Nothing to see here, move along. At noon on Tuesday at Sun 'n Fun, FAA's Don Lausman provided an update on the agency's progress overhauling the so-called "51% Rule." However, Lausman said, "The talk I intended to give and the one I'm about to give are two different things." Since the FAA is about to get a new administrator soon, presuming Randy Babbitt is confirmed as expected, progress has been delayed. "It wouldn't be fair to the new administrator to introduce new rules without him having any input," Lausman said. It was expected that the update on Tuesday would address changes to the Advisory Circulars that provide guidance for Designated Airworthiness Representatives to interpret the FAA rules regarding homebuilt aircraft. But instead, Lausman said the draft of the new Advisory Circulars should be out by July 31, in time for discussion during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Tuesday's forum focused instead on the great number of public comments received by the agency. There were some 2,273 individual comments filed, including 1,300 pro-forma entries, and of the total, some 900 opposed, specifically, the proposed requirement for a specific percentage of builder fabrication. (This is the so-called 20/20/11 provision, where 20 percent of the project must consist of "fabrication" by the builder, with 20 percent being assembly; the remaining 11 percent can be either.) In addition, the vast majority (98 percent) specifically opposed changing the FAA policy at all.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/news-on-the-51-percent-rule-no-news-yet