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14 CFR 61.316 · MOSAIC
Does Your Aircraft Qualify Under 14 CFR 61.316?
It qualifies if its published VS1 at maximum certificated takeoff weight is 59 knots CAS or less, it has four seats or fewer, an unpressurised cabin, fixed gear and a fixed or ground-adjustable propeller. The FAA has published no list of eligible aircraft, so the answer lives in your flight manual.
59 kt CAS · the whole testNo weight limit since 22 Oct 2025No FAA list exists5.0 ★ · 85 Google reviews
59 ktVS1 ceiling for airplanes under 14 CFR 61.316(a)(1)
45 ktVS1 ceiling for every category that is not an airplane
4maximum seats for airplanes under 14 CFR 61.316(a)(2)
5.0 ★85 Google reviews
The test
What exactly does 14 CFR 61.316 require?
14 CFR 61.316 asks nine questions about the airframe and one of them decides most cases. For an airplane, VS1 — the stalling speed or minimum steady flight speed without lift-enhancing devices — must be no more than 59 knots CAS at the aircraft's maximum certificated takeoff weight and most critical centre of gravity. Every other category is held to 45 knots CAS.
The rest of the list is short. A maximum seating capacity of two, except airplanes, which may have four. A non-pressurised cabin if a cabin is fitted. Fixed landing gear for powered aircraft other than gliders. A fixed, ground-adjustable or automated controllable-pitch propeller. Gyroplanes need a fixed-pitch semi-rigid teetering two-blade rotor, and helicopters must carry the simplified flight controls designation.
14 CFR 61.316(b) opens two doors. An aircraft with retractable landing gear, or an airplane with a manual controllable-pitch propeller, is available to a sport pilot who holds the training and endorsement in 14 CFR 61.331(a) or (b) respectively. No other design criterion in the section can be unlocked by training.
Notice what is not in the section: any weight. Not a maximum takeoff weight, not an empty weight, not a useful load. The 1,320 lb figure that dominated this subject for twenty years was in the light-sport aircraft definition in 14 CFR 1.1, and MOSAIC deleted that definition on 22 October 2025.
The method
How to check an aircraft yourself, in about ten minutes
You need two documents and one careful reading. Neither document is hard to get, and neither costs anything.
01
Get the FAA-approved flight manual
The AFM or POH for that serial number, not a scan of a different variant. Section 5, performance, carries the stall speed table. Section 2, limitations, carries the maximum certificated takeoff weight you have to read the stall speed at.
02
Get the type certificate data sheet
TCDS documents are free on the FAA's Dynamic Regulatory System. They give the certificated weights and often the certification-basis stall speeds. Where the AFM and the TCDS disagree, the TCDS is the certification record.
03
Read VS1, not VS0
VS0 is the landing-configuration stall — flaps down, and always the lower number. 14 CFR 61.316(a)(1) asks for the speed without the use of lift-enhancing devices, which is VS1. Reading the wrong row is the single most common mistake made on this.
04
Convert to CAS
The rule says knots calibrated airspeed. Many flight manuals publish stall speeds in KIAS, and near the stall the position error can be several knots in either direction. The airspeed calibration chart in section 5 gives you the conversion.
05
Check it at maximum weight and worst CG
Not at a comfortable training weight. The rule specifies maximum certificated takeoff weight and the most critical centre of gravity, which is the combination that produces the highest stall speed.
06
Confirm it was always true
14 CFR 61.316(a) requires the aircraft to have met the criteria since its original certification. An airframe that only clears 59 knots after a modification, or after an owner elects a lower operating weight, does not qualify.
Traps
Six ways people get this answer wrong
Each of these has a real cost attached, because the usual reason someone asks the question is that they are about to buy an aeroplane or a training package.
1
Assuming an FAA list exists
It does not. The FAA has published no list of newly-eligible aircraft, and any list you find is somebody else's arithmetic on somebody else's flight manual. Treat it as a starting point for your own check, never as the answer.
