As MOSAIC Rule Kicks In, Two Flight School Owners and Sport Pilot Advocate Offer Their Perspectives

Three months since the FAA announced the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule at AirVenture, two flight school owners and a sport pilot advocate shared their perspectives on the changes the rule will bring. One flight school owner excited about the new rule is Andy Humphrey, of Heavenbound Aviation, located northeast of Johnstown, Ohio. The school has been providing full-time training since 2012 and operates on a private grass airfield. They have four instructors and four training aircraft. On average, Heavenbound sends about 15-20 students for their checkrides a year, half of whom are sport pilot candidates. Humphrey is also the U.S. distributor of the Ukrainian-built Aeroprakt light-sport aircraft. While happy about the new rule, Humphrey said he didn’t know if it was going to change a whole lot for them once MOSIAC goes into effect. “The aircraft that we use now, the Aeroprakts in particular, make perfect sense for what we are doing,” he said. Humphrey is a big proponent of light-sport aircraft for flight training. “The aircraft that are going to come out of this in the next few years are going to be amazing,” he said. “The operating costs are so low (for LSAs) that we are turning a profit every month by using these airplanes at a fraction of the cost of the 172s. We don’t need a bigger, heavier, higher performance airplane to teach what we are teaching.”

”The aircraft that are going to come out of this in the next few years are going to be amazing.”

Omar Luna, chief executive officer of Bravo Flight Training , based at Frederick (Maryland) Municipal Airport (FDK) is also looking forward to offering training under the new rule. Bravo has been in business since 2016 with Luna serving as CEO for the past two years. The school has 25 instructors, 20 training aircraft, and in 2024 had 460 students. Bravo has trained sport pilots since the school opened, and also offers opportunities to obtain private, instrument, commercial, and instructor ratings. About MOSAIC, Luna said, “I believe this is really good … from the business perspective.” And, per Luna, they want to “support everybody that wants to transition into the bigger spectrum of aircraft.” Luna said the school plans to send a mass email to reach out to all their previous customers telling them about the new opportunities. Luna emphasized that safety will be a top priority and plans to move cautiously. “Our stand is that we do want to incentivize sport pilots to transition into the Cessna 172s of the world, into the Piper Cherokees of the world…but in a safe way,” he said. “We’re actually working right now on our own internal policy just so we can keep students safe, pilots safe, and also our fleet and the environment safe.”

”I believe this is really good for business from the business perspective.”

While not a flight school owner, Bill Snodgrass, based at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL), has been a key sport pilot advocate. Snodgrass is a sport pilot CFI, private pilot, and trains students in an RV-12. Two years ago, he joined the American Society for Testing and Materials’ (ASTM) F37 Committee on Light Sport Aircraft, which was very instrumental in providing input to the FAA as the agency formulated the MOSAIC rule. Regarding MOSAIC, Snodgrass said, “The FAA did a good job coming out with a regulation that was comprehensive and good for aviation as a whole.” Snodgrass said that allowing sport pilots to have more privileges like flying faster and heavier aircraft and with other types of equipment is significant and very positive. Snodgrass emphasized the importance of transition training and strongly encourages sport pilots to “definitely do some transition training with a CFI.” Snodgrass also said that he expects there will be confusion with flight schools and CFIs who “don’t know exactly whether or not or how to manage this.” Snodgrass is also concerned about a continued, lingering bias against sport pilots. “The industry doesn’t know sport pilot,” said Snodgrass. “There is an assumption that a sport pilot is a lesser pilot. They are still a pilot.” Snodgrass also noted that the predictions going back to 2004 when the original sport pilot rule was introduced that sport pilots wouldn’t be safe did not come to pass. “In fact, it proved that sport pilots are just as safe, if not safer than general aviation pilots,” Snodgrass said.

“The industry doesn’t know sport pilot. There is an assumption that a sport pilot is a lesser pilot. They are still a pilot.”

Since the MOSAIC rule announcement and to help raise awareness about the impending changes, EAA has made a wealth of information available online to its members, the aviation community, and industry.