AOPA President’s Award honors FAA MOSAIC team
Recognizes employees behind significant GA regulatory updates
AOPA honored 38 FAA employees for their work on the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) final rule during a ceremony at AOPA’s Washington, D.C., office on January 6. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford attended the event and accepted the AOPA President’s Award on behalf of the team.
Finalized in 2025, MOSAIC represents one of the most significant improvements for general aviation in decades, expanding sport pilot privileges and simplifying aircraft certification pathways.
The ceremony recognized the years of work required to balance innovation, accessibility, and safety across the rulemaking process.
During the ceremony, AOPA President Darren Pleasance presented Bedford with a plaque recognizing the collective efforts of the team. Each team member also received an individual certificate acknowledging their contribution to the rulemaking effort.
“The MOSAIC team took on a complex and consequential task, and their work will shape general aviation for years to come,” said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Murray Huling. “Pilots across the country are already seeing the benefits.”
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Throughout the rulemaking process, the FAA engaged closely with AOPA and the broader GA community, reviewing thousands of public comments and refining the final rule to better reflect how pilots fly today.
“When these changes were first proposed in 2023, the stall speed requirements for an aircraft to qualify under MOSAIC were an improvement, but they would have left out a large portion of the general aviation fleet,” added Huling. “This team listened to that feedback, and after ensuring it would not negatively impact safety, raised the stall speed so that aircraft like the Grumman Cheetah and Piper Cherokee could qualify.”
“The MOSAIC rule strikes an important balance by expanding access to general aviation while keeping safety at the forefront,” said Pleasance. “On behalf of our 300,000 members, we’re grateful to the FAA for their leadership and dedication to getting this right.”