2
Confusing the airworthiness category with the privilege
A light-sport category airworthiness certificate under 14 CFR 21.190 is not what makes an aircraft available to a sport pilot any more. 14 CFR 61.316 does. A standard-category airplane meeting 61.316 qualifies; a light-sport-category aircraft that misses 61.316 does not.
3
Reading indicated instead of calibrated
An airplane published at 57 KIAS can sit above 59 knots CAS once the position error is applied. If the margin is under about four knots, do not decide from the indicated figure.
4
Trying to modify into compliance
Vortex generators, a flap re-rig, an STC that lowers gross weight — none of it works, because 14 CFR 61.316(a) is written in terms of the aircraft's original certification. This is the most expensive mistake available here.
5
Forgetting the propeller and the gear
A qualifying stall speed does not help if the airplane has retractable gear or a manual controllable-pitch propeller and you do not hold the matching 14 CFR 61.331 endorsement. Those are trainable; the stall speed is not.
6
Assuming four seats means four people
Eligibility and privilege are different questions. 14 CFR 61.315(c)(4) still limits a sport pilot to one passenger no matter how many seats 61.316 lets you sit in.
Worked examples
What this looks like on our own ramp
We will not publish a general eligibility list, but we can be specific about aircraft we operate and the reasoning we apply to them. Where a number is not verified to publication standard, we say so rather than guess.
| Aircraft | The 61.316 question | Where we stand |
|---|---|---|
| Cessna 162 Skycatcher | Two seats, fixed gear, fixed-pitch propeller, unpressurised, and a stall speed well inside 59 kt CAS. | This is the aircraft sport students here train in. Its 1,320 lb maximum gross weight is a fact about the airframe and no longer a regulatory ceiling. |
| Cirrus SR22 Turbo | Stall speed is far above the 59 kt CAS ceiling, and the airplane has a manual controllable-pitch propeller. | Outside 14 CFR 61.316. Flown on the Premium private pilot programme at $22,500. |
| Piper Seminole | A twin, above the stall-speed ceiling, retractable gear and constant-speed propellers. | Outside 14 CFR 61.316. This is the multi-engine add-on aircraft at $5,100. |
| Piper Arrow II | Retractable landing gear and a controllable-pitch propeller, both of which engage 14 CFR 61.331 before 61.316 is even reached. | We have not published a VS1 figure for it because we have not verified one to the standard this page demands. |
| Piper Warrior | A four-seat fixed-gear airplane with a fixed-pitch propeller, which is exactly the shape of airframe MOSAIC was written around. | We are not going to assert either way without the flight manual open. Ask us and we will read it with you. |
| Diamond DA20 | Two seats, fixed gear, fixed-pitch propeller. | Same answer: bring the book. The design criteria are clearly met; the stall-speed figure is the part that needs checking. |
That last column is deliberate. Plenty of sites will tell you flatly which aircraft now qualify. The honest position is that eligibility is an airframe-by-airframe question with a published number attached, and we would rather read it with you than be quoted wrongly by a search engine.
Why it matters
What happens if you get it wrong
Flying an aircraft outside 14 CFR 61.316 on a sport pilot certificate is operating outside the privileges of your certificate. That is a certificate action question, and it is also an insurance question, because a policy that requires the pilot to be properly certificated does not pay out when the pilot was not.
The medical angle makes it worse. If you are exercising sport pilot privileges on a driver license under 14 CFR 61.23(c)(1), that permission is written as applying in an aircraft meeting the performance limits and design requirements of 14 CFR 61.316. Fly something outside 61.316 and you are not just outside the privilege; you are flying without a valid medical basis.
None of this is a reason to be nervous about the certificate. It is a reason to check the number once, properly, and write it in the front of the flight manual so you never have to check it again.
If you are buying an aeroplane, do this before you sign, not after. A pre-purchase inspection tells you about the engine. It does not tell you whether the airframe is inside your certificate.
The fleet
The aeroplanes we operate, and what we will and will not claim about them
We own and maintain what you train in. Sport training here is flown in the two-seat Cessna 162.
