Keith Tschohl. Courtesy photo
EAA News:
Los Alamos Chapter 691 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) will meet Saturday, March 21 at the Los Alamos Airport Terminal, and will feature an educational presentation by Keith Tschohl entitled “MOSAIC: New Rules for Pilots, Aircraft, and Maintenance”. The meeting, open to the public, will begin at 9:30 a.m. with coffee, pastries and informal discussion, followed by a short business meeting at 10 a.m. and the presentation beginning at 10:30 a.m.
The MOSAIC (“Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification”) Final Rule, published by the FAA in July 2025, was widely heralded by general aviation advocacy organizations (EAA, AOPA) and the aviation media as the most sweeping updates to light aircraft regulations in over two decades.
Expanded pilot certification rules, effective since October 2025, now allow Sport Pilot certificate holders access to a vastly wider range of aircraft than before, including approximately three quarters of certificated general aviation aircraft. Repairman certificate privileges have expanded to allow annual condition inspections to be performed on experimental amateur-built aircraft.
Revised aircraft certification rules, which become effective July 2026, have eliminated weight limitations for light-sport aircraft and shifted to a performance-based criteria, allowing approval of larger, more sophisticated aircraft and newer powerplant technologies compared to the legacy light-sport aircraft rules.
Join Keith Tschohl in an overview and discussion of MOSIAC, and a deep dive into what the new rules may be able to do for you:
- Will the new Sport Pilot rules really make it faster and cheaper to learn to fly?
- Will I need an FAA medical to fly under Sport Pilot? Can existing Private Pilot certificate holders exercise Sport Pilot privileges without a medical or BasicMed?
- What are the limitations to Sport Pilot privileges?
- What “traps” I need to be aware of if I fly under Sport Pilot in northern New Mexico?
- Did any rules change regarding maintenance of certificated aircraft?
Tschohl learned to fly a quarter century ago while studying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduation, he was active in the aviation community at the Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, Minnesota for nearly two decades, where he helped manage the Twin City Cloud 7 flying club, and flew a variety of Piper, Cessna, and experimental amateur-built aircraft. He has lived in New Mexico since 2023, owns a share of a Cessna 182 at the Los Alamos Airport, and works as a Research & Development Engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory.