President Obama signed the Small Airplane Revitalization Act into law just before the Thanksgiving break, starting the clock ticking on the adoption of new certification regulations that are intended to increase safety and reduce the certification costs of new Part 23 general aviation airplanes.
The law requires the FAA to implement the recommendations of its Part 23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee by December 31, 2015. The legislation, which was championed by Kansas Congressman Mike Pompeo and unanimously passed the Senate in October and the House in November, calls for a rewrite of decades-old Part 23 regulations and the creation of a new category under Part 21 covering aircraft parts and other products.
"This is an enormous achievement for general aviation across the nation," Pompeo said in a statement. “By reforming and modernizing these regulations, this law unleashes small airplane manufacturers to do what they do best: Build airplanes and get them in the air."
Insiders at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and National Business Aviation Association who had a hand in helping craft the law said streamlining the certification process for light airplanes and related aviation products will lead to swifter adoption of new aircraft designs and safety equipment as well as cut costs. How much of the cost savings will be passed onto to consumers is the big unanswered question.
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