A national defense authorization bill passed by the U.S. House December 8 on a 350-80 vote includes language reflecting the advocacy work of AOPA that will eliminate an FAA policy change made in 2021 that requires all experimental aircraft owners, pilots—and their flight instructors—to obtain a letter of deviation authority (LODA) to give or receive flight training in experimental aircraft.
While the FAA has long required businesses that offer training in experimental aircraft to obtain a LODA, the agency disregarded years of precedent when it issued a much broader directive in July 2021 requiring all experimental aircraft owners, pilots, and flight instructors to obtain prior authorization to conduct flight training in any experimental aircraft. Owners of experimental aircraft needed written permission from the FAA to conduct a flight review in their own airplane.
AOPA championed an effort to reverse the FAA directive. With the strong support from Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), and Kai Kahele (D-Hawaii) and Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), a provision to roll back the scope of the newly broadened LODA requirement was included in the final defense authorization bill.
"The FAA legal office has turned the definition of flight training upside down and this provision is only the first step in getting us back to where we were and where we need to be. Flight training is a safety issue and we don't need anything that impacts that in a negative way," said AOPA President Mark Baker. "AOPA appreciates the bipartisan effort of members of Congress and our allies in the GA community for addressing this issue. We will continue to work with our friends in Congress to take the next step and codify the definition of flight training that has been used for more than 60 years."
The bill is expected to pass the Senate soon and arrive on the president's desk for signature.