Planes Of Future On Their Way, But AOPA Has A Gripe

The FAA has released its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that outlines its plan for a greatly streamlined process for certifying airplanes under Part 23 of the FARs. The proposed rule, which is a very good bet to become the law of the land, is similar in principle to the LSA category, which lets industry, instead of the feds, decide on what passes for an equivalent level of safety in building new airplanes. The rule has worked like a charm with LSA. That all said, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has a problem with the would-be regs, not for what they say, but for what they don't say.

As with LSA, the proposed regs would apply to new-production aircraft, and not to existing ones. The rules would not be a one-size-fits-all approach; jets and two-seaters are not created equal and won't be certificated equally. It will be easier and simpler to get approval for a 2,000-pound piston powered bird than for a 10,000-pound turbofan model. Few would argue that this makes sense.

So what is AOPA's problem with the regs? They don't go far enough! The organization says it wishes the regs would cover existing airplanes too. We agree wholeheartedly. Think of the value that would bring to owners of lower-value planes who might want flat-panels but can't justify spending $40,000 grand for a new panel for a $50,000 airplane. Instead, if they could install a Dynon or Garmin panel, like G3X Touch, they could get in the game for something closer to $10,000, and that would make everyone happy while causing nothing but more safety.

For in depth coverage of the Part 23 rewrite see our story in the May issue ofPlane & Pilot.

Isabel GoyerWriter

A commercial pilot, editor-in-Chief Isabel Goyer has been flying for more than 40 years, with hundreds of different aircraft in her logbook and thousands of hours. An award-winning aviation writer, photographer and editor, Ms. Goyer led teams at Sport Pilot, Air Progress and Flying before coming to Plane & Pilot in 2015.