Sport Pilot Talk

Hi people first post hear how is everyone??
ok i need some information i live in the United Kingdom but spend a fair bit of time in the USA mostly in Arizona. I was taking my PPL in the Uk but due to the high cost of fuel and well the higher cost of the PPL in general its started to become a real struggle to complete my training so i stumbled across the Sports pilots licence that you lucky guys get. This is within my budget and i could make use of it when im in the USA as i only wish to fly small aircraft i dont want or need a ATPL etc but my question is all the ground school study etc for my PPL is it relevant for passing the sports pilots exam is it any harder than the PPL exams in general???
I read somewhere they have made the sports pilots exam 70% easyer than the PPL exams??? any advice would be great as i would like to come over next trip and get the licence within 3-4 weeks if possible!! just need to know what im up against.

I don't know about harder or easier, but it is my understanding that the PPL ground school and written exam includes everything from the Sport Pilot test, plus more. So, if you have studied for the PPL you should be good to go for the Sport Pilot test. At least, that is what I have heard.

Thats what i thought ive since read that there is some information that will not be in the PPL prep that is need for the sports pilot exam also anyone have a opinion on the FAA question bank??? are these questions just a sample of questions that could be asked or will you get the exact same questions in the exam????

They are the exact same questions. However, there are lots of different questions in the bank and you never know which ones you're going to get.

While the test are very similar, they are different. The SP test requires knowledge of the specific SP regulations that the PPL test does not require.

There is a lot of good material in the PPL test prep that isn't in the SP test prep and I'm glad I've been exposed to it.

However, anybody that takes the SP test without some preparation specific for SP is in trouble. In particular, airspace limitations, VFR limitations, day/night limitations, ceilings etc. Mostly it's about things that SP's can't do. An example: For a PPL if you are above the cloud layer in VFR conditions I believe you are legal as a non-IR PPL. But you are not legal as a SP because you must have a visible horizon.

Having studied for both, the SP is a LOT easier.

Ron

If that is the case with the question bank being the exact same questions then (dare i say) its would be far easyer exam than the PPL ground exams.Not that they are really hard but just takes a long time to cover all possibly questions and you never know what could be asked??.As i found out after passing airlaw human performance and then aircraft general all within a few weeks only to take my met exam and was not told that the CAA had produced new exams that asked questions that i or my instuctor could find any reference to in any of the prep books including AFE manules and the Confuser ETC so must say it felt a bit unfair!! considering i had a 95mile round trip plus £25 or around $46 for the exam.I also quickly found out that the CAA is a total rip off also with the NPPL (national PPL) for people in the uk it was ment to open the door for more recreational flying but the structure is all wrong and will cost the same as a normal PPL anyway just wish we had the Sports pilots licence over hear.O well looks like i will spend more time in your great country thanks for the replys thus far

I used this to pass the sport pilot test: http://preparetotest.com

The questions are not the same. Some maybe but all questions don't come from the same question bank.

OK - call me a grinch ... but aren't we missing something pretty important?

If you want to be a pilot, one of the requirements is that you know the regs.

You're tested by the examiner before your checkride on the regs.

You're tested by the FAA before your checkride (and maybe even before your solo) on the regs.

You can find all the Sport Pilot regs at the FAA (website and printed regs) - and from many other sources. Many of the sport regs are the same as PPL; many are different.

If you study the sport pilot regs, and take a few practice tests, you'll develop the competency required.

-> Just memorizing a set of questions and answers kinda defeats the purpose of preparing to be a competent pilot, doesn't it?

Note to Rocket: remember that in the USA, if your licensure is Sport Pilot, you can only fly Light Sport Aircraft. If you're based in the UK, why not go for a NPPL instead of the JAR-FCL PPL?

http://www.nppl.uk.com/

USA Sport Pilot can't (generally) fly outside the USA; UK NPPL can't fly outside the UK.

Tom

I agree 100% that you should know the regs etc but at this point im just testing the water to see what is needed for a sports pilots licence i do not wish to pass a exam just parrot fashion!!! but do beleave in giving yourself a good chance.Again the reason i have lost heart in the NPPL is due to the cost. It will now be around £5-7000 now due to the recession. my starting budget was £4000 and was told that would be a healthy budget and should be spot on.HOWEVER due to the increase in fuel cost and CAA price increases its just a bit to much .Also The main type of plane i wish to fly is a Piper Cub or similiar and this falls well within the sports pilots licence category.I also dont like the UK anyway and have interests in the USA as ive got family in Arizona And Florida and both have much better weather than i could ever dream of!.

PS the cost of the Sports pilots licence for me would only be around £2600 so i hope you could see why im so interested

Sorry forgot to add thanks (Ron) for sound advice also thanks to (mikeproctor) as the link you gave is great regards

If it's going to cost that much to get a license, you should at least spring for the ASA test prep CD. It's only $50US and it's quite good. Paul Hamilton, who frequents these boards and I believe is also a moderator, is one of the authors. I found that there are enough differences in the study guides that a combination of more than one is best. I used the online and the ASA CD.

I passed the test with a 96% and the two questions I missed, I'd never even seen the information about anywhere. So obviously the study guides are a best guess. Other than that, the test I took was considerably easier than the study guides.

Good luck, and let us know what you decide to do.

Ron

One question though. Do you have a U.S. drivers license? Without a driver's license from the United States, my bet is that you will have to get a class 3 medical.

Jon

I've taken both tests (PPL score 93, LSA score 96) in the last year.

The LSA test is easier, but I don't think it's 70% easier. The LSA test has no questions concerning VOR, ADF, GPS or airspace above 10,000. You'll have to know rules, airspace and visibility specific to LSA. Weather is a subset of the PPL test, with no weather map reading. Everything else is similar.

I suggest you get the ASA Sport Pilot Test Prep book and just start working through it. It's cheap and has all the questions and answers.