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Ahah - OK, thank you. Not sure how I missed that!

I guess my confusion is on two fronts - most importantly, what category and registration would a 760kg RAA aircraft fall into if not LSA? Secondly, but less important, I am not 100% sure but I thought the australian definition of LSA varied from other countries anyway? Compared to the US we don't have a max speed restriction, for instance.

I feel like that makes sense, but I am not understanding the whole picture - a sling 2 or a J230 can currently be flown at 600kg MTOW as an LSA, by an RAA pilot. After this change, can you register one with RAA-aus and fly it as an RAA pilot at 700kg (no CASA license, not VH registered)? For the sake of discussion I am going to ignore any complications with increased stall speed etc.!

Hi folks, Saw something interesting and hoping someone better informed than I can figure out the implications: http://www.australianflying.com.au/latest/new-mtow-to-have-no-impact-on-lsas If this story is accurate RAA can deal with aircraft up to 760kg MTOW but LSAs are limited to 600kg, does that mean nothing actually changes, with an RAA pilot still being effectively limited to 600kg MTOW, as the only way to register a (for instance) sling 2 at 700kg MTOW would be to have it as VH, and therefore needing a CASA pilot? Cheers, Danny

Yeah, the purchase price of an old 152 (or skipper/tomahawk) is very attractive but everything else would be expensive, and the payload isn’t as good as some of the existing LSAs... But I guess a 30K price difference in price difference does buy a lot of avgas and a moderate amount of LAME time. At the moment my list of LSAs is long and would depend on what I found secondhand. Also have some cheaper kits as possibilities (Sierra, sky ranger, bushcat) but not sure if the savings are worth the hundreds of hours.... Still considering trikes too!

That makes sense... And is a bit of a shame!

Yeah, used Jabs seem to be plentiful. If I'm lucky by the time I'm ready to buy the RAA weight limit increase might come through and could be applied to existing J2xxs. Would love an Atec, sent off a request for kit pricing!

Trikes would actually be my preferred option, but most of them have low seat weight limits (100kg for the airbornes, except the new and expensive M4). Even when I was in high school and in decent shape I was almost 100kg!

Been digging through classifieds - is finding a used LSA with good useful load for under $50K AUD realistic, or do I need to up my budget? There does seem to be some options starting at $60K, but that's more than I was hoping to spend (especially given the cost of a nice new Airborne trike!).

Thanks to you both - good to hear LSAs are a reasonable option! Just need to figure out how to afford one ;). Guess it’s time to get out and talk to some schools!

Hi folks, Planning to to try to learn to fly something recreational in 2020, and looking at my options. Big limitation is that I’m a big guy at ~115kg - losing some weight is a goal but even if I get rid of lots of excess I’m still around 100kg. So I’m trying to figure out my best option to end up with a license and something I can fly for fun on the weekends without breaking the bank... Something with second hand availability would be good, or I don’t mind the idea of building a kit, but it’d have to be a fairly easy build, don’t think I can manage a 2000 hour build, and I don’t have the skills to do it quickly! Microlights would be ideal but payload and seat weight limits might rule them out. Several LSAs like the foxbat solve the useful load issue but seem to be expensive. GA solves the load issue and there’s some older aircraft that are affordable, but training and running costs probably rule it out. Powered parachutes look fun but I would like the ability to do short cross countries occasionally! , Any thoughts? Is my best option to train on LSAs and rent hourly until a good second hand comes up at the right price? If I’m lucky the LSA weight limit might go up in the meantime which would give some much needed flexibility! Cheers, Danny