LSA and Sportpilot?

[WLIU]

Thanks for pointing that out. I will guess that a contest tech inspector will have to look at the weight and balance part of the operating limitations to confirm that an Experimental-Amateur Built is LSA eligible. We have not seen anyone show up at a northeast contest to try out this paragraph of the IAC rules.

"I'm surprised you don't see..."

There is some psychology at work here. Most of the pilots who come to contests learn acro in acrobatic category airplanes, then rent or buy one. Competition flights are more than just egg shaped loops and barreled rolls and I know of self-taught pilots who have observed a contest and decided that they were not up to it. I understand that several years ago that there was a local pilot who learned aerobatic in an acrobatic certificated airplane and then tried competition in a RANS. I gather that there were maintenance issues that resulted in that effort being unsuccessful. I do not know more than that.

We are starting to see older competitors move down the competition ladder as their tolerance for negative G decreases and they let their medicals expire. Those pilots are the most likely candidates to start showing up in LSA's. I hear rumblings about Clip Wing Cubs and Sonex more than any other types.

Best of luck,

Wes
N78PS