It's not dead, Jim...
In another thread, which shall remain nameless, it was mentioned that an FAA guy said that they have a pseudo-standard that that they consider anything beyond 1.2 miles to be BVLOS, suggesting that anything less than that is unlikely to be enforced. 1.2 miles struck me as an strange number, until I realized that it's 2 km.
I suspect the 2 km number came from some European standard or pseudo-standard. If so, they may be getting it right this time, which is good, since they botched that process for the development of the LSA/Sport Pilot regime. The max gross weight for an LSA is 1320 lbs (I owned 2 at different times). This was also taken from a European standard, 600 kg. However, that standard was developed for tiny Europeans, and not well suited to the size of a typical American pilot. There was another European standard, which was 700, or 1540 lbs. Choosing that standard, instead of the lower/lamer 1320 standard, would have been transformational for LSAs. Nudge that up to 1600 lbs, and C-150s would have been considered LSAs...which they absolutely should have been.
Pathetic useful loads were a major factor in stifling the whole LSA regime. You couldn't put two normal sized Americans in one, with a weekend worth of gear, and have enough fuel to go anywhere..
The BVLOS liberalization will be an iterative process. The 2 km rule is the first iteration away from the "bright digital line" VLOS rule. The ultimate answer, as it should be, will be a BVLOS rating that isn't easy to get, but which will be accessible to anyone with the skill, training, and money to get one.
Just like the instrument rating.
TCS
In another thread, which shall remain nameless, it was mentioned that an FAA guy said that they have a pseudo-standard that that they consider anything beyond 1.2 miles to be BVLOS, suggesting that anything less than that is unlikely to be enforced. 1.2 miles struck me as an strange number, until I realized that it's 2 km.
I suspect the 2 km number came from some European standard or pseudo-standard. If so, they may be getting it right this time, which is good, since they botched that process for the development of the LSA/Sport Pilot regime. The max gross weight for an LSA is 1320 lbs (I owned 2 at different times). This was also taken from a European standard, 600 kg. However, that standard was developed for tiny Europeans, and not well suited to the size of a typical American pilot. There was another European standard, which was 700, or 1540 lbs. Choosing that standard, instead of the lower/lamer 1320 standard, would have been transformational for LSAs. Nudge that up to 1600 lbs, and C-150s would have been considered LSAs...which they absolutely should have been.
Pathetic useful loads were a major factor in stifling the whole LSA regime. You couldn't put two normal sized Americans in one, with a weekend worth of gear, and have enough fuel to go anywhere..
The BVLOS liberalization will be an iterative process. The 2 km rule is the first iteration away from the "bright digital line" VLOS rule. The ultimate answer, as it should be, will be a BVLOS rating that isn't easy to get, but which will be accessible to anyone with the skill, training, and money to get one.
Just like the instrument rating.
TCS
