By Emme Hornung
MOSAIC/Sport Pilot 2.0 went into effect just two weeks ago, and we’re already seeing sport pilots coming out of the woodwork because of it.
Lorn M. Dennis, EAA 1537823, of Missouri is among the first student pilots to take advantage of the new Sport Pilot 2.0 rules after soloing in a Cessna 172 on October 22, 2025, the day the rule went into effect. This milestone has been a dream for Lorn for decades, and MOSAIC has made it attainable.
Lorn had always been interested in building an airplane, and a trip to Oshkosh for EAA’s fly-in convention in the 1980s inspired him to take the next step into his aviation journey. “I had taken a trip to Oshkosh with my son and saw all the experimental aircraft I was interested in building. At the time it was a Volksplane, and I had bought the plans but never did anything with it,” he said.
He had even started flight training to work toward his private pilot certificate, but in a tale as old as time, life put some roadblocks in the way of Lorn’s interests, and he had to put building and flight training on hold.
“But I was always looking to the skies,” he said. “Now that I retired from the fire department, that gives me a little more time, and I have a little more money now that I’m older. It was time to do something about it before it’s too late.”
Lorn first found his way back to homebuilding. “About three and a half years ago I bought a partially completed [Zenith] project from a gentleman out in Wichita. He was an Air Force airman, and he was changing duty stations and couldn’t take it with him. It’s what I’ve been looking for since the factory is close to me, and I ended up purchasing it,” he said.
Getting closer to the finish line with the Zenith build, he knew he’d need a pilot certificate if he wanted to take it off the ground. And because Sport Pilot 2.0 was on the horizon, he started seeking out CFIs that would train him as a sport pilot.
“I’m 6-foot tall and 250 pounds. There’s not a lot of [light-sport aircraft] that me and an instructor could fly in and have any usable amount of fuel, and there weren’t a lot of LSAs in the area that were available to rent as a student,” Lorn said. “So, [Sport Pilot 2.0] really opened up a wider variety of aircraft. And, of course, as everyone knows, the C172 is the most popular aircraft at training schools, and now that a sport pilot can fly those, it really helped out.”
In September 2025, Lorn found Tyler Stine, a local CFI and student at the University of Central Missouri’s aviation program. Tyler hadn’t been aware of the impending changes from MOSAIC until Lorn reached out, but after looking into it he was all in, and Lorn became his first student seeking a sport pilot certificate.
“It just all kind of came back. I was a lot rusty, but Tyler’s been pretty patient with me,” Lorn said. “But we got in the hours, and he was comfortable with my flying capabilities, and endorsed me to solo.”
“The first solo you have with each student as a flight instructor, you get pretty nervous,” Tyler said. “But this one I didn’t think twice about.” After 12.1 hours of dual instruction, the sport-pilot-to-be Lorn soloed and was pilot of command of a Cessna 172 on the very first day he was eligible to.
Lorn is working through the rest of his ground school studies before taking the written test, and he’s hoping to complete his checkride and officially become a certified sport pilot by the end of 2025.
And Tyler has discovered the potential that Sport Pilot 2.0 has for CFIs like him. “I mean, a lot more people are going to be flying. I feel like everybody’s going to get a lot busier,” he said. “And it’s going to help people out in my situation who are trying to get their hours and go to the next step.”
True to the nature of the sport pilot certificate, Lorn looks forward to the pure fun of recreational flying. “Me and the wife, traveling around to little airports in Missouri. Hopefully at some point I’ll be able to fly my Zenith off my own property. I’ve got about six acres, and I’m hoping that I can just get up there and have fun. Low and slow as they say,” he said. “If we go on a longer trip, I’ll probably end up renting a 172 or a Piper Cherokee or something like that.”
Dreams like Lorn’s that can now be attained and realized because of MOSAIC are exactly why EAA spent so much time and effort advocating for these changes. I’d say let’s welcome a new era in recreational aviation, but it would seem it’s already making its way through the door.
Has MOSAIC/Sport Pilot 2.0 allowed you to follow your recreational aviation dreams? Tell us how at EAA.org/Submissions. Learn more about what MOSAIC can do for you at EAA.org/MOSAIC.