Sport Pilot or Not Sport Pilot?

Several years ago, the FAA established a new pilot rating called Sport Pilot.  Prior to Sport Pilot, I was a Basic Flight Instructor for Powered Parachutes. When Sport Pilot was established, all flight instructors under the old system had to convert.  I was in Afghanistan with the National Guard and missed the deadlines.  When I got home, not only was I not an instructor any more, but I wasn’t even legal to fly my own aircraft.  When I contacted the FAA with my issue, their response was, “Hey, gosh, sucks to be you.”  I had a bit of an attitude about the whole thing for a while, but once I decided to stop being childish and deal with the issue, I did my research to determine what it would take to get certified to teach again.  After my research, I decided it wasn’t worth the effort and expense.  That being the case, I do not teach Sport Pilot and cannot add any endorsements to your current private pilot’s license.  However, you do not need a Sport Pilot License to fly an Ultralight Aircraft and I can legally tech you to fly Powered Parachutes that meet the requirements of Ultralight Aircraft.  There are many good reasons for getting your Sport Pilot License. There are also many good reasons for flying an aircraft that doesn’t require a Sport Pilot License.  Flying Ultralight Aircraft (no license required) instead of flying a Light Sport Aircraft (Sport Pilot required) is cheaper and hassle free. In my opinion, the greatest advantage of getting a Sport Pilot License and flying Light Sport Aircraft instead of flying an Ultralight Aircraft with no license required is the ability to carry a passenger. Below is a comparison of Light Sport Aircraft vs Ultralight Aircraft.

What’s my advice?  Sport Pilot certainly broadens your flight options. I’m not trying to say there’s anything wrong with obtaining a Sport Pilot License.  But, before you go get that Sport Pilot License, you should determine what you actually want out of your flying experience. If you want to enjoy the freedom of flight and you want it to be relatively inexpensive and hassle free, learn to fly an ultralight aircraft.  You can get into an ultralight aircraft relatively inexpensively and you will not have the expense of inconvenience of a cumbersome licensing program and annual inspections. If you want to fly your friends and family around or if you want to fly fast, you should consider light sport aircraft and Sport Pilot.  Is it fun to fly your friends around? Absolutely!  It’s a blast! However, when you add the extra weight of a passenger to the aircraft, the performance decreases.  I find the flying more fun without the extra weight.  If you’re looking at light sport aircraft and Sport Pilot just so you can take your friends flying, consider an ultralight aircraft instead and tell your cheap friends to buy their own!  One other thing, that guy that’s been mooching off you and living on your couch for three years needs to take a shower, get a job and start paying a little rent.

DOA currently offers the following powered parachute training.

Click on the course title below for details and pricing.

PPC Flight Instruction