FAA's Mosaic Rule Spurs Electric Light Aircraft Launch

Originally founded in 2021 to develop an electric regional aircraft, Cosmic Aerospace has unveiled plans to produce a four-seat light aircraft using its novel embedded electric propulsion system.

Based in Centennial, Colorado, Cosmic plans to certify its Cosmic One under the FAA's new Part 22 rule, also known as Mosaic, the modernized requirements for certification of light sport aircraft (LSA).

The startup has secured its first customer, signing a letter of intent for four aircraft plus an option for two more with locally based Centennial Flyers, one of the largest flying clubs in the U.S.

The aircraft is powered by six electric ducted fans embedded in the wing. “The Cosmic One is a four-seat all-electric aircraft,” says founder and CEO Christopher Chahine. “We’re positioning it as a premium, high-performance aircraft … in a similar price range as today’s Cirrus aircraft,” he says, referring to the SR series of high-end piston-powered light aircraft.

Cosmic has laid out a three-year timeline to Part 22 certification and first deliveries in 2029 and plans to fly a full-scale demonstrator in 18 to 24 months. The startup has begun fundraising, seeking to secure enough to take it through to completion of demonstrator flight testing.

“We have been focused on derisking the technology, on the engine side first. We’ve built two subscale demonstrators that we’ve flown with our embedded engine architecture and shown it works. It flies, it’s stable, it’s controllable and we can meet our performance targets,” he says.

The startup is developing the modular ducted-fan propulsion unit and cooling system in-house using electric motors, power electronics and lithium-ion batteries provided by suppliers, Chahine says.

“But the elephant in the room has always been: How do we get this new technology through certification?” he says. “What has changed is the new certification framework through the FAA’s Mosaic rules, which allow manufacturers to bring electric aircraft to market in the light sport aircraft category.”

Part 22 removes the weight restriction on LSAs and adopts performance-based rules that enable larger, higher-performing aircraft to be certified using industry standards. The key requirement set by the FAA is a 61-kt. stall speed. “You can use electric propulsion and an arbitrary number of engines,” he says. “All of these things allow us to bring innovation to the light sport and lower general aviation market.”

The flexibility enabled by Mosaic was unlocked on July 24, when the FAA formally accepted consensus standards developed by ASTM International’s F37 committee as the means of compliance for special airworthiness certification of LSAs under Part 22.

“It is a tremendous change, and it truly enables a much faster and more streamlined certification pathway for us to bring to market our core technology, which is very differentiated from typical propeller-powered aircraft,” Chahine says.

The electric aircraft is aimed at private owner-operators, flying clubs and flight schools. Performance targets include a 250-nm (288-mi.) range and flight endurance exceeding 2 hr. with visual flight rules reserves.

“Cosmic One is a highly efficient aircraft. With no propeller at the front, it’s a sleek, good visibility aircraft. It’s very safe. We’ll have a ballistic parachute in addition to the six-engine redundancy,” he says.

“We think safety is a key aspect. Electrification enables a much simpler system, with fewer moving parts and fewer things that can fail,” Chahine says. “Then also lower maintenance overhead, lower energy costs and, overall, a better flight experience.”

Cosmic is in the advanced conceptual development phase. “We have a full-scale cabin mockup that we’ve built for customers to experience what the interior feels like. We are getting a lot of good feedback on the spaciousness of the cabin,” he says.