Ask us for the flight-manual figure on any aircraft before you assume either way. That is a free conversation and it takes about ten minutes with the book open. Full detail on the training aircraft at Van Nuys page, and the wider rule on the MOSAIC rule pillar.
Redbird MCX
A simulator session is the cheapest hour in aviation
FAA-approved, fully enclosed, and it moves. If you are weighing up a certificate rather than an aircraft, an hour in the Redbird tells you more about whether you will enjoy this than any regulation will.
Simulator hours are built into every programme we run. A standalone Redbird session is $189.
Your instructor
The people who will read the flight manual with you
Every instructor here holds a commercial or ATP certificate plus a CFI and a current medical, and the instructor is legally pilot in command on every flight you take with them. Eleven of them, which is why lessons happen on the day they are booked.
We briefed the whole instructor group on 14 CFR 61.316 and 61.329 when MOSAIC took effect rather than leaving people to absorb it from forums. If you bring an aircraft's paperwork to a consultation, you will get an answer with a section number and a page reference attached to it.
What people say
5.0 ★ · 85 Google reviews
Three things come up again and again in what people write about training here, and none of them is the price.
★
The debrief, not the flight
The most repeated compliment in our reviews is not the aeroplane and it is not the ramp. It is that somebody sat down afterwards and explained what happened.
★
Lessons that actually happen
Eleven instructors and a fleet we own and maintain ourselves. Reviewers mention scheduling more than anything else, which tells you what most schools get wrong.
★
The number does not move
What you enrol at is what you finish at. On an $8,400 package that promise is the entire point, and people write about it because it is not universal.
Programmes and prices
What it costs to train here
Every option gives you two routes: book it now, or book a free consultation and talk to a human first. Financing runs from $2,500 down through Stratus Financial and our own in-house plans.
Start here
Sport Pilot Certificate
$8,400 / complete
The full FAA sport pilot certificate. No FAA medical certificate required — a valid US driver license under 14 CFR 61.23(c)(1), in an aircraft meeting 14 CFR 61.316.
Standard Private Pilot
$10,900 / 40 hrs logged
No 14 CFR 61.316 aircraft restriction at all, three passengers, and no 10,000 ft ceiling. Needs a third-class medical certificate before solo.
Comprehensive Private Pilot
$15,900 / 60 hrs logged
Our most chosen private pilot programme. 55 hours single-engine, 5 hours in the Redbird and 10 hours of ground school, which is roughly the national average built into the price.
Solo Certificate
$5,500 / to first solo
For people whose whole ambition is the moment the instructor climbs out. Not a certificate to carry passengers, but every hour counts toward sport or private afterwards.
Discovery Flight For One
$229 / 60 min
A real lesson. You fly the aircraft, the time is loggable dual instruction, and the full $229 is credited against any programme if you enrol within 24 hours.
Redbird Simulator Session
$189 / session
An hour in the full-motion Redbird MCX with an instructor. A cheap way to find out whether you can handle radio work before you spend anything on an aeroplane.
$500 off any private pilot programme this summer. Standard $10,400 · Comprehensive $15,400 · Premium $22,000. Ask when you enroll. The sport pilot package stays at $8,400.
Next step
Bring the flight manual. We will read the stall speed with you.
If you own an aeroplane, or you are about to buy one, a free consultation is the fastest way to settle whether 14 CFR 61.316 covers it. Half an hour, no obligation, and you leave knowing the number.
Discovery Flight For One
$229
60 minutes · you fly the aircraft · credited in full on enrolment within 24 hours
MOSAIC and the new rules
The MOSAIC rule and what it changedSport pilot night flying under 14 CFR 61.329Light sport aircraft rules after MOSAICSport pilot endorsements explainedSport pilot medical requirementsSport pilot license cost in Los Angeles
FAQ
Aircraft Eligibility Under MOSAIC: The Questions We Get Asked
Any aircraft meeting 14 CFR 61.316. For airplanes that is a VS1 of no more than 59 knots CAS at maximum certificated takeoff weight and the most critical centre of gravity, a maximum of four seats, an unpressurised cabin, fixed landing gear and a fixed, ground-adjustable or automated controllable-pitch propeller. Every other category is held to 45 knots CAS.
