Its in my blood.... but not my eyes

Pilot? Student pilot? Future pilot? Interested in learning to fly? If you're reading this forum, you've got flying in your blood! SportPilotTalk is a great place to ask questions about this exciting new segment of (more) affordable aviation!

Moderator: drseti

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Echofive
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 4:05 pm
Location: Marlborough

Its in my blood.... but not my eyes

Post by Echofive »

Hi everyone!!

I'm Chip, a 32 year old former Marine currently residing in Massachusetts. I grew up on a farm in the mountains of Virginia. My father was a commuter pilot and worked for several years at Mountain Empire Airport in Marion, VA. In the mid-80's he developed epilepsy, and that sucked his dream away from him. He loved flying. A lot of families take a Sunday drive in the summer, but I remember our Sunday drives at 1000 feet. I've always loved flying for many of the same reasons you all do. I, unfortunately, am color vision deficient. I can normally pass the Farnsworth Lantern, but I've almost never seen a number appear in the "circle of dots".

Which brings me to being a sport pilot.

I work as an electronics technician and equipment repair for a major computer chip manufacturer in Hudson, MA. In my free time I love fly fishing, wood carving, carpentry and wood working, hiking, camping, snowboarding, and pretty much anything outdoors.

My first interests in this forum are to help me understand the differences between a Sport Pilot license and a Recreational license, with the understanding I probably won't pass a color vision test (3rd Class Medical) and will be deemed "Daytime Flight Only". After I understand that, and pursue the direction best for me... I hope to become a contributing member.
CTflyer
Posts: 188
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:17 am
Location: eastern Connecticut

Post by CTflyer »

Welcome to the forum!

First off, a quick difference among sport, recreational and private pilot:

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/projectp ... /sport.cfm

One of the *big* differences: the sport pilot is limited to flying only Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). The rec pilot can legally fly just about any light plane (the Cessnas and Pipers you see at most local airports). Currently it's very hard to find rental LSAs in many parts of the USA.

Take a look at this to see types of planes available for sport pilots.

http://sportpilot.org/learn/aircraft.html

Both sport and rec pilots are limited to one passenger. If you can afford to buy your own LSA plane and you can find sport pilot instruction, you've got it made as a sport pilot. If you have to rent an LSA, and/or have problems finding sport pilot instruction, it'll be a tough situation.

One last thing - you might want to investigate any possible restriction on flying as a sport pilot if you have a medical condition which could be considered a problem even as a full private pilot. And insurance (which you'll likely need), may be an "interesting" issue if you have a medical condition, even as a sport pilot.

http://flightphysical.com/pilot/sport/r ... /index.htm

Far as I know, the medical certification is still required for rec pilots, altho' there has been discussion of bringing rec pilot and sport pilot into the same "no medical cert required" status.

We're here to help, so feel free to ask those questions!

Tom
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MikeB
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:24 pm
Location: Tampa, Florida area

Post by MikeB »

Welcome to the group!
CTflyer
Posts: 188
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:17 am
Location: eastern Connecticut

Post by CTflyer »

Chip - what's the latest? Any progress in your pilot plans?

Tom
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