After 20 years on the board and 17 years as president and chairman of the board, Dan Johnson welcomed a new leader of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA): Scott Severen.
The handoff occurred Dec. 31, 2023, following an in-person election at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023.
“Scott Severen has been member of the board of directors of LAMA and he brings a wealth of experience in both industry and other organizations,” said Johnson, who previously wrote the Splog (Sport pilot blog) for General Aviation News.
Severen’s association experience includes membership in USHGA, the United States Hang Gliding Association (now USHPA, for paragliders); USUA, United States Ultralight Association; and AOOA, the Airpark Owners and Operators Association, where he also served as the first president.
Before Johnson became LAMA president in the mid-1990s, Severen served as interim president of LAMA. He participated as a charter member of the Part 103 FAA Aviation Rule-making Advisory Committee (ARAC), which eventually created the Light-Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot regulations.
Later, he volunteered as a director and interim president of USUA, the United States Ultralight Association.
Severen is also a voting member of the ASTM F37 committee writing LSA consensus standards. In addition, he is a member of the F44 committee working on industry consensus standards for aircraft presently certified under Part 23.
In 2014 he was appointed to the EAA Ultralight & Light-Sport Aircraft Council.
“With his very broad work among many light aircraft organizations plus his years in industry, Scott Severen is an ideal choice to take over LAMA as the industry prepares for enormous changes coming with the Mosaic regulation,” Johnson said.
In the 1990s, Severen was president of TEAM Aircraft, distributing aircraft kits in the USA and 30 countries. In his role at TEAM, Severen also directed compliance processes to Canada’s TP10141 regulation and United Kingdom’s BCAR-S.
In 2004, Severen joined IndUS Aviation in Texas where he was instrumental in the effort to be the first American-designed aircraft to earn Special LSA acceptance. IndUS was the first company to complete an ASTM SLSA audit, Johnson noted.
In 2018, Severen became the North American importer for the Jabiru line of Light-Sport Aircraft and four seat aircraft kits, operating under the business name US Sport Planes.
Job One
Almost immediately after assuming leadership of LAMA, Severen assembled his board and prepared the association’s comments on the FAA’s proposed changes to LSA, known as Mosaic (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) after months of conversation and preparation throughout the industry.
Contributions by all members were gathered and submitted to FAA before the close of comments on Jan. 22, 2024.
Founded in 1984, LAMA represents members of the Light-Sport Aircraft and light kit aircraft business community, including airframe manufacturers, producers of engines, avionics, and components, airports, suppliers, distributors, flight schools, and other aviation businesses.
For more information: LAMA.bz