The New Face Of
Sport Pilot
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MOSAIC Announced At OSH
Expands Sport Pilot Privileges
Will Be Effective In 90 Days
SAFE Says "With Greater Freedom
Comes Greater Responsibility"
| In just a few months, Sport Pilots will no longer be limited to Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). The Modernization Of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rules will be effective 90 days after publication in the Federal Register. An FAA draft version is here (downloads as a PDF). MOSAIC was announced a few days ago at AirVenture 2025. | |
The new rules for Light Sport dramatically expand the LSA market, in part by removing the former LSA weight limit of 1,320 pounds. Maximum level flight speed under the new rules will be 250 knots. Formerly complex airplane features such as controllable pitch props and retractable gear will be allowed.
MOSAIC approval should help CFIs fly more revenue hours in aircraft commonly found on flight school ramps as former Light Sport pilots clamour for instruction in Pipers Cherokees, Cessna Skyhawks and other production aircraft.
"FAA has opened the door for greater freedom for pilots and CFIs, but every freedom has to be balanced with responsibility," said David St George, SAFE Executive Director. "Obviously, if no one did anything stupid in airplanes, we wouldn't need any rules at all, but with extra freedom comes personal responsibility. Professional CFIs are the key to helping LSA pilots transition safely to traditional airplanes."
The rule covers three major areas: pilots, aircraft, and maintenance. It will allow Sport pilots to fly faster, allow four-seat airplanes, remove the LSA 1,320-pound maximum takeoff weight limit and raise the maximum level flight speed from 120 KCAS to 250 KCAS. Sport pilots will be able to fly aircraft with retractable landing gear or manually controllable pitch propellers with additional training and endorsements. Night operations will require additional training and endorsements, as well as a BasicMed or a third-class medical. The rule also opens up the light sport category to helicopters and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
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AirVenture 2025
A SAFE Member Pictorial
| | The annual SAFE member meeting and dinner at AirVenture 2025 was a boisterous success. Noted writer Michael Maya Charles ("Artful Flying") awed the nearly 200 members and SAFE supporters at the annual event. See Michael Miley's Flickr archive HERE. | | Nearly Continuous Buffet Dinner | | |
There were many raffle winners with big smiles. You'll find several of them in the first two rows of pictures below. See how happy they are? Make plans now to attend the annual SAFE dinner and member meeting in 2026 at AirVenture. The prizes from loyal SAFE sponsors: LightSpeed Aviation, Aerox, Sporty's, MyGoFlight. SAFE Lifetime members at the event received a SAFE embroidered backpack. Additional sponsors donated to defray the cost of the event: See SAFE accomplishments and sponsors in this SAFE YouTube.
Photos courtesy SAFE member Michael Miley.
| | This webinar is based on this SAFE Blog. | |
"Capturing The Killers!" Webinar
Join us on August 10th @8pm EDT for a free SAFE webinar on conducting an effective flight review. This required event is an opportunity to tune-up forgotten skills and build new techniques. Unfortunately, it can end up being just an "enhanced lunch date!" Information and registration.
Safety requires challenges and learned skills!
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V-Tail Bonanza Ruddervator
Corrosion Problem Solved!
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Owners of V-tail Beechcraft Bonanzas, with original magnesium skins on the ruddervators are facing "extinction by AD" because of corrosion. They have been saved at the last minute by SRS Aviation in Burnsville, MN. The firm makes approved replacement magnesium skins for V-tails.
An estimated 5,000+ V-tail Bonanzas are still flying, out of the total 10,402 produced by Beech since 1947. Until the SRS magnesium ruddervator announcement, owners of the classic birds kept flying as long as possible, knowing that there was no replacement for corroded or damaged ruddervators, often resulting in aircraft grounding. As the situation grew more desperate, the American Bonanaza Society Air Safety Foundation offered a reward of $500,000 for a solution. SRS Aviation owner David Lauren accepted the award.
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Lightspeed Aviation Offers
Delta Zulu Headset Drawings,
$100 Discount For SAFE Members
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New corporate sponsor Lightspeed Aviation is offering SAFE members a couple of remarkable deals. First, the maker of Delta Zulu headsets is sponsoring not one, not two, but FOUR drawings a year for SAFE members to win their own DZ, each worth $1,299. Registration for the drawing is free (see the SAFE Benefits page for webpage to register).
Second, the company will give SAFE members $100 off the purchase of a new Delta Zulu headset and send 10% of the price you pay for your new headset to SAFE, support the SAFE CFI Scholarship.
