02/16/2026
Our February gathering for Chapter 811 is next Tuesday, February 24th. The topic for our meeting is a timely one – “the new MOSAIC rules and what they mean for you”. Our Chapter Secretary-Treasurer Mark Sanford will be arranging for a guest speaker to explain the rules to us, and how they will apply to our flying in our own (and Club) airplanes.
In case you aren’t familiar with the program, the MOSAIC (acronym for “Modernization Of Special AIrworthiness Certification”) rule, which became effective October 22, 2025, fundamentally shifted Sport Aircraft requirements from weight-based limits to performance-based standards. The most relevant part of the program for us allows pilots exercising Sport Pilot privileges to fly up to 4-seat aircraft (although with only two seats occupied), as long as they have clean stall speeds of no more than 59 knots, with no practical limits on weight or maximum airspeed. In effect, under these rules, a Sport Pilot or a Private Pilot exercising Sport Pilot Privileges (i.e. drivers license instead of FAA medical or Basic Med) can fly pretty much any “regular” 2- or 4-place GA airplane – a Cessna 172 or 182, or Piper PA28, and so on – so long as it meets the stall speed requirement (and isn’t turbo-jet powered). Retractable gear and controllable-pitch props and night flight are all allowed, with endorsements from an instructor. The rules get a bit confusing, in that the same MOSAIC program also changed the rules for certification of new LSA designs, with a different stall speed requirement (61knots) – but these changes wouldn’t affect anyone flying an older aircraft. Effectively, MOSAIC decoupled the definitions of Sport Pilot privileges from Light Sport Aircraft definitions.
How will this new system effect you, as a pilot? How will it effect owners or renters of aircraft which now qualify to be flown by Sport Pilots? Come to the meeting and find out.
As usual, we’ll be meeting at 18:30 at the East Hill Flying Club (62 Brown Road, Ithaca 14850) for snacks and pilot talk, with the presentation starting at 19:00 sharp.
If you can’t make it to the Flying Club, we’ll have a Zoom option. Unfortunately, if you Zoom in, refreshments won’t be provided. If you need the link, send me a PM or e-mail [email protected] and I'll send it to you.
I hope you’ll be able to attend either in person or virtually via Zoom.
While I’ve got you, don’t forget the VMC Club meeting on Wednesday, February 25th, at 7:00PM at the Flying Club. The same Zoom link will work for the VMC meeting.
Mike Brown
President, EAA Chapter 811
