The FAA MOSAIC Final Rule Is Fully in Effect: What It Means for Pilots, Aircraft, and Instructors

When the FAA released its Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule at AirVenture 2025, it was a dream come true for aspiring and aged pilots alike — and for flight schools. MOSAIC leveraged the faster sport pilot certification path to get more pilots certified at less expense, in more capable and safe aircraft, and across a broader spectrum of operational environments.

MOSAIC arrived in two phases: phase I on October 22, 2025, which expanded privileges for sport pilots and repairmen, and phase II, today, July 24, 2026, which puts the new light-sport category aircraft (LSA) certification requirements and certain LSA operating provisions into effect. Only two elements remain: the means of compliance (MOC) for the consensus standard supporting issuance of special airworthiness certificates for light-sport category aircraft, and further guidance on simplified flight controls (high-level automation). The FAA released the proposed MOC on July 16, 2026, open for comment until August 17, 2026.

At an Oshkosh forum this year, the FAA walked pilots through the details. If you fly, teach, wrench, or build, this is one of the most consequential changes to general aviation since the light-sport category was created in 2004. Let’s break it down further for you.

MOSAIC at a Glance: Key Takeaways

• The MOSAIC final rule is fully in effect as of July 24, 2026. Phase I (October 22, 2025) expanded sport pilot, repairman, and maintenance provisions; phase II (July 24, 2026) put the new light-sport category aircraft certification requirements into effect.
• Certification and pilot eligibility are two separate tests: a light-sport category airplane may have a V_S0 up to 61 KCAS, but a sport pilot may only operate an airplane with a V_S1 of 59 KCAS or less under 61.316.
• Light-sport category certification no longer has a maximum takeoff weight. Airplanes may have up to 4 seats and a maximum V_H of 250 KCAS.
• Sport pilots may now operate qualifying standard-category, primary-category, and experimental aircraft — but may still carry only one passenger.
• Since July 24, 2026, certain light-sport category aircraft may perform compensated aerial work — aerial photography, surveying, pipeline or powerline patrol, and banner towing — under 91.327.

What Is the MOSAIC Final Rule, and Why Should You Care?

Quick answer: MOSAIC splits the old single “light-sport aircraft” definition into two separate questions — what aircraft may be certificated in the light-sport category (21.190 and part 22) and what aircraft a pilot exercising sport pilot privileges may operate (61.316).

Many were confused when the MOSAIC Rule was initially released, particularly on one question: how are sport pilot privileges (think phase I) different from light-sport category aircraft certification (think phase II)? That question is exactly why every GA pilot, CFI, flight school, owner, and builder needs to understand the Rule now that it is in full effect.

Rewinding the clock, since October 2025 eligible pilots have been able to exercise sport pilot privileges in a much broader range of aircraft, and flight instruction for compensation has been available in light-sport category aircraft without a letter of deviation (LOD). But which future aircraft would qualify as light-sport category aircraft had to wait for phase II.

Technically, MOSAIC removes the single “light-sport aircraft” (LSA) definition from 14 CFR 1.1 and splits it into two questions: what aircraft may receive a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category, and what aircraft a pilot exercising sport pilot privileges may operate. Until MOSAIC, one definition supplied the weight, speed, seating, engine, propeller, and landing-gear limitations for both. Now certification eligibility sits in 21.190 and 22.100, with additional design, production, and airworthiness requirements in part 22, while 61.316 sets the performance limits and design requirements for aircraft flown under sport pilot privileges. One clarification: the term “light-sport aircraft” is rescinded, but the LSA abbreviation is still kicked around as brevity for light-sport category aircraft — and LSA in the MOSAIC age is MUCH different than before.

Why should you care?

Because the rule addressed four major subject areas — light-sport category aircraft certification, sport pilot certification and privileges, repairman and maintenance requirements, and aircraft operations — on two different timelines. If you fly a light-sport aircraft, teach in one, maintain one, or you’re weighing whether to buy or build one, MOSAIC changed the rules you operate under, even if you had no time to read the final rule.

Why Isn’t Light-Sport Category Certification the Same as Sport-Pilot Eligibility?

Quick answer: Because the two use different stall-speed criteria — certification allows a maximum V_S0 of 61 KCAS, while sport pilot eligibility under 61.316 requires a maximum V_S1 of 59 KCAS — so an aircraft can qualify for one and not the other.

The FAA, under Congressional mandate and a tight timeline, chose to release it all in one rule rather than splitting it apart as we’ve done in this discussion.

