Sport Pilots and Homebuilts

Connie Sue White

Tuesday, September 06, 2011 at 06:38 PM ET

Verified

** The Sonex is an Experimental amateur-built
aircraft that sport pilots can fly.**

Key Takeaways:

Sport pilots are eligible to fly Experimental amateur-built aircraft if the aircraft meets all Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) definition criteria (e.g., max gross weight, max speed, fixed gear), regardless of its certification type.
Confusion persists among pilots and regulators regarding sport pilot eligibility, often due to misinterpreting aircraft certification versus the LSA operational definition.
Aircraft modifications can impact sport pilot eligibility, particularly if the gross weight exceeds 1,320 pounds; similarly, the LSA speed limit of 120 knots Vh is specific to maximum continuous power at sea level, allowing some seemingly faster amateur-builts to qualify.

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(September 2011) To be sure, Experimental amateur-built (aka homebuilt) aircraft are not light-sport aircraft and never can be. But does that mean sport pilots can’t fly them? Apparently, there’s still a bit of confusion about the answer to this very question among pilots and regulators seven years into the Sport Pilot/LSA rule, says EAA’s David Oord, but the short answer is it depends on the aircraft.

“A lot of folks get hung up on the aircraft certification when trying to determine if an aircraft is sport pilot eligible or not,” says Oord. “But it’s about who’s operating the aircraft, not the certification of it. Regardless of whether it’s Experimental amateur-built (or type certificated for that matter), if the aircraft meets the LSA definition — which is basically the max gross weight and max speed, and a fixed gear — a sport pilot can fly it.”