, maintenance and operations. Hence, CASA has a far more limited role with LSA aircraft than it has with other GA and recreational aircraft.”
However, CASA may impact the airworthiness of an LSA by issuing an AD for equipment that has been fitted, such as a transponder.
Two types
A manufacturer can certify an LSA with either of two types of Certificate of Airworthiness (CoA): special (S-LSA), or experimental (E-LSA). S-LSA is the standard category and is for production aircraft used for private, flight training or glider towing operations. Most aircraft will fall into this category, and only S-LSAs have been included in this guide.
E-LSA is for kit aircraft that are used solely for the use and training of the owner, and for aircraft that no longer qualify for an S-LSA. The latter would include any aircraft so modified that the manufacturers wash their hands of it, and types that no longer have an active manufacturer to assume airworthiness responsibility. E-LSAs have not been included in the guide.
Other than the relief of a huge administrative burden, LSA also holds another benefit for those who register with the RAAus: an increase in MTOW from the normal 544kg to 600kg. Although this 56kg seems only a fraction, it can mean a lot more fuel, an overnight bag complete with hairdryer or even an extra person.
By far the most LSAs in Australia are on the RAAus books; CASA had only 27 aircraft on the civil register at the beginning of 2010. The setback is that RAAus LSAs are still subject to the altitude and CTA restrictions of any recreational aircraft, despite the capabilities and qualifications of the pilot.
Tecnam P2008.
