IS THERE A DISADVANTAGE TO LSA &....

[Guest disperse]

are there any disadvantages to the LSA rule

 

and courious about the 100kt cruise speed limit under the older rules . does this mean anything that cruises faster than this needs to be registered under LSA. and can a LSA have retractable landing gear

 

AND A BIG THANKS TO ALL THAT TAKE THE TIME TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS:clap:

 

at this rate i'll be a expert by time my leg heals enough so that i can accually start FLYING

 

 

[TechMan]

LSA has it's place, but when doing the figures and the way things are going in Aus, then the benefits are mostly felt in the US.

 

It also depends on what you want to to.

 

If you want to buy an aircraft as a tax reducing mechanism, and hire it out to a flying school and not plan to change anything on the aircraft then by all means, a production LSA could be good.

 

If you want to buy a kit of an LSA accepted aircraft, up to any stage of completion, then experimental LSA is the way to go for you.

 

With the changing weights under RA-Aus, the impending Part 103 regulations will see a 600kg limit for RA-Aus. For aircraft that have been designed and tested to 600kg or higher, the LSA category will not be the 'golden carrot' as possibly perceived by some at the moment because they can operate at a higher weight. Those 'factory built' (non LSA) will be able to operate at a higher weight if tested and certified to the higher weight.

 

As some have already pointed out in other threads, just because we have 600kg when Part 103 comes in, does not mean your Thruster or Bobcat aircraft can now magically carry 600kg all up. Aircraft will still be limited to their design weight or type certificated weight whichever is the lower.

 

The beauty about LSA is for manufacturers. They can self certify their aircraft, saving themselves oodles of money and time. Hence there will always be an attraction for building aircraft in that category.

 

There are other disadvantages, such as if the manufacturer disappears, all production LSA become experimental and cannot be used for hire and reward (training), modifications can only be accepted by the manufacturer and if they don't the aircraft becomes experimental. If the aircraft is modified outside the LSA rules, you can put it on a pole as there is no category for it.

 

The USA has recently reworded the undercarriage situation for amphibious type aircraft allowing retractable rather than re-positionable. Retractable is however only for amphibious aircraft.

 

The 120kt speed limit applies in the US, but not in Aus.

 

Aus also does not have a propeller criteria, other than you can only have 1, in the US it is fixed pitch only.

 

Chris