I agree with Steingar. I suspect the FAA sees this as a way to try to minimize the damage.
I've been watching this closely; as some of you know I had something happen last October that means I'll likely never see a medical certificate again. This feels an awful lot like the FAA thinking they better see about implementing what they see as the lesser evil (EAA/AOPA proposal, day VFR only, under 10K MSL, 180HP/4 seat max) versus having Congress cram a much bigger change (day/night VFR, 14K MSL, 6 seats, etc) down their throats. I'm sure the FAA would rather give up a little control over C-172 and RV-7 pilots than they would over Bonanza and even light twin pilots.
. . . .
And control is exactly what it's about, which is why the agency will never voluntarily implement any sort of DL / PPL privilege unless they see it as the lesser loss of power and control.
That's also why comparisons to the process that resulted in SP are irrelevant. SP gave FAA
more control by taking fat ultralights out of Part 103 and bringing a lot of ultralight pilots and instructors under the agency's purview. It also, for all intents and purposes, grounded most of the fat ultralight fleet. Few of them got converted to E-LSA because even on the odd chance that their owners could find a DAR willing to sign off on them, the newly N-numbered aircraft would remain unusable for paid flight instruction.
The DL / PPL proposal, on the other hand, takes a little control out of FAA's grasp, and gives the agency
nothing back in return. Whether we're talking about a DL, CDL, or a CDL medical, it would still take the medical aspect of a pilot's qualification out of FAA's control: And like all government agencies, FAA will fight tooth and nail against giving up control over anything.
My guess is that the most that might come of this would be a chubby version of SP: Single engine; MTOW of ~ 2,500 lbs; 4-seat limitation (provided that two remain empty); same operational and WX restrictions as SP; and sufficient regulatory Catch-22s to make it impossible for student pilots or present SPs to use the exemption to ever obtain a PPL.
If you think about it, FAA could easily change the present SP rule to increase the MTOW and seat restrictions to make 172s and the like flyable under SP rules, subject to some additional dual training and a CFI signoff. They have no interest in it. They won't even stretch the rule enough to bring C150s, C152s, and Super Cubs under the SP tent. Doing so would reduce the agency's control a tiny bit, while giving them nothing in return.
Considering the issue in that light, why on earth would anyone believe that FAA is interested in extending DL medical privileges to more pilots flying more aircraft? Clearly they aren't, else they would have done so already with regard to SP. If they do actually come up with an exemption at the PP level, it will be carefully crafted to give up as little control as possible, and only to prevent Congress from taking away even more.
-Rich