Here is the practical effect. In phase II, a newly certificated light-sport category airplane may have a maximum V_S0 of 61 KCAS (landing/“dirty” configuration). However, a sport pilot, phase I privilege, may only operate an airplane if its V_S1 (“clean” configuration) is no more than 59 KCAS. So, an aircraft may be certificated in the light-sport category yet still not qualify for operation by a sport pilot. Conversely, some standard-category or experimental aircraft satisfy 61.316 even though they are not light-sport category aircraft — and are available to sport pilots to fly!

What Changed for Sport Pilots Under MOSAIC?

Quick answer: Since October 22, 2025, sport pilots may operate qualifying aircraft with up to 4 seats and a V_S1 of 59 KCAS or less — including standard-category and experimental aircraft — and may add night, retractable-gear, controllable-pitch-propeller, and simplified-flight-controls helicopter privileges with the required training.

Sport pilot privileges expanded meaningfully when 61.316 took effect under phase I on October 22, 2025, and the expansion went well beyond aircraft certificated in the light-sport category. A sport pilot may operate light-sport category, experimental amateur-built, primary-category, and standard-category aircraft that satisfy the applicable requirements of 61.316 — primarily no more than 4 seats and a maximum V_S1 of 59 KCAS, determined at maximum certificated takeoff weight and the most critical center of gravity. For other applicable aircraft, the stall-speed limit remains 45 KCAS.

Except for the retractable-landing-gear and manual-controllable-pitch-propeller provisions in 61.316(b), the characteristics listed in 61.316(a) must have been present since the aircraft’s original certification. An aircraft generally cannot be modified after original certification merely to lower its stall speed or seating capacity and bring it within the sport pilot limits.

Note that 61.316 sets no maximum-weight or maximum-airspeed eligibility limit — but that does not mean top speed is unregulated in every context. Normal operating airspeed limitations, including 91.117, continue to apply, and the certification side of MOSAIC limits powered light-sport category aircraft to a maximum V_H (maximum speed in level flight with maximum continuous power) of 250 KCAS when that measurement applies.

One thing that hasn’t changed: the passenger limit. Even in a four-seat airplane, a sport pilot may still carry only one passenger, meaning two people on board total.

Phase I also brought several additional privileges, each subject to specific training, endorsement, testing, and (in some cases) medical requirements:

1. Night operations — after satisfying 61.329: 3 hours of category- and class-specific night flight training, the required night cross-country flight and takeoffs and landings, a logbook endorsement, and either an FAA medical certificate or BasicMed qualification.
2. Manual controllable-pitch propellers and retractable landing gear — after the training and endorsement required by 61.331. Satisfying the complex-airplane requirements of 61.31(e) fulfills it, but 61.331 also provides separate training-and-endorsement paths.
3. A new rotorcraft-helicopter privilege — limited at the sport pilot level to helicopters certificated under 21.190 with a simplified flight controls designation. The applicant must pass the applicable practical test, and the privilege is limited to the make and model used for the test; another simplified-flight-controls model requires model-specific training and an endorsement. As of July 24, 2026, though, the FAA’s published list of accepted integration standards does not yet include one for light-sport category helicopters — so the regulatory eligibility exists while practical availability waits on an accepted helicopter standard and qualifying certificated aircraft.

One procedural change worth knowing: adding an airplane single-engine land or sea privilege, or a rotorcraft-helicopter privilege with simplified flight controls, now requires a practical test rather than only a proficiency check. Glider, gyroplane, airship, balloon, powered-parachute, and weight-shift-control privileges may still be added through the proficiency-check process. And there are no provisions for sport pilots to gain the new powered-lift rating.

How Does MOSAIC Redefine Light-Sport Category Aircraft Certification?

Quick answer: Certification is now performance-based: no maximum takeoff weight, a maximum V_S0 of 61 KCAS for airplanes, up to 4 seats, a maximum V_H of 250 KCAS, and no categorical limits on engines, propellers, or landing gear.

Under MOSAIC, eligibility for certification in the light-sport category rests on performance and design criteria rather than a prescriptive maximum-weight limit. For aircraft issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category on or after July 24, 2026, part 22 prescribes no maximum takeoff weight at all — the previous limits were 1,320 pounds, or 1,430 pounds for aircraft intended for operation on water. The headline certification limits:

1. Stall speed: for airplanes, a maximum V_S0 of 61 KCAS; for gliders, a maximum V_S0 of 45 KCAS; for weight-shift-control aircraft, a maximum V_S1 of 45 KCAS — each determined at maximum certificated takeoff weight and the most critical center of gravity.
2. Seats: up to 4 for airplanes; 2 for all other aircraft types.
3. Maximum speed: a maximum V_H of 250 KCAS for aircraft with an engine or motor having a maximum continuous-power setting or limit.
4. No categorical limit on the type or number of engines or motors, propeller configuration, or landing-gear configuration.