No. There is no FAA list. Eligibility is decided airframe by airframe from the published VS1 in the FAA-approved flight manual and the type certificate data sheet, which is why we will not publish a list either.
Section 5 of the FAA-approved flight manual, in the stall speed table, read at the maximum certificated takeoff weight given in section 2. Use the clean-configuration figure, not VS0, and convert it to calibrated airspeed using the airspeed calibration chart.
No. The 1,320 lb figure lived in the light-sport aircraft definition in 14 CFR 1.1, which MOSAIC deleted effective 22 October 2025. 14 CFR 61.316 contains no weight criterion of any kind.
No. 14 CFR 61.316(a) requires the aircraft to have met the criteria since its original certification. Vortex generators, flap changes and reduced operating weights do not create eligibility.
Yes, if the airplane otherwise meets 14 CFR 61.316 and you hold the training and endorsement in 14 CFR 61.331(a). A manual controllable-pitch propeller needs 14 CFR 61.331(b). No other design criterion in 61.316 can be unlocked by training.
Not by itself. Since MOSAIC, the airworthiness category under 14 CFR 21.190 and the pilot privilege under 14 CFR 61.316 are separate questions. A standard-category airplane meeting 61.316 is eligible; a light-sport-category aircraft that misses 61.316 is not.
No. 14 CFR 61.315(c)(4) limits a sport pilot to one passenger and MOSAIC did not change it. A four-seat airplane inside 61.316 flies with two seats empty.
Yes. It is a two-seat, fixed-gear, fixed-pitch, unpressurised airplane with a stall speed well inside the 59 knots CAS ceiling in 14 CFR 61.316. Its 1,320 lb maximum takeoff weight is a fact about that airframe, not a regulatory limit.
You are outside the privileges of your certificate, and if you are flying on a driver license under 14 CFR 61.23(c)(1) you are also outside the medical permission, because that paragraph is written as applying in an aircraft meeting 14 CFR 61.316. Check the number once, properly, and write it in the front of the flight manual.
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SAFETY FIRST
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
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I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
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It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
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We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
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I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
SAFETY FIRST
★★★★★
Very safety and detail oriented. Pre-flight briefing explained everything there was. To my knowledge, this flight school is exceptional in their ability.
DISCOVERY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I recently had the chance to take my first-ever discovery flight, and it was nothing short of amazing! From the moment I stepped into the cockpit, the...
SUNSET CIRRUS
★★★★★
It was a great flight! I did a sunset flight and Alex let us fly an awesome. Website was easy to book, and the plane itself was really fun to fly...
FLYING LESSON
★★★★★
We had a great flying lesson with Ralph and came away with a much better understanding of both the aircraft and the principles of flight. Ralph is a...
KIDS LUXURY FLIGHT
★★★★★
I got 2 luxury discovery flights for my kids. I wanted them to have the experience of flying. Our instructor Alex was amazing he made sure they feel...
HONEYMOON SURPRISE
★★★★★
Last minute booking to surprise my wife on our honeymoon. She had no experience with flying and was scared of flying, but Alex was very easygoing and knew...
FULL-MOTION SIM
★★★★★
Amazing flight school in van nuys airport. I have been a student here for the past few months and i could not be happier. I started doing a lot of...
DISCOVERY FOR TWO
★★★★★
I booked a Discovery Flight for Two for my girlfriend's birthday and it was the perfect gift for her. She couldn't have been more excited to get to...
SIMULATORS
★★★★★
Very professional and great airplanes. I love the flight simulators. The pricing is very fair compared to any other flight school
TEEN FIRST LESSON
★★★★★
We gifted our teenage son his first flying lesson. He was so excited! Alex greeted us and gave a reassuring brief that made us all feel comfortable and at...
FIRST-TIME FLYER
★★★★★
Flying is my husband's hobby and I was incredibly anxious and apprehensive about the discovery flight. However, I felt completely safe and at ease once we...
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