Sport Pilot Talk

Half Fast wrote:The 2 week advertising probably assumes a youngster. Several people told me that once you're past your mid 30s the required hours will be close to your age. Roughly 40 hours for a 40 year old, 50 hours for a 50 year old,... Personal experience says that's a reasonable rough guess, barring other factors such as training gaps, CFI changes, aircraft changes, etc.

Probably some of the most accurate advice I've heard in a long time.

I got my SP certificate at 40 hrs...at 50 yrs old, starting with zero time. I could have done it with about 10 fewer hrs but flew while waiting for DPE availability. I had the written out of the way prior to starting flight training. I, like others, had to travel much further than I wanted to in order to find a CFI-S and an LSA to train in. I fully intended that I would only get Sport Pilot certificate, but after a year I got my PPL. However, I still seem to prefer the LSA flights. And, SP rules meet 95+ % of my flying needs. Now I'm working on getting my CFI-S...SIA and FOI taken/passed. Hope to take practical in the next couple months. Could use some CFI-S in the area (Houston).

Not sure if you found an instructor or plane to train in, but thought I would let you know at Clinton County airport KI66 north of Cincinnati has an S_LSA they rent for $110 and hour and Flight Instructor is $25 an hour. This is according there website so prices may have changed.

http://www.gpeflightschool.org/

joey4420 wrote:Not sure if you found an instructor or plane to train in, but thought I would let you know at Clinton County airport KI66 north of Cincinnati has an S_LSA they rent for $110 and hour and Flight Instructor is $25 an hour. This is according there website so prices may have changed.

http://www.gpeflightschool.org/

Thanks for the heads up! I actually did find an instructor here in Louisville willing to do the Sport Pilot curriculum. The downside is that it will all be done in a Cessna Skyhawk, and I'll have to go out of town to Lexington to find an LSA to solo, cross country, and check ride.

Appreciate the post though - Thanks!

Finding SP aircraft and an instructor is hard to come by. I am in Central Illinois. When I get off work, I drive 2 1/2 hours to fly. It makes for a long day.

I feel your pain, sportflugzeug. Unfortunately, the Sport Pilot rating seems to be one of the best kept secrets in aviation.

sportflugzeug wrote:Finding SP aircraft and an instructor is hard to come by. I am in Central Illinois. When I get off work, I drive 2 1/2 hours to fly. It makes for a long day.

Where in central Illinois?

Unfortunately, the Sport Pilot rating seems to be one of the best kept secrets in aviation.

I have found that most pilots that I talk to ask why I would want to go the SP route. They give me a list of things that I can’t do and all the restrictions. Then they ask me why SP. I tell them that I chose SP because LSA are cooler planes. They don’t know what to say after that...

Where in central Illinois?

I live in Springfield. Drive to Morris and Newark twice a week. 5 to 5 1/2 hours roundtrip... By the time I get my paper, I figure that I will have approximately 260 hours of drive time. But I’ve always liked a challenge.

I would go Private unless there was some reason I didn't think I could pass a 3rd class medical.

From 2009 until last year when I became a sport pilot, I kept getting the same thing.
Back in the late 70s when I drove VWs, Porsches, MGs, Triumphs, Datsuns, and other sports cars, I got the same thing from people. “Why don’t you drive a Pontiac, or a Cadillac, or a Bronco?”
Well... because I like driving sports cars.
And I like being a sport pilot.
I wanted to become a sport pilot.
I love Light sport aircraft.
I love the more reasonable rules for inspection and repair.
I love my light sport airplane that does everything I want it to do.
The people that helped me get what I wanted got my money.

To be sure, if SP and LSA fit your mission, there's no reason to do anything else. As my wife is constantly reminding me, just because you could do something doesn't mean you should.

I couldn't agree more with what others are saying. If you want to be a SP then do it. Listen to your wants and needs and not those of others.

I had a life changing event right in the middle of my training and moved away from Orlando. When I got settled in North Florida the closest sport pilot CFI was about a 50 minute drive from my house. This slowed my training, no doubt, but I sucked it up and finished. Why, because it's what I wanted to do for so long. And because I already bought the plane so I figured I'd better learn to fly it.

I am perfectly healthy and could pass a medical with zero issues but I just love everything about LSA. For my purposes I have no need for a PPL as my SPL allows me to do everything I want to do with my flying. Also, I like flying my newer plane with it's glass panel and all it's bells and whistles instead of a pile of scrap aluminum that's older than I am. Just sayin'

The thing is that getting full PPL and then flying Light Sport planes is a perfectly sensible proposition.
All the benefits of maintenance , flying modern planes etc still apply and you don’t have to deal with stupid/petty limitations like no flying after civil twilight that are there just to differentiate SP from the other certificates.

The tough part about this is that any GA CFI can also give instruction for someone getting their sport license. You don't even have to fly a sport plane in training. You just have to do your solo, solo cross country, and final exam in an LSA. Which means you'll have to do some transition training to the new LSA.

That you have to drive that far while passing numerous airports with CFI's just to find one who will train you is crazy.

So..... a work around could be to take the 3rd class medical, get a student pilot license for GA, not Sport. Take the bulk of your lessons locally. Get the basics that you'll need for a sport license. Skip night flying. Then take the sport pilot ground test, get a sport pilot student license, and then finish up your hours somewhere else.

But...... are there any sport planes in your area that you'll be able to fly after you get your license? If not, then maybe the PPL would be still an option so you could at least rent a 172 and get in the air.

WDD wrote:. Then take the sport pilot ground test, get a sport pilot student license, and then finish up your hours somewhere else.

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a Sport Pilot student license. A student pilot certificate is a student pilot certificate, regardless of whether you use it to train for SP or PP.

And, don't forget that the pre-solo written test is aircraft-specific. You'll need to take another one when you transition to LSA.