The Zenith CH 750 STOL is an example of a popular E/AB kit airplane that can be flown with a sport pilot certificate. [Photo: Zenith Aircraft].
Key Takeaways:
The initial promise of affordable new Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) has largely gone unfulfilled, with "feature creep" pushing prices of factory-built models into the low six figures.
Building an experimental/amateur-built (E/AB) kit airplane offers a significantly more affordable path to LSA ownership, potentially saving 50% compared to factory-built options, with total costs estimated at roughly three times the kit price.
Companies like Zenith Aircraft specialize in easy-to-build, sport pilot-eligible E/AB kits designed for first-time builders and recreational flying, providing resources like workshops and community support to aid project completion.
The forthcoming FAA MOSAIC rewrite is expected to expand the light sport and E/AB aircraft market, potentially allowing for larger designs and offering more options for builders.
Back in 2004 when the FAA created the light sport regulations and the sport pilot certificate, it flooded the general aviation community with optimism that we’d soon see much more affordable GA airplanes coming to market. There was talk of many new models that could be bought brand new for under $100,000.
That was then, and this is now.
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Dan Pimentel is an instrument-rated private pilot and former airplane owner who has been flying since 1996. As an aviation journalist and photographer, he has covered all aspects of the general and business aviation communities for a long list of major aviation magazines, newspapers and websites. He has never met a flying machine that he didn’t like, and has written about his love of aviation for years on his Airplanista blog. For 10 years until 2019, he hosted the popular ‘Oshbash’ social media meetup events at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
