Frustration

Umpty-ump years ago, several men pooled resources and set out to revive the Helio Courier aircraft. No naive, starry-eyed business neophytes, these folks had vast experience in aircraft sales, finance, insurance, and other fields. They got one airplane built, and even had it sold. They desperately needed certification so they could deliver said aircraft and collect the money. An FAA test pilot flew the airplane and said they had to make only one little fix before he could approve certification. They leaped to the airplane with tools in hand, but the test pilot headed for his car. He had to leave, said he, because it would be the end of his working day when he got home. No problem, though—they could set up another appointment to have him return at some future date. I thought about that last week when the FAA certificated the LSA amphibian of LSA Aero. On that very same day they gave company president Don Langford a bit of bad news that would make the airplane virtually unsellable. The feds, you see, years ago decided that there could indeed be an LSA amphibian. Then they decided that the landing gear on the amphib could not—it’s hard to believe this—be operated in flight. In other words, you cannot take off on land then land on water, or vice-versa. Uh, excuse me, but why would they allow an LSA amphib then rule that it couldn’t be used as an amphib? Don—a FedEx captain with an engineering degree, tens of thousands of hours, and all of the experience and ratings imaginable—and others worked like hell to find a way to work around this unbelievable rule. At one time the feds said that operating the gear would be okay for private pilots or better, but not for basic LSA pilots. Then, a month ago, one (friendly and cooperative) fed office said they had talked with OK City and it would not be necessary to have a placard, because it was a pilot issue rather than an aircraft issue. Last week, OK City calmly said they had changed their minds. In fact, they decided that no pilot—including Don, with his ATP and worldwide experience—could operate the gear in flight—period. Oddly, and illogically, at least one LSA amphib already has an exemption that allows the gear to be operated in flight. As far as I know, none of those aircraft has been sold in the states. Don has an airplane ready to sell, but he can’t get the exemption. How in the world is he going to market his amphib? Do the feds ever consider how their blithe decisions affect business people? We'd love to post your comments. Please click the comment box at the top.