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08/25/05 - EAA BRINGS FAA AND INDUSTRY TOGETHER TO DISCUSS LSA REPAIRMEN COURSES
EAA hosted the FAA and members of the light-sport aircraft (LSA) maintenance industry at EAA Headquarters on August 24, to review the FAA procedure for the acceptance of LS repairmen inspection and maintenance training courses, continuing discussions held earlier this year.
EAA’s Earl Lawrence, vice president of industry and regulatory affairs, said he expected a revised procedure would be available by the end of the year.
“Great progress was made to revise the previous policy (8000.84), which was originally made available at the beginning of the year,” said Lawrence. “This meeting culminates months of meetings with EAA, industry, and the FAA to revise the order and make the requirements more appropriate to the training needs for LS repairmen.”
Lawrence outlined several significant goals accomplished during the meeting, including the ability to use ultralight industry experts as instructors, and approval for larger class sizes (from 16 to 25 students), as long as the school meets Part 147 facility requirements. This would allow better-qualified instructors for traditional ultralight areas such as powered parachutes and two-stroke engines, and would make classes more economically feasible, Lawrence said.
Industry members attending included: Phil Lockwood, of Lockwood Aviation Supply; Daryl Lenz, representing the Fox Valley A&P schools; Nick Herman, of the Aviation Technician Education Council; Brian and Carol Carpenter, of Rainbow Aviation Services; and Jim and Deb Stephenson, of AeroSports Connection. FAA representatives included Martin Weaver, Van Stumper, and Edsel Ford of the FAA’s LSA branch in Oklahoma City, and William O’Brien, Ramona Johnson and Rick Domingo from FAA headquarters in Washington D.C. The group previously met in Oklahoma City in May and again in Oshkosh during EAA AirVenture 2005, as part of EAA’s continuing effort to support the sport pilot/light-sport aircraft movement. |
