3 ms·

You only need a driver's license to meet the medical requirements, but in the US you still need a sport pilot's license to fly light sport, which is most of a "

by 04rob 6y ago

You only need a driver's license to meet the medical requirements, but in the US you still need a sport pilot's license to fly light sport, which is most of a "full" private pilot's license.

travisjungroth 6y ago
You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I had to explain stuff like this to guys who thought the Sport Pilot Certificate would be a breeze. It’s like 90% of the flight training content of the Private. For some reason, the FAA thought it would also be good to drop the minimum time from 40 hours to 20 hours when they made Sport Pilot. This especially makes no sense because almost no one finishes the Private in 40. So AOPA, EAA and the LSA manufacturers get old guys hyped on getting a pilot’s license with only 20 hours in the cockpit plus 0 time in the doctor’s office, and they walk into my flight school. Then we have to a conversation about realistic training expectations and how if there’s “no way in hell” you’d get a medical, maybe we should consider if being pilot-in-command of an airplane is really for you.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > if there’s “no way in hell” you’d get a medical, maybe we should consider if being pilot-in-command of an airplane The FAA medical exam was expanded to evaluate people for neck size/apnea. So for most overweight Americans, seeking a PPL or Sport, they're better off going LSA to avoid paying for a sleep study and risking a medical rejection, which will cause life-long FAA problems. I would suggest that instructors should figure out if a student confuses flying an airplane with operating a boat. One is pure work, and the other is perceived as pure relaxation. (Boating used to be equated with drinking beer, but I think it's illegal to operate a boat now while drinking, after some horrific accidents.)
  - travisjungroth 6y ago
    I didn’t know about the neck and weight thing. This was almost 10 years ago though. The guys I talked to usually already had heart problems or were at high risk.
    - redis_mlc 6y ago
      Looks like the FAA got concerned around 2013 and started getting official in 2015. The AME is supposed to do a mandatory BMI calculation, look at a table, record the result, and decide if you need "special processing." So you (or your students) could check their BMI and get in shape before the exam, or just go the LSA route. faa.gov: Decision Considerations Disease Protocols Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/dec_cons/disease_prot/osa/ https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/av... Somebody's personal story: https://insidethecockpit.com/airline-pilots-with-sleep-apnea https://insidethecockpit.com/airline-pilots-with-sleep-apnea

by 04rob 6y ago

You only need a driver's license to meet the medical requirements, but in the US you still need a sport pilot's license to fly light sport, which is most of a "full" private pilot's license.

travisjungroth 6y ago

You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I had to explain stuff like this to guys who thought the Sport Pilot Certificate would be a breeze. It’s like 90% of the flight training content of the Private. For some reason, the FAA thought it would also be good to drop the minimum time from 40 hours to 20 hours when they made Sport Pilot. This especially makes no sense because almost no one finishes the Private in 40. So AOPA, EAA and the LSA manufacturers get old guys hyped on getting a pilot’s license with only 20 hours in the cockpit plus 0 time in the doctor’s office, and they walk into my flight school. Then we have to a conversation about realistic training expectations and how if there’s “no way in hell” you’d get a medical, maybe we should consider if being pilot-in-command of an airplane is really for you.

redis_mlc 6y ago
> if there’s “no way in hell” you’d get a medical, maybe we should consider if being pilot-in-command of an airplane The FAA medical exam was expanded to evaluate people for neck size/apnea. So for most overweight Americans, seeking a PPL or Sport, they're better off going LSA to avoid paying for a sleep study and risking a medical rejection, which will cause life-long FAA problems. I would suggest that instructors should figure out if a student confuses flying an airplane with operating a boat. One is pure work, and the other is perceived as pure relaxation. (Boating used to be equated with drinking beer, but I think it's illegal to operate a boat now while drinking, after some horrific accidents.)
- travisjungroth 6y ago
  I didn’t know about the neck and weight thing. This was almost 10 years ago though. The guys I talked to usually already had heart problems or were at high risk.
  - redis_mlc 6y ago
    Looks like the FAA got concerned around 2013 and started getting official in 2015. The AME is supposed to do a mandatory BMI calculation, look at a table, record the result, and decide if you need "special processing." So you (or your students) could check their BMI and get in shape before the exam, or just go the LSA route. faa.gov: Decision Considerations Disease Protocols Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/dec_cons/disease_prot/osa/ https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/av... Somebody's personal story: https://insidethecockpit.com/airline-pilots-with-sleep-apnea https://insidethecockpit.com/airline-pilots-with-sleep-apnea