"This is a win-win situation," said SAFE Executive Director David St George. "A chance four times a year to win a free new DZ headset, a $100 discount just in case you don't win any of the drawings, and SAFE receives 10% support our CFI Scholarship; Thank you, LightSpeed Aviation."
In the 16 years of its life, SAFE has grown from a handful of concerned CFIs and FAA DPEs to nearly 8,000 dedicated aviation professionals. Among the benefits of SAFE membership are superior CFI insurance, Aviation Educator Mentoring, a CFI scholarship program and the SAFE CFI-PRO™presentations. The Master Instructor program administered by SAFE allows recognition of professional development for aviation educators of all types.
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SAFE CFI News and Tips
For Certificated Flight Instructors
New Equipment, CFI Services
AOPA's Rusty Pilot live seminars are fertile hunting grounds for new students. Rusty pilots thinking of getting back into aviation will gather on August 2 in Carthage, North Carolina; Sparta, Michigan; and Cleveland, Ohio; and on August 9 in Burlington, Washington, and St. Augustine, Florida. Free for AOPA members, or $89 for an AOPA membership.
Women In Aviation (WIA) last month announced more than $200,000 in scholarships across 50 opportunities, including flight training, engineering, maintenance and dispatch..
Textron Aviation last month introduced new Skyhawks with dual electronic ignition, rather than magnetos. Company says it will improve engine performance, reduce maintenance and lower operational costs. Current new 172 price tag is close to $500,000.
Lightspeed Avionics has introduced its Zulu 4 headset, upgrades are more ear comfort, advanced ANR for outbound audio.
Boeing forecast predicts 660,000 new pilots needed by 2044. Last year's forecast was 2.1 percent.higher.
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Drones Fly Too High
CFIs, Students Particularly At Risk
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Been seeing more drones sharing your airspace above 500 AGL? It's not your imagination.
An ERAU study completed last month for the FAA shows drones "frequently" flying above the FAA's 400-foot ceiling, with some reaching over 500 feet.
"Drone operators aren't always scrupulous about observing the law when they need to fly their machine higher than the maximum altitude to get the perfect picture," observed David St George, SAFE Executive Director. "even if it's near airports. I mention this only because CFIs and their students are the ones most likely to encounter one."
ERAU's study also found drones "often" operate closer to airports than allowed, particularly heliports, increasing the risk of mid-air collisions.
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ForeFlight Debuts Dynamic Procedures
De-Cluttering Is De-Lightful
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In what one SAFE reviewer called "a great leap forward," ForeFlight is introducing its latest contribution to safe flight, called Dynamic Procedures.
Similar in operation to Garmin SmartCharts, the ForeFlight Dynamic Procedures allows pilots to view IFR procedures by integrating them into the moving map while filtering out unnecessary information on the approach, minimizing the chance of an error.
"You know how some SIDs and STARs have so many routes and options, it's easy to get confused or miss something," said St George. "ForeFlight has built their reputation on always improving their products, and this advance is only the latest."
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A Look Ahead For SAFE Members
What Will Replace GPS?
| | For older CFIs, for whom VORs were a big step up from NDBs, GPS still seems miraculous. But what's coming next? | |
As GPS jamming and spoofing increase, there's growing concern for finding the "next big navigation improvement," something that could replace GPS. One contender is Airbus' innovation center Acubed, which earlier this year flew a Baron for more than 150 hours with a toaster-size box made by Google spinoff SandboxAQ that could substitute for GPS by using quantum sensing. The box (photo) contains lasers, a single GPU chip, and a sophisticated program that has a deep understanding of the earth's magnetic field, .
Quantum sensing technology has been under development for more than a decade. The SandboxAQ device uses quantum physics to measure the unique magnetic signature at various points in the earths crust, using an AI algorithm to match those signatures to an exact location.
Unlike GPS, the technology is unjammable and unspoofable because it doesn't rely on any digital signals that are vulnerable to hacking.
| | Wilts Honored At SAFE Dinner @OSH | | |
Two of SAFE's founding members were honored at the SAFE member dinner at Oshkosh. Dr. Donna Wilt was presented with SAFE's highest honor, the SAFE Founders Award, and her spouse, Dennis Wilt, captured the 2025 SAFE Service Award.
Donna was an early board chairperson and member. She was awarded the SAFE Founders Award, the most prestigious of SAFE's awards. She previously received the SAFE Service award for creating SAFE's Mentoring Program.