These are not the only certification requirements. Every aircraft must still comply with the applicable design, production, testing, and airworthiness requirements of part 22 through FAA-accepted consensus standards, and the applicant must provide the manufacturer’s statement of compliance, pilot’s operating handbook, and maintenance and inspection program required by 21.190.

Beginning today, any class of aircraft may be eligible for light-sport category certification if it meets 21.190, 22.100, the applicable part 22 requirements, and FAA-accepted consensus standards — which opens the category to additional designs, including rotorcraft and powered-lift aircraft, although there currently is no path for a sport pilot to obtain powered-lift certification. Eligibility does not necessarily mean every class can be certificated immediately; an applicable accepted consensus standard must also exist. As of July 24, 2026, the FAA lists accepted integration standards for light-sport category airplanes, gliders, powered-lift and multicopter aircraft, and gyroplanes.

A legacy light-sport category aircraft could exceed its original limits only by complying with the current MOSAIC requirements, obtaining a new statement of compliance from the manufacturer based on the new consensus standards, and receiving a new special airworthiness certificate under 21.190. The FAA cautions that this may be impractical or expensive for an aircraft originally designed under the earlier standards.

Light-sport category aircraft may be used for personal operations and flight training, and certain aircraft may also perform towing or aerial work for compensation or hire — more on that below.

Can You Fly Retractable Gear or a Turbine-Powered Aircraft Under MOSAIC?

Quick answer: Retractable gear, yes — with the training and endorsement required by 61.331. Turbine power, potentially — turboprops and turboshafts are not categorically excluded, but turbojet airplanes require a type rating and fall outside sport pilot privileges.

Retractable landing gear: Yes. Part 22 does not categorically prohibit it on newly certificated light-sport category aircraft, and a sport pilot may operate one if the aircraft otherwise satisfies 61.316 and the pilot completes the training and endorsement required by 61.331.

Turbine power: Potentially. Part 22 does not categorically prohibit turbine engines, and on the sport pilot side a turboprop or turboshaft aircraft is not automatically excluded solely because it uses a turbine engine — but it must satisfy every applicable requirement of 61.315 and 61.316. Turbojet-powered airplanes require a type rating and therefore fall outside sport pilot privileges.

What Does MOSAIC Mean for Private, Commercial, and CFI Pilots?

Quick answer: No existing privileges are reduced. Higher-certificate pilots gain a much larger pool of aircraft they may fly under sport pilot privileges using a valid U.S. driver’s license in lieu of an FAA medical certificate, and CFIs can train sport-pilot applicants in a more diverse fleet.

MOSAIC affects higher-certificate pilots two ways. First, the new certification framework permits manufacturers to produce a broader range of aircraft certificated in the light-sport category — traditionally a less-expensive process. Second, pilots exercising sport pilot privileges may operate a broader pool of qualifying standard-category, primary-category, experimental, and light-sport category aircraft under 61.316, and build flight time toward higher-level certificates. Keep in mind that a legacy standard-category airplane qualifying under 61.316 does not become a light-sport category aircraft and is not maintained or certificated under light-sport category rules; the pilot is simply exercising sport pilot privileges in it.

Since October 22, 2025, CFIs have been able to train sport-pilot applicants in a more diverse fleet. Refer to AC 61-65K and update your training and endorsement processes for night privileges, retractable landing gear, manual controllable-pitch propellers, and aircraft with simplified flight controls. And because adding an airplane privilege or a rotorcraft-helicopter privilege with simplified flight controls now requires a practical test rather than a proficiency check, plan the applicant’s training and certification accordingly.

For private, commercial, and ATP pilots, MOSAIC reduces no existing privileges. It expands the pool of aircraft in which an eligible pilot may exercise sport pilot privileges using a valid U.S. driver’s license in lieu of an FAA medical certificate. The aircraft must qualify under 61.316, and the pilot must hold the appropriate category and class rating or privilege, satisfy any otherwise applicable training and endorsement requirements, comply with the operating limitations of 61.315, and meet the driver’s-license medical eligibility conditions in 61.23 and 61.303.

How Do You Determine Whether a Legacy Airplane Qualifies?

Quick answer: Check the aircraft’s original certification data — V_S1 at maximum certificated takeoff weight, seating capacity, pressurization, and the other 61.316 characteristics — variant by variant. Never assume by make and model alone.

