FAA raises altitude floor for sport pilot slow-flight and stall tasks

The FAA published updated sport pilot practical test standards on Monday. The main change raises the lowest altitude for slow-flight and stall tasks from 1,000 feet above ground level to 1,500 feet.

The higher floor covers slow flight, power-off stalls and power-on stalls for applicants in single-engine land and sea airplanes. The agency said the extra margin matches the equivalent private pilot airplane standard, and is warranted because sport pilots may now fly larger aircraft than the earlier light-sport rules allowed.

The revisions also reflect a requirement tied to MOSAIC. A current sport pilot seeking to add an airplane single-engine land or sea privilege must complete a practical test, as must a flight instructor with a sport pilot rating who wants to add airplane privileges. That obligation came from MOSAIC, not from Monday's rule, which brings the testing standards into line with regulations already in force.

Separately, the agency is replacing the existing standards for airships and balloons, and for powered parachutes and weight-shift-control aircraft, with updated "B" versions. No new areas of operation or test elements were added, and the FAA said the testing process itself is unchanged. It expects no added costs for applicants or for airmen already certificated.

Much of the remaining work is terminology. References to light-sport aircraft have been replaced with wording pointing to aircraft that meet the performance and design limits in Section 61.316, reflecting the wider set of airplanes sport pilots can now operate after MOSAIC.