SPL vs PPL

FlyingFarmer said:
I am about 6-7 hours of flight training into getting my PPL at a part 61 flight school. Every minute I am not at school I spend working in our farm. My grandfather bought a Zenith 701 but never got his license to fly, so it was always my uncle and I flying it. As I’ve grown and realized what I want my future to look like, I realize I only really plan on using my license to fly our zenith locally. I would have no issue getting a medical, this is simply asking for another perspective, would it be unnecessary to spend the extra time and money for the PPL to never utilize the extra things I would get over a sport license?
Click to expand...
Go with the PPl, you never know, things might change,
 
flyingcheesehead said:
However, your solo time in an LSA does count, provided it meets the requirements of 61.109(a)(5), so do you really need to solo the non-LSA?
Click to expand...
As one can meet all of the PP requirements as well as do the checkride in a suitably equipped LSA (lots of PPs trained in J-3 Cubs, after all), a Sport certificated candidate for PP doesn't "need" to solo the non-LSA... other than aircraft availability reasons.

MOSAIC may change the picture if and when it happens.
 
Correct, and correct. The issue being both SLSAs were down for maintenance for 4 weeks, while both 152s sat unused. My instructor was prepared to sign off on me flying the 152 but the chief instructor chimed in with “nay nay”! Yes, all the Sport solo time counts and I knocked off the long distance solo as a Sport pilot. Instrument and night instruction (including cross country) are done. Ground test is successful. As of 3 weeks ago the FAA has all my medical information, so upon approval of the 3rd Class, I can test.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
David-in-MD said:
My instructor was prepared to sign off on me flying the 152 but the chief instructor chimed in with “nay nay”.... As of 3 weeks ago the FAA has all my medical information, so upon approval of the 3rd Class, I can test.
Click to expand...
If you don't have a current valid medical, then I would say the chief instructor is correct; without a medical (or basicmed) you can't solo a non-LSA.
 
midlifeflyer said:
You are right. The problem is the “provided.” How long were those cross countries? The sport “long” cross country requirement is half the length of the private one. Any solos to a towered airport? That is not a sport requirement and requires an additional endorsement.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that in @David-in-MD's 100+ hours of LSA time he probably managed to check a few boxes without even trying. :)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I'm guessing that in @David-in-MD's 100+ hours of LSA time he probably managed to check a few boxes without even trying. :)
Click to expand...
Maybe. But I'm not going to make the assumption either way.

Look at all the posts we see about commercial applicants who have never had a qualifying long solo cross country (you can usually tell by the whining about having to do it solo). In that context, a sport pilot with a whopping 100 hours not doing a "solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations" doesn't seem all that strange to me, let alone the solo towered airport landings.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Maybe. But I'm not going to make the assumption either way.

Look at all the posts we see about commercial applicants who have never had a qualifying long solo cross country (you can usually tell by the whining about having to do it solo). In that context, a sport pilot with a whopping 100 hours not doing a "solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations" doesn't seem all that strange to me, let alone the solo towered airport landings.
Click to expand...
Especially when you consider that some people just don’t like flying by themselves. I gave an ATP checkride to an applicant who had a whopping 7 hours by herself in an airplane. “Yup…hated every minute of it.”
 
midlifeflyer said:
In that context, a sport pilot with a whopping 100 hours not doing a "solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations" doesn't seem all that strange to me, let alone the solo towered airport landings.
Click to expand...


When I went from SP to PP, my solo XCs were sufficient, but I had to go fly another dual XC with my CFI to satisfy the PP requirements.

Seemed sorta silly. I was already legally qualified to fly an LSA from the Bahamas to Seattle, but before I could take the PP exam I had to go fly the same plane across FL with an instructor.

The FAA has never really reconciled SP and PP training requirements.
 
Half Fast said:
When I went from SP to PP, my solo XCs were sufficient, but I had to go fly another dual XC with my CFI to satisfy the PP requirements.

Seemed sorta silly. I was already legally qualified to fly an LSA from the Bahamas to Seattle, but before I could take the PP exam I had to go fly the same plane across FL with an instructor.

The FAA has never really reconciled SP and PP training requirements.
Click to expand...
Pilots can legally do a lot of things that they avoid like the plague, and cross country flight seems to be a common one.
 
MauleSkinner said:
Especially when you consider that some people just don’t like flying by themselves. I gave an ATP checkride to an applicant who had a whopping 7 hours by herself in an airplane. “Yup…hated every minute of it.”
Click to expand...
Did she pass the checkride?

Somebody who's that uncomfortable flying alone is not somebody I'd want to see in any cockpit, let alone one requiring an ATP.
 
Dana said:
Did she pass the checkride?

Somebody who's that uncomfortable flying alone is not somebody I'd want to see in any cockpit, let alone one requiring an ATP.
Click to expand...
Yes, she did…better than most, actually.

It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable, just so incredibly social that she always needs people around.
 
DMD3. said:
As a CDL holder, I get DOT physicals every 2 years. They don’t seem to be much different from flight physicals. But in any event, if something were to come in the DOT physical such as diabetes, that’s when I would not get a flight physical (diabetes doesn’t automatically disqualify a person from obtaining a DOT physical).
Click to expand...
Take a gander over in the Medical Topics part of the forum. There are quite a few things on the questionnaire that are wayyy different from DOT physicals. Pay special attention to the "have you ever" questions. There are conditions that may have been so far in your past that you thought would be of no concern, which will cause huge expenses and wait times (deferral) for your class 3 approval. Medications prescribed one time by a well-meaning primary care physician can get you roped into HIMS and oversight. Practically any DUI or even being arrested for public intoxication can cause issues. Even a prescription for sleep aids, years ago, can trigger questions.

8700-2: https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/FAA_Form_8700-2_OMB_EXP_06-2026.pdf
 
Dry Creek said:
Take a gander over in the Medical Topics part of the forum. There are quite a few things on the questionnaire that are wayyy different from DOT physicals. Pay special attention to the "have you ever" questions. There are conditions that may have been so far in your past that you thought would be of no concern, which will cause huge expenses and wait times (deferral) for your class 3 approval. Medications prescribed one time by a well-meaning primary care physician can get you roped into HIMS and oversight. Practically any DUI or even being arrested for public intoxication can cause issues. Even a prescription for sleep aids, years ago, can trigger questions.

8700-2: https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Form/FAA_Form_8700-2_OMB_EXP_06-2026.pdf
Click to expand...

I’m blessed to say I check No on pretty much everything. As far as the vision/BP test, they both seem to be the same, in addition to the urine test. My question is, if I find out I’m diabetic but it is not during a flight physical, am I still good as long as I don’t attempt to renew my flight medical?

(I believe a urine test determines if you’re at risk for diabetes, but a blood test determines whether you have it).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top