Do not assume that every aircraft of a familiar make and model qualifies. Review the aircraft’s original certification data — V_S1 at maximum certificated takeoff weight and the most critical center of gravity, maximum seating capacity, cabin pressurization, and any other applicable 61.316 characteristics. Different variants of the same model may have different certification data. The aircraft must also not require a type rating, and the pilot must hold the appropriate privileges, ratings, training, and endorsements.

How Does MOSAIC Affect Aircraft Owners and Builders?

Quick answer: Maintenance stays under part 43 plus manufacturer procedures, repairman-certificate eligibility broadened, and since July 24, 2026, certain light-sport category aircraft may perform compensated aerial work under 91.327.

Several MOSAIC maintenance changes have been in effect since October 22, 2025. Light-sport category aircraft must still be maintained under the applicable provisions of part 43 and the maintenance and inspection procedures developed by the manufacturer or another person acceptable to the FAA. Airworthiness directives remain mandatory; manufacturer-issued safety directives are voluntary. Major repairs and major alterations must be authorized by the manufacturer or a person acceptable to the FAA and performed and inspected in accordance with their procedures. Minor repairs and alterations require no manufacturer authorization but must still comply with the applicable maintenance requirements and consensus standards.

MOSAIC also broadened eligibility for a repairman certificate (light-sport). The core requirements: minimum age 18, English-language proficiency, completion of the applicable FAA-accepted training course, passage of the course provider’s written test, and presentation of the required documentary evidence to the FAA. A repairman holding an inspection rating may exercise it only on an eligible experimental aircraft the repairman owns, and only within the aircraft category and, when applicable, class covered by that training. The inspection rating now applies to eligible experimental aircraft certificated under 21.191(g), (i), (k), or (l) — experimental amateur-built, legacy experimental light-sport, light-sport category kit-built, and former light-sport category aircraft. Maintenance-rating privileges are similarly tied to the category and class of the repairman’s training.

On the operations side, beginning July 24, 2026, 91.327 permits certain aircraft holding special airworthiness certificates in the light-sport category to conduct specified aerial work for compensation or hire: aerial photography, surveying, pipeline or powerline patrol, and banner towing. The operation must be supported by the applicable FAA-accepted consensus standard and specifically identified in the aircraft’s pilot operating handbook or operating limitations and the manufacturer’s statement of compliance. It does not authorize the carriage of nonessential passengers or property for compensation or hire.

Glider and unpowered-ultralight towing remain separately authorized when the applicable requirements are satisfied. The tow-hitch and related maintenance provisions became effective October 22, 2025, while the expanded 91.327 aerial-work authority became effective July 24, 2026. None of these operations may be conducted under sport pilot privileges — the pilot must hold the certificate, ratings, endorsements, and operating authority the operation requires, generally at least a private pilot certificate for glider towing and a commercial pilot certificate for compensated aerial work.

When Did the MOSAIC Rule Actually Take Effect?

Quick answer: Phase I took effect October 22, 2025 (sport pilot, repairman, maintenance, and certain operating provisions); phase II took effect July 24, 2026 (aircraft certification and remaining operating provisions). The entire rule is now in effect.

MOSAIC was implemented in two “phases”:

1. October 22, 2025 — The sport-pilot training, certification, and operating-privilege changes became effective, along with the repairman-certification and light-sport maintenance provisions, tow-hitch installation changes, and revisions involving Class G airspace and right-of-way rules.
2. July 24, 2026 — The remaining aircraft-certification provisions became effective. The former “light-sport aircraft” definition is removed from 14 CFR 1.1, the new part 22 requirements govern certification of new light-sport category aircraft, and the delayed operating and operating-limitation provisions take effect.

As of today, July 24, 2026, the entire MOSAIC final rule is in effect.

The Bottom Line

MOSAIC is a genuinely big deal: more capable aircraft, a much broader range of aircraft that sport pilots may operate, and a maintenance and operations framework built for the next two decades. Keep two things front of mind. First, what an aircraft is certified as and what a given pilot may do with it are two separate questions — both expanded under MOSAIC, but under different criteria. Second, stall speed remains a central eligibility limit on both sides of MOSAIC, but the speed requirements are not identical.

Regulatory details matter in the flight deck, in the classroom, and during a checkride. Since 1980, Gleim has built its Online Ground School and FAA Knowledge Test Prep around exactly that: precise, current, testable material, kept up to date as the regulations change. Continue your preparation at GleimAviation.com/OGS.