The FAA's MOSAIC final rule was published July 24, 2025, and its most significant provisions take effect July 24, 2026. The agency has released an official fact sheet breaking the rule into four components. Here's what matters most if you're a pilot, flight school, or prospective aircraft buyer.

Download the full FAA MOSAIC Fact Sheet (PDF) →

Two Effective Dates — One Already Past

MOSAIC rolled out in two phases. The first, which took effect October 22, 2025, covered pilot training and certification rules, repairman certification, maintenance rules, and Class G airspace right-of-way changes. If you've been flying or instructing since then, some of these changes are already in effect.

The second and more significant phase arrives July 24, 2026, and brings airworthiness certification changes, new operating limitations, and the removal of the old "light-sport aircraft" definition from 14 CFR § 1.1. This is the date that reshapes what aircraft qualify and what Sport Pilots can fly.

1. Light-Sport Category Aircraft Certification

The old LSA framework was built around rigid prescriptive limits — maximum weight, stall speed, fixed gear, two seats. MOSAIC replaces most of that with performance-based rules. Key changes under the new Part 22 certification:

The practical effect: a much broader class of modern, capable aircraft can now be certificated as light-sport, including designs that would have been impossible under the 2004 rules.

2. Sport Pilot Certification Expanded

The expanded aircraft certification is only useful if Sport Pilots can actually fly those aircraft. MOSAIC updates 14 CFR Part 61 Subpart J to match:

One important note from the FAA: the aircraft must have met these requirements at the time of its original certification to qualify. Legacy LSA aircraft grandfathered under the old rules don't automatically gain new privileges — the expanded Sport Pilot privileges apply to aircraft certificated under the new framework.

3. Maintenance and Repairman Changes

MOSAIC also modernizes the Light-Sport Repairman certificate. U.S. citizenship is no longer required. Certificate privileges are now defined by aircraft category rather than a single catch-all, and experimental aircraft — including amateur-built (EAB) and kit-built light sport — are now included in repairman certificate privileges.

For maintenance, Airworthiness Directive compliance remains mandatory. Major repairs and alterations still require manufacturer or FAA authorization, but minor work no longer needs prior authorization.

4. Operations Under Part 91

On the operations side, MOSAIC expands what light-sport category aircraft can do commercially and operationally. Aerial work operations are now permitted for eligible aircraft. The passenger limit for airplanes rises to four occupants (though Sport Pilots remain capped at two). Restricted category aircraft can now relocate to airshows and trade events — relevant for the demo and display market.

Class G airspace right-of-way rules have also been updated to account for the wider variety of aircraft now operating in that environment, including non-traditional propulsion types.

What This Means for Buyers Right Now

July 24, 2026 is 129 days away. Aircraft being ordered and delivered this year will be the first to operate under the full MOSAIC framework. The Evektor Harmony NG is built to qualify under the new rules — composite airframe, Rotax 915iS, full Garmin G3X, and a design envelope that fits the expanded Sport Pilot privileges coming this summer.

If you're evaluating aircraft, the window to get ahead of the rule change — and the demand that follows it — is now.

Download the full FAA MOSAIC Fact Sheet (PDF) →

Questions about how MOSAIC affects a specific aircraft purchase? Get in touch — happy to walk through it.