Definition
A category of light-sport aircraft that is delivered fully assembled by the manufacturer and is airworthy at the time of sale, requiring no kit-building or major assembly by the buyer before it can be flown.
Plain English
An aircraft that comes from the factory already built and ready to be flown, rather than one the owner has to put together from a kit.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of light-sport aircraft, especially when comparing factory-built aircraft with aircraft that the owner must assemble.
Why Pilots Care
Ready-to-fly LSAs fall under specific certification rules (Special LSA category) and have different maintenance, inspection, and operational requirements than kit-built or experimental aircraft. Knowing which category an aircraft falls into affects who can legally maintain it and what operations are permitted.
Intuition Check
Ready-to-fly does not mean ready to take off this second. In this FAA context, it means delivered as a complete aircraft, with legal and safety checks still required before flight.
Example Sentence 1
She bought a ready-to-fly light-sport aircraft so she could start training without spending months assembling a kit.
Example Sentence 2
Unlike experimental kits, ready-to-fly models arrive with all systems installed, inspected, and documented by the manufacturer.