MOSAIC Simplified

When you were a child it’s entirely possible that you played a game with friends called “telephone.” The object of the game was for the first player to whisper a simple message to the second player. The second player would whisper the message to the third player and so on until the last player had received the message.

Not surprisingly, when the last player announced the message they’d received, it had little in common with the original message sent. This is because each player put a slight modification into the message, altering it just a bit. Little by little, the original message was completely lost as it was incrementally modified, then replaced by one that was virtually unrecognizable.

This is why it is so critical to go to the source when trying to understand information that has an impact on legality or safety of operations, especially in aviation.

The introduction of the MOSAIC rule (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) from the FAA has suffered from the same fate as the messages sent through that children’s game all those years ago. Slight misunderstandings have exploded into massive misconceptions about what MOSAIC is, what it isn’t, and how each of us can work within its framework.

Considering the final rule for MOSAIC clocks in at more than 700 pages, few of us actually sit down and read the whole thing. Yet if we hold an FAA certificate, we may find it beneficial to understand the rule as it was passed down to us. It offers tremendous privileges, but also comes with some very specific limitations.

In the interest of clarity, let’s simplify a bit.

MOSAIC involves four distinct areas of general aviation. They are, in no particular order:

1. Sport Pilots
2. Light Sport Category Aircraft
3. Maintenance and Repairmen (limited to Light Sport Category Aircraft)
4. Operations

In the interest of brevity and clarity, we will limit our scope here to pilots and aircraft. Maintenance and Repairmen deserve sufficient space of their own to spell out the changes. Operations can best be handled as a separate topic as well. Look for more on those in upcoming posts.

Sport Pilots

Individuals who hold an existing pilot certificate have been mightily confused about if they can or how they might operate as a Sport Pilot should they choose to take that route. The process is actually quite simple. In fact, it shares a great deal of commonality with pilot privileges that existed prior to MOSAIC coming into effect.

Consider this example. You are a current commercial pilot or an ATP. One day you invite your spouse or a friend to fly off to an airport 75 nautical miles distant to have lunch at a favorite restaurant. You choose to rent a single-engine airplane from the local FBO, a Piper Warrior perhaps. That’s entirely legal.

As you fulfill your PIC duties on this flight, you are not acting as a commercial pilot or an ATP. Rather, you are exercising the private pilot privileges that exist under your commercial or ATP certificate. You do not need a first or second class medical certificate to conduct the flight, because private pilots are not required to hold a first or second class medical. You’re good to go with a third class or even as a participant in BasicMed.

That same principle is in effect for pilots who hold a private, commercial, or ATP certificate but wish to operate as a Sport Pilot on a given flight. They can act as PIC of a qualifying aircraft with no medical at all, because Sport Pilot requirements do not mandate pilots hold a medical. All you need to do is be current, hold a Sport Pilot certificate or higher, and self-certify your medical fitness by carrying your state issued driver’s license.

The caveat to this is that your medical certificate must not have been denied or revoked. If your first class medical lapsed and reverted to a second class, then a third class, then expired entirely, you can still operate as a Sport Pilot in good standing. You only have to limit yourself to operating aircraft that a Sport Pilot certificate would qualify you to fly. 

Light Sport Category Aircraft

While we may have become accustomed to the term LSA, which translates to Light Sport Aircraft, there is now a new term for us to consider: Light Sport Category Aircraft.

MOSAIC removes many of the restrictions on these aircraft, updating and expanding them considerably. The old weight limit of 1,320 pounds is gone. The limitation that restricts aircraft to just two seats is similarly out the window. And, believe it or not, Light Sport Category Aircraft now includes rotorcraft and powered-lift vehicles, as well as airplanes, weight shift control aircraft, and gliders.

This is where things can get confusing, but they don’t have to. Specifics matter and in the realm of Light Sport Category Aircraft and Sport Pilots, knowing what’s acceptable and what’s not makes a world of difference.

As a Sport Pilot, or a higher-level certificated pilot who wishes to exercise the Sport Pilot privileges of their certificate, the limitations on what they can fly has been expanded dramatically, but not without limits.

There is no longer a weight limit or a speed limitation for the aircraft Sport Pilots can fly. Rather, there are performance limitations. Vs1, the stall speed in a clean configuration, must be 59 knots calibrated airspeed or less. The Sport Pilot is still limited to carrying just one passenger, but the aircraft may have up to four seats.

With additional training and appropriate endorsements, the Sport Pilot may fly aircraft with a controllable pitch propeller and retractable landing gear. Even electrically powered aircraft are now included in the mix.

This means popular aircraft such as the Cessna 152, C-172, Piper Cherokee, and Warrior are available to Sport Pilots now. The C-182 and some Beechcraft Bonanzas may qualify. Simply verify the clean stall speed in CAS (calibrated air speed) as 59 knots or less and off you go.

For pilots with higher level certificates who wish to operate as Sport Pilots on a full-time basis, or just occasionally, the freedom this option presents is tremendous. There are no additional tests to take. The FAA doesn’t require any special notification to be made or unique record-keeping files to be maintained.

For pilots who hold a Sport Pilot certificate, the number and variety of aircraft available to them has expanded beyond what was rumored or anticipated.

However, one common misunderstanding of MOSAIC is that Sport Pilots will be able to fly multi-engine airplanes. That is not the case. Multi-engine aircraft are mentioned specifically in the MOSAIC document. However, that reference is to eVTOL and powered-lift aircraft, not multi-engine airplanes. 

Beyond Sport Pilot

The general aviation pilot population can celebrate with enthusiasm that Sport Pilots can fly a wide assortment of aircraft under MOSAIC. However — and it’s a big however — there is a wrinkle in the definitions and limitations that must be understood to stay on the sunny side of the FAA.

While Sport Pilots, or pilots with higher level certifications who wish to operate as Sport Pilots, can fly airplanes with a clean stall speed of up to 59 knots CAS, not all Light Sport Category Aircraft will be limited to that number.

This presents a potential challenge to those who operate as Sport Pilots.

On July 24, 2026, the term “Light Sport Aircraft” will be removed from the definitions section of the FARs. It will be replaced with the term “Light Sport Category Aircraft.”

Light Sport Category Aircraft may be certified with a Vso (dirty stall speed) of up to 61 knots CAS. That means that while Sport Pilots and those acting as Sport Pilots can fly Light Sport Category Aircraft, they cannot fly all Light Sport Category Aircraft. Those with a clean stall speed greater than 59 knots CAS will require a private pilot certificate or higher to act as PIC. 

The Upshot

All in all, MOSAIC has brought us a remarkable gift: Fewer limitations, enhanced privileges, and a far wider selection of aircraft for pilots to choose from. Earning a Sport Pilot certificate is significantly less time-consuming and far less expensive than obtaining a private pilot certificate — a fact that should bring a great many new pilots into the industry in the coming years.

These liberties will also make it possible for experienced pilots, also known as old folks, to remain in the left seat with less expense and fewer hassles. This makes it possible and even desirable for aircraft owners and renters to remain active as long as they fly appropriate aircraft and carry no more than one passenger at a time.

Of course, there are a great many nuances to the rule beyond those expressed here. For those you may wish to curl up on the couch, grab a favorite beverage, and plow through the full 700 plus pages of the ruling yourself. Or you could just verify the simplified version presented here and conduct yourself accordingly.

You can read the full ruling at FAA.gov.