Donna has worked tirelessly on the FAA ACS committee since 2016 and was instrumental in returning “minimum controllable airspeed” (MCA) to the FAA CFI ACS. She also just completed a project with Michael Baum to complete and transfer the “Model Codes of Conduct” to a permanent archive at Florida Tech.
| Dennis Wilt won the 2025 SAFE Service Award this year. Dennis has been a consistent volunteer at all SAFE shows since our founding. His friendly manner and encyclopedic knowledge of aviation make him relatable to every curious pilot approaching our booth for resources. Additionally, Dennis and Donna have stored, transported, and assembled the SAFE display unit for Sun'n' Fun for years. | | |
CLARIFICATION
Last month's SAFE article on the possible demise of the ASRS form was overstated. The purpose of the NPRM was to gather comments on how ASRS fits into NASA's mission. Although NASA has been shedding programs and personnel since the current Republican administration took office, speculation that any specific program will be axed is premature.
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The World's Finest
Master Instructors
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Matt Johnson, MCFI-H
Master Instructors is honored to announce that Matt Johnson of Fairfield Township, Ohio has received his Eighth Accreditation as a Master CFI-Helicopter. Matt is committed to providing first class personalized flight instruction and services. An experienced FAA Gold Seal flight instructor offering real-world training, Matt is an accomplished pilot and instructor. He is also an FAA authorized Designated Pilot Examiner in the Southwest Ohio region. Matt also contributes to Rotorcraft Pro Magazine, where he authors the "Rotorcraft Checkride" Column.
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Mike "Cuckoo" Kloch, MCFI-A
Master Instructors is honored to announce that Mike "Cuckoo" Kloch is a Three-Time Master CFI - Aerobatic. Mike is a former Marine Corps F/A-18 pilot, combat veteran, and school-trained Aviation Safety Officer (Naval Postgraduate School). He is the owner and Chief Flight Instructor at Specialized Aero Works, LLC in Bend, Oregon. Mike teaches UPRT, aerobatics, formation, tailwheel, turbine aircraft, and more. He is a contract test pilot and instructor for Epic Aircraft, Stratos Aircraft, Elite Pilot services, kit builders, and others.
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Want To Make A Difference?
Mentor New CFIs
Join SAFE's Mentor Connection
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The SAFE Mentorship Connection group needs you - as an experienced CFI -.to help newer CFIs learn the ropes and improve their instructional professionalism. Zoom sessions are on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm Eastern (23Z) and last up to two hours.SAFE Mentorship Connector director Dorothy Schick hosts each meeting.
Weekly roundtable discussions with the CFI Study Group on CFI topics often have prominent guest speakers, most recently CFI Bootcamp's Mike Shiflett. The 20 or so CFIs and CFI-wannabes who attend each study session can get into one-on-one conversations with DPEs.
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ACI Model Codes of Conduct
Find Permanent Home
| | The Aviators Model Code of Conduct for pilots, along with customized codes specifically for Flight Instructors, DPEs, and pilots of different categories and classes of aircraft and more, are now permanently hosted in the Evans Library at the Florida Institute of Technology. | | |
SAFE member Dr. Donna Wilt, with Michael Baum and Peri, worked with the library staff to arrange and move the ACI material to the library’s Online Scholarship Repository, completing the project by AirVenture. The ACI codes and other material are available here.
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SAFE Sponsors
Please shop at these merchant supporters of CFI professionalism.
They make possible your SAFE privileges and benefits.
| | SAFE members get 1/3 off any ForeFlight subscription. Potential yearly savings: $133+ | | SAFE member CFIs get 25% off all Gleim Aviation products except kits, ATP, FIRC, IARC or sim hardware. Call 800-874-5346 for the discount. | | |
Buy a pair of "Delta Zulus" and Lightspeed Aviation donates $100 discount and 10% toward the SAFE "CFI Scholarship Fund!"
More Information
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SAFE members get 20% off select merchandise. | |
Platinum Cirrus Training Center provides flight training, aircraft rentals and sales at KAXH. | |
SAFE member CFIs qualify for a $100 rebate on Bose A30 or ProFlight Series 2 aviation headset. | |
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SAFE members get a 20% discount on ASA products.
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SAFE members get 10% off any MyGoFlight product.
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SAFE members receive a 20% discount on all King Schools Training products. | |
SAFE members get 20% off all books/CDs by Max Trescott, Cirrus Platinum CSIP and author of several guides on using advanced avionics. | |
SAFE members get 5% off any Qref checklists. Use code SAFE5. | | SAFE members get 20% off the Artful Flying book by Michael Maya Charles. | | |
SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety. Our nearly 8000 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs as well as many FAA Designated Pilot Examiners.
Join SAFE now Give To SAFE (Tax Deductible)
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