SPORTPILOT
IF IT’S NOT LSA, WHAT IS IT?
Building on last issue’s topic of ‘Aren’t all RAAus aircraft Light Sport Aircraft’, in this article we ask the question - if it’s not an LSA, what is it?
JARED SMITH Airworthiness and Maintenance Jared Smith is Head of Airworthiness and Maintenance at RAAus. He holds a Graduate Certificate of Aviation, Bachelor of Technology (Aviation) and Business Management, a CPL, an instructor rating and L2 maintenance authority. Jared has been with RAAus for the past five years, initially working as the Assistant Technical Manager for three years. jared.smith@raaus.com.au
Understanding the differences is important as operational and maintenance requirements differ between the certification bases. Confusion does come about especially when some of the early Jabiru models, for example, were called the LSA 55/2K, LSA 55/2J and the LSA 55/3J. These aircraft are not Light Sport Aircraft. They are type certified. What does this mean and why do I need to know this? There are three streams of aircraft registration types: 1. Amateur Built 2. Light Sport Aircraft/Experimental Light Sport Aircraft 3. Type Certified/Accepted
48
The prefixes have a purpose, which is to identify the certification basis. Prior to 2016, the 23-XXXX prefix for LSA did not exist. This prefix was established in the updated Technical Manual version 4. Type certified/accepted aircraft and LSA were issued with the 24-XXXX prefix prior to the update. Therefore, to quickly determine your certification basis for a 24-XXXX registered aircraft, check your registration certificate and review the construction field. This will state LSA or Type Certified. If the aircraft is LSA you must ensure the Special Certificate of Airworthiness is read, understood and onboard the aircraft.
What does type certified mean? An aircraft is type certified when the make, model has been issued
