Sport Pilot In Two Months?

[janikpilot]

Do you guys think it would be possible to get a sport pilot license in two months? I am asking because I plan on starting training over the summer when I'm out of school, and I'd like to be finished by the time school starts, so I don't have to worry about scheduling training while worrying about school. Consider weather not to be an issue; I live in Florida And I plan on taking lessons 3 times a week.

I understand half of flight training is done on the ground, so right now I'm trying to prepare by working through Sporty's Private Pilot Ground School DVD course (I got it as a gift a while back). And as a side note, if I finish the DVD course, would that count as my sport pilot ground school? I understand it would almost be over-studying, but would that mean I would have to take a separate sport pilot ground school?

And one more question while I'm at it: Lets say I rent an aircraft at an airport for 1.4 hours. Do I pay 2 times the hourly rate, or 1.4 times the hourly rate?

 

[Geico266]

I did my private in 28 days. You can do it in 2 months, no problem.

They should charge you 1.4 hours x the rate.

 

[jpower]

Definitely. If the weather had been on my side, I would have had my Sport in 2 ish months. And instructor availability--that's a big one. My instructor, though fantastic, had very limited availability Friday through Sunday. This was a problem, especially because for me, getting to the airport on weekends was MUCH easier than during the week. It was a massive problem until my instructor was gone in the Bahamas for a whole week and I needed to fly. I got paired up with another instructor for that time, and then I flew with him a number of times later. Different perspectives and different areas of emphasis. For example, on our first trip around the pattern together, he ran the trim all the way in one direction and with this cheeky grin told me "trim failure!" Landed just fine, reset trim. Lo and behold, another trim failure, this time in the other direction! I'm not sure if you know, but instructors have this sort of field that radiates off of them that breaks things.

TLDR version of my ramblings: yes, it's totally possible, but make sure you have either an instructor with good availability or a second instructor you like equally well.

 

[jpower]

And as a side note, if I finish the DVD course, would that count as my sport pilot ground school? I understand it would almost be over-studying, but would that mean I would have to take a separate sport pilot ground school?

I completely forgot to address this in my last post. Yes, that can definitely count as your course. Tell your instructor you're doing it, and it should save you a bunch of time on the ground. I did all my ground work through the Machado book and my instructor's added mini-lessons on the specifics of the airplane I fly.

Also, be sure you know all the Sport-specific regulations as well. The private course won't cover any of that, and it'll definitely be on both your written and oral.

 

[BillTIZ]

I did my full private airplane rating in less than 4 months, flying 2-3 times per week while in college. Depending in the aircraft and instructor availability, and the ground school. Go for it. It may be wise to get the written done as early in the flying as possible, if not before.

 

[janikpilot]

Thank you all for the replies I see that this is possible, and I am glad my time spent studying this DVD course will count towards my certificate.

it's totally possible, but make sure you have either an instructor with good availability or a second instructor you like equally well.

This is one of my major concerns, as there are only two flight schools near my home which have an LSA in their fleet. My selection of flight instructors may be limited.

 

[jpower]

It may be wise to get the written done as early in the flying as possible, if not before.

 

[bbchien]

I would be able to tell after three hours. The problem with porgnostication is that htere are some folks who just can't get it, or are a very hard learn, and we can't tell until we've seen it.

Pass your written while still in the school term, though.

 

[jpower]

Being young really helps too. Both the instructors I worked with mentioned that I learned faster than most people, and that they had noticed over years and years of instructing that the younger you are, the faster you learn. This is of course a generalization, but it tends to hold true for many things.

 

[MultiMediaWill]

Being young really helps too. Both the instructors I worked with mentioned that I learned faster than most people, and that they had noticed over years and years of instructing that the younger you are, the faster you learn. This is of course a generalization, but it tends to hold true for many things.

Like foreign languages.

 

[NineThreeKilo]

I've had a full time 0-CPL guy get his pvt in about 1 month, BUT with the type of training and the guys we attracted, we got folks who were always driving some type of machine since they were little kids.

It's all up to you, if you're good and catch on quick, yea sure!

If you suck, you might NEVER get your license.

A good CFI should be able to give you the lowdown after flying with you for a hr or less.

 

[Henning]

Possible, most definitely, however I would say it with more confidences if you had asked about doing your Private in a summer break. The question lies in why you are seeking LSA rather than PP and for most guys you're age the answer is that you are on a medication treating a disqualifying mental issue. If you are going this route to save money, ok, just make sure you do your training with a full CFI.

So the real question is, can you pull it off? Reality is many 0 to hero CPL mills will do it all in that time frame. The wild card factors are equipment availability and lots of severe weather.

 

[janikpilot]

Possible, most definitely, however I would say it with more confidences if you had asked about doing your Private in a summer break. The question lies in why you are seeking LSA rather than PP and for most guys you're age the answer is that you are on a medication treating a disqualifying mental issue. If you are going this route to save money, ok, just make sure you do your training with a full CFI.

So the real question is, can you pull it off? Reality is many 0 to hero CPL mills will do it all in that time frame. The wild card factors are equipment availability and lots of severe weather.

I'm getting my sport to save money, and do plan on training with a full CFI to save money on my PPL in later years. Right now I don't need any added benefits of the PPL over the sport, so I may as well just stick with the Sport until I have the money to upgrade to PPL.

I will call up the flight schools once summer approaches, and see about airplane availability and other information. Like I said, living in Florida should allow weather to not be a factor, sans the occasional thunderstorm

Once again, I appreciate all the replies and I read all of them.

 

[MultiMediaWill]

I'm getting my sport to save money, and do plan on training with a full CFI to save money on my PPL in later years. Right now I don't need any added benefits of the PPL over the sport, so I may as well just stick with the Sport until I have the money to upgrade to PPL.

I will call up the flight schools once summer approaches, and see about airplane availability and other information. Like I said, living in Florida should allow weather to not be a factor, sans the occasional thunderstorm

Once again, I appreciate all the replies and I read all of them.

I thought it rained everyday in florida?

 

[janikpilot]

I thought it rained everyday in florida?

Well we are the lightning capital of the world

But it really changes every day. I will be taking my lessons usually before 12am, so it should be clear. Afternoon showers are more common in the summertime.

 

[Henning]

I'm getting my sport to save money, and do plan on training with a full CFI to save money on my PPL in later years. Right now I don't need any added benefits of the PPL over the sport, so I may as well just stick with the Sport until I have the money to upgrade to PPL.

I will call up the flight schools once summer approaches, and see about airplane availability and