MOSAIC for All Pilots: Ted Read 700 Pages So You Don't Have To
Based on Episode 139 of the Midlife Pilot Podcast
Disclaimer: This blog post represents our interpretation of the MOSAIC rules based on our research and understanding. We are not FAA officials or aviation lawyers. Always consult official FAA sources and qualified professionals for regulatory guidance.
The aviation world just got flipped upside down, and frankly, it's about time. At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025, the FAA dropped the MOSAIC bomb—the biggest shake-up to general aviation since someone decided that putting wings on things was a good idea.
Our friend Ted, who sits on the ASTM committee and apparently has nothing better to do than read 700-page regulatory documents while camping, spent a week at Oshkosh decoding this mess so the rest of us could keep flying our planes instead of drowning in federal paperwork. As he put it during our live recording: "I've read the 700 page document... I understand a lot of it. I'm bad at communicating, and this is just me that knows this. I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a CFI... But I know more about this than you two. So I am now the expert in the room."
And honestly? We'll take it. When Ted talks, we listen—mainly because he's usually the only one who's actually read the fine print.
The TL;DR for People Who Hate Reading (Like Ben)
Here's what you need to know right now, before your attention span wanders off to think about your next $100 hamburger:
For Sport Pilots: You can now fly airplanes with stall speeds up to 59 knots Vs0 (goodbye, 45-knot limit), including constant speed props, retractable gear, and yes—Ben's beloved Cessna 182. As Ted explained with obvious glee: "As a sport pilot, I can fly a plane with four seats... I can fly one passenger... but I can fly a plane with four seats. That's a big deal."
For All Pilots: The new Light Sport Aircraft category now includes planes up to 61 knots stall speed with no weight limit, four seats, and no engine restrictions. Translation: manufacturers can now certify twins and turboprops as LSAs. Wild times.
Timeline: Sport pilot changes take effect October 22, 2025 (90 days from announcement). Aircraft certification changes take effect in one year because, as Ted explained, "Current standards can no longer be used. Also, the new standards have not been written." Classic FAA move.
Understanding MOSAIC: It's Bigger Than Just Sport Pilots
One of the biggest misconceptions about MOSAIC is that it only affects the guys flying around in what look like motorized hang gliders. As Ted emphasized early and often: "I want to be clear, the big wins for this are not for the sport pilot, it's for all the pilots. So if you hear this and you're listening and you're like, okay, this is gonna be all the sport pilot nerdery, it's not, there's a significant part of it that doesn't even apply to sport pilots."
MOSAIC actually covers two completely different but related areas:
What sport pilots can fly (the pilot privileges)
What aircraft can be certified as Light Sport Aircraft (the aircraft category)
Think of it this way: it's like the difference between having a driver's license and what cars are allowed on the road. Two different things, two different sets of rules, two different timelines. Ted spent most of the episode keeping Brian and Ben from mixing these up, which was... entertaining.
The Safety Philosophy: Why This Actually Makes Sense
The FAA's approach is based on what they call the "safety continuum"—basically, the fewer people you can potentially kill, the more they'll let you get away with. As Ted explained: "The whole point is the fewer people you can hurt, the more flexibility you can have and the more they'll allow you to do with less regulation."
The data backs this up, too. Ted shared some eye-opening statistics: "The crash and fatality rates of light sport and standard category are pretty similar... Experimentals have a crash rate that's about twice as high as standard category and a fatality rate that's closer to three times."
This is why the FAA wants to move people from experimental aircraft into the light sport category—it's demonstrably safer. They have no control over experimentals (anyone can build anything and call it an airplane), but they can regulate light sport aircraft to be safer while still giving pilots more freedom than traditional certification.
For Sport Pilots: Your World Just Got Much, Much Bigger
The Aircraft Revolution
Remember when sport pilots were stuck with a handful of factory-built Light Sport Aircraft that cost more than your house? Those days are over. The old 1,320-pound weight limit is gone, replaced by a 59 knots VS1 stall speed limit that opens up thousands of aircraft.
As Ted noted with barely contained excitement: "I could walk in any school and rent whatever plane they have."
This means sport pilots can now fly:
Cessna 150s, 152s, and 172s
Ben's Cessna 182 (the "Beast")
Cherokee 180s
Most aircraft with constant speed propellers
Aircraft with retractable landing gear
Four-seat aircraft (still limited to one passenger)
Ben seemed particularly amused by this development: "So this would be like the, if, correct me if this is a bad analogy, but I'm 16 years old and I've got $3,000 in my pocket and I wanna go buy a car. Well, I have very limited options... now. I'm 57 years old and I have, not me, but I have $7 million in the bank. What am I gonna go by? It's whatever I want to go by."
