Type Certification for
Micro-light Aircraft

by Anirban Pahari
(Delhi, India)

What are the airworthiness requirements for type certification of a micro-light aircraft?

ANSWER: If you wanted to seek type certification for a micro-light aircraft, you would have to meet the airworthiness standards outlined in FAR 23. This would be a very costly and time-consuming effort, if it even qualified for that type of certification.

The typical way to certificate and fly a micro-light aircraft is through the Experimental Amateur Built process. If you are the manufacturer of a microlight aircraft, you could seek a certification as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category manufacturer.

The FAA initially created the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category with the intent to raise the level of safety for certain airplanes typically flown as Experimental Amateur Builts. The intent was to accomplish this through a self-certification process based on a set of consensus standards. There are approximately 60 LSA designs and 1300 individual airframes now recognized.

Refer to the Experimental Amateur Built and Light Sport Aircraft sections of this website for more information and certification procedures.