Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) CEO Michael Linke has told Australian Flying that the organisation has no interest in administering four-seat aircraft.
RAAus has a submission with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to raise the maximum take-off weight of recreational aircraft to 1500 kg, sparking speculation in the industry that the organisation is chasing the right to administer four-seaters.
Currently, recreational aircraft can carry only the pilot and one passenger.
"We've put the submission in, but we've been very careful to address the risk factors, the inertia factors, being heavier aircraft they're going to have different handling characteristics, different stall characteristics and different maintenance requirements," Linke said.
"The one thing we're not doing is increasing the number of people in the aircraft, seeking more passengers. That's not what RAAus is. We're about one person flying with a single passenger. We're not about carrying people around, it's not sightseeing; it's purely recreational with a pilot and passenger."
CASA is believed to be still considering the submission after RAAus responded to some questions the regulator wanted answered.