Ted's response was perfect: "It is."
Training Requirements: Refreshingly Sensible
Here's the beautiful part: if an aircraft meets the sport pilot limitations, you can fly it without additional endorsements unless it's:
Over 200 horsepower (high performance endorsement required)
Has a constant speed prop (complex endorsement required)
Has retractable gear (complex endorsement required)
This is the same standard that applies to private pilots. As Ted put it: "What do I need to do to fly your plane?... No, there's no endorsements required. Unless it's over 200 horsepower or constant speed or retract... there's obviously gonna be transition training. They're just not requiring it."
Ben's immediate response was classic: "Look, you've got more, you've got more experience in so many different airplanes. I'd probably trust you more than I do. Half the other people that I know that are good pilots."
The Night Flying Controversy: Medical Certificates Required
This was the big disappointment in the final rule. Despite overwhelming opposition from the aviation community, the FAA maintained that sport pilots need either a 3rd Class Medical or BasicMed to fly at night.
As Ted explained with obvious frustration: "Most comments oppose the medical requirement, but we're gonna do it anyway."
This is particularly problematic because of the "medical trap." If you apply for a third-class medical to get BasicMed eligibility and get deferred or denied, you lose sport pilot privileges entirely. It's aviation Russian roulette.
Brian captured the absurdity perfectly: "If you went for a third, if your goal was to get basic med... You had to go get a third class first so that you could then go get a basic med. If you go, it's so important that people remember this and know that this is to be true. You go and apply for that third class medical and you know, any weird number of surprise things could come... You're not trying to pull one over on on your medical, but something comes up in that process that is perhaps largely inconsequential, if not completely inconsequential, but you're just being susceptible to this new matrix of consideration. You apply for that, you go for that, you get denied that. Then not only do you not get the opportunity to then go and get your basic med... you cannot go back to sport."
The Maintenance Revolution: 16 Hours vs. 1,500 Hours
Perhaps the most underreported aspect of MOSAIC is the maintenance changes, and this is where things get really interesting for experimental aircraft owners.
Current rules state that only the original builder of an Experimental Amateur-Built aircraft can perform the required annual condition inspection. As Ted explained: "Everybody who, like our friend Grizzly, he bought his EAB, his 51%, constructed by someone plane, he bought it from the builder. Only the original builder can do a condition inspection on it."
MOSAIC changes this completely. Now, as Ted explained with barely contained excitement: "With this 16 hour course that you can do for light sport, you can now do that for experimentals... I can't explain how big this is."
The comparison is stark:
16 hours for Light Sport Repairman-Inspection privileges
80 hours for full Light Sport Repairman-Maintenance privileges
1,500 hours to become an A&P mechanic
Ted painted the picture: "Think about this though. You're your Cirrus, what I'm calling the Cirrus SR20 LSA. You could go out and take a 16 hour course and you could do your annual inspection on it."
Brian's reaction was perfect: "If it was the same for cars. You know, you sell your, you sell your used car, whatever, you sell it to somebody and then they come back to you like, I, I've gotta drive it back from Kansas to get you to approve this thing. 'cause I can't get anybody to work on it."
Market Implications: Manufacturers Are Ready to Pounce
The experimental manufacturers have been waiting for this. As Ted noted: "Vans and the two big ones. Uh, Sling, you know, Zenith maybe, but I know specifically about Sling and, and Vans. They have both implied strongly or said directly they'll be manufacturing planes now."
This is huge. Instead of selling kits that require months or years of building, companies like Van's and Sling can now sell completed, factory-built aircraft certified as LSAs. We're talking about a complete transformation of the general aviation market.
The innovation has been happening in experimental aircraft because traditional certification is so expensive and time-consuming. Now these innovative designs can move into the certified world through the LSA route, which is much more reasonable.
Flight Training: Game Changer for Schools and Students
For flight schools, this is potentially transformative. As Ted explained: "Your private pilot is, is 40 hour minimum. We know it takes about 85. Sport pilot is 20 hour minimum. It generally takes 65 plus. That is a, actually a big difference in hours."
But more importantly: "The thing that I always saw was the, the people loafing around the airport who are waiting for their medical... Schools won't have that anymore. They make $0 on that, they make money on shipping people out the door."
Brian summed up the impact: "This is a big thing for the Midlife Pilot podcast because there's gonna be all of a sudden a bunch of people that have been kept out of this, that are now welcome."
The Announcements That Went Hilariously Wrong
One of the funniest parts of Ted's story was about the official announcement at Oshkosh. As he told it: "It was hilarious because we're at this, at this press conference, um, with the head of. FAA slash department of transportation... we're there and he announces it and we're all happy about it, and he announces it completely wrong. So about half the details that he said were completely wrong."
Even better: "Well, um, Sean Duffy got up there and explained it from the podium. He got it wrong, so it was entirely confusing."
The guy announcing the biggest aviation rule change in decades... got it wrong. At the official announcement. This is peak FAA.
What This Means for Midlife Pilots
For those of us getting into aviation later in life, this changes everything. The sport pilot route becomes dramatically more attractive with access to modern, capable aircraft. The maintenance changes make aircraft ownership more feasible. And the expanded aircraft category should drive innovation and potentially reduce costs.
As Ted put it: "This is a big thing for the Midlife Pilot podcast because there's gonna be all of a sudden a bunch of people that have been kept out of this, that are now welcome."
The sport pilot certificate was always intended as an easier entry point into aviation, but the aircraft restrictions made it feel like a consolation prize. Now it's a legitimate pathway to serious recreational flying.
The Stuff That Didn't Change (Unfortunately)
Some limitations remain, and they're worth noting:
Altitude: Still limited to 10,000 feet MSL plus 2,000 feet AGL
Passengers: Still limited to one passenger total
IMC: Still prohibited for sport pilots
Multi-engine: Sport pilots cannot fly multi-engine aircraft, even if they qualify as LSA
Ted had hoped for changes to the altitude limits but wasn't surprised they stayed: "Altitude limitation wasn't changed. Um, there were a bunch of people that want, including me, that wanted it to be changed from 10,000 plus 2000. They're like, Nope, we're not gonna give it to you."
Ted's Take: "This is Fantastic"
After spending a week reading 700 pages of federal regulations and explaining it to two guys who can barely remember what they had for breakfast, Ted's final assessment was simple: "This is fantastic... I'm amazed by that."
And honestly? We couldn't agree more.
The Bottom Line
MOSAIC represents the most significant expansion of pilot privileges in decades. It acknowledges that the current system was artificially constraining both pilots and aircraft manufacturers. By removing arbitrary limitations and focusing on actual safety data, the FAA has opened the door for innovation while maintaining safety standards.
The changes recognize that a well-designed aircraft doesn't become dangerous just because it weighs more than 1,320 pounds or has four seats instead of two. Similarly, a qualified pilot doesn't become incompetent when stepping from a Cherokee 140 to Ben's Cessna 182.
For the first time in decades, the regulatory environment is expanding rather than contracting pilot privileges and aircraft capabilities. That's worth celebrating.
Final Thoughts (And Ted's Disclaimers)
As Ted repeatedly emphasized throughout the episode: "This is what I understand about Mosaic. I've read the 700 page document... I am probably wrong. Again, you're listening to a non-lawyer, non CFI on the internet. So take this at my value."
But here's the thing—Ted's been following this from the beginning, sits on the committee that helped develop the standards, and actually read the entire 700-page document. Multiple times. While camping. In 100-degree heat.
If that's not dedication to the cause, we don't know what is.
The MOSAIC rules represent a fundamental shift toward common-sense aviation regulation based on actual safety data rather than arbitrary limitations. For midlife pilots, prospective pilots, and aircraft owners, these changes offer expanded opportunities and logical progression paths.
As Ted concluded after his deep dive through 700 pages of regulations: "This is fantastic... I'm amazed by that."
We couldn't agree more.
Listen to the full Episode 139 discussion embedded below, and join our community at midlifepilotpodcast.com for ongoing discussion about these game-changing rules.
Want to stay updated on MOSAIC implementation and other aviation news? Subscribe to our podcast and join our Patreon community for exclusive content and discussions. And remember—the Discord is where the real magic happens.
Episode 139 recorded live Monday, July 29, 2025. All quotes are from the live recording. Ted was broadcasting from an undisclosed location somewhere in the "canned pumpkin capital" while Ben was sweating it out on "Hell's Front porch" in metro Atlanta, and Brian was melting in the "Florida room" that is Nashville in summer.
Sources: FAA MOSAIC Final Rule, ASTM F37 Committee proceedings, EAA AirVenture 2025 presentations, and one very dedicated sport pilot who reads way too much federal paperwork for his own good.
