throw this in as well
US Congress Set to Revitalise General Aviation
12 Jul 2013
The US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has sent the Small Airplane Revitalization Act to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
HR.1848 passed the committee this week and is set to implement recommendations that will cut aircraft certification costs for GA aircraft in half and double safety standards.
In the preamble to the Act, congress acknowledges several challenges faced by the general aviation industry in the USA including the loss of 10,000 active pilots every year and that regulatory barriers have contributed to the lack of investment in new designs resulting in a 40-year-old fleet.
To correct the situation, the US Congress will direct the FAA to:
Create a regulatory regime for small airplanes that will improve safety and decrease certification costs
Set broad, outcome driven safety objectives that will spur innovation and technology adoption
Replace current, prescriptive requirements contained in FAA rules with performance based regulations
Use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how the Part 23 safety objectives may be met by specific designs and technologies.
The bill has been widely praised in the industry.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Pete Bunce was pleased with the news. “The bill will help industry and FAA develop and adopt more effective, consensus-based compliance standards that would spur manufacturers’ investment in aircraft design and help put critical life-saving equipment into the existing fleet of airplanes.”
"It is gratifying to see the broad, bipartisan support for this measure in the House," said Doug Macnair, EAA's vice president of government relations. "The unanimous vote in the House committee acknowledges how this bill will revitalize the lighter end of general aviation, which has faced significant challenges in recent years."
The full text of the Small Airplanes Revitalization Act can be read here.
H.R. 1848: Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013
113th Congress, 2013–2015. Text as of May 07, 2013 (Introduced).
Status & Summary | PDF | Source: GPO
HR 1848 IH
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1848
To ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances the safety of small airplanes, and the continued development of the general aviation industry, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2013
Mr. POMPEO (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. GRAVES of Missouri, Mr. NOLAN, and Mr. ROKITA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration advances the safety of small airplanes, and the continued development of the general aviation industry, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) A healthy small aircraft industry is integral to economic growth and to maintaining an effective transportation infrastructure for communities and nations around the world.
(2) Small aircraft comprise nearly 90 percent of FAA-type certified general aviation aircraft.
(3) General aviation provides for the cultivation of a workforce of engineers, manufacturing and maintenance professionals, and pilots who secure the Nation’s economic success and defense.
(4) General aviation contributes to well-paying manufacturing and technology jobs in the United States, and these products are exported in great numbers, providing a positive trade balance.
(5) Technology developed and proven in general aviation aids in the success and safety of all sectors of aviation and scientific competence.
(6) The average small airplane in the United States is now 40 years old and the regulatory barriers to bringing new designs to market are resulting in a lack of innovation and investment in small airplane design.
(7) Over the past decade, the United States typically lost 10,000 active private pilots per year partially due to a lack of cost-effective, new small airplanes.
(8) General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing and revamping the regulations for this sector to clear the path for technology adoption and cost effective means to retrofit the existing fleet with new safety technologies.
SEC. 3. FAA SAFETY AND REGULATORY IMPROVEMENTS FOR GENERAL AVIATION.
(a) Establishment of FAA Safety and Regulatory Improvements for General Aviation- The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall advance the safety and continued development of small airplanes by reorganizing the certification requirements to streamline the approval of safety advancements.
(b) Regulations- The Administrator shall issue a final rule based on the FAA’s Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee (established in August 2011) by December 31, 2015. The final rule shall meet the following objectives of the Part 23 Committee:
(1) Create a regulatory regime for small airplanes that will improve safety and decrease certification costs.
(2) Set broad, outcome driven safety objectives that will spur innovation and technology adoption.
(3) Replace current, prescriptive requirements contained in FAA rules with performance based regulations.
(4) Use FAA-accepted consensus standards to clarify how the Part 23 safety objectives may be met by specific designs and technologies.
(c) Consensus-Based Standards- The Administrator shall use acceptable consensus-based standards whenever possible in the spirit of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 3701 note) while continuing to evaluate traditional methods for meeting the objectives of Part 23.
(d) Safety Cooperation- The Administrator shall lead the effort to improve general aviation safety by working with leading aviation regulators to assist them in adopting a complementary regulatory approach for small airplanes.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR- The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) CONSENSUS STANDARDS- The term ‘consensus standards’ means standards developed by voluntary organizations which plan, develop, establish, or coordinate voluntary standards using agreed-upon procedures, both domestic and international. These standards include provisions requiring that owners of relevant intellectual property have agreed to make that intellectual property available on a nondiscriminatory, royalty-free, or reasonable royalty basis to all interested parties. These bodies have the attributes of openness, balance of interest, due process, an appeals process and consensus.
(3) FAA- The term ‘FAA’ means the Federal Aviation Administration.
(4) GENERAL AVIATION- The term ‘general aviation’ means all aviation activities other than scheduled commercial airline operations and military aviation.
(5) SMALL AIRPLANE- The term ‘small airplane’ means FAA-type certificated airplanes that meet the parameters of part 23 of title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
interesting this comes up as im researching the purchase of a Pipistrel Virus SW100 with 912IS engine kit, 147kts cruise, burning 15ltrs/1hr with an 7 hour endurance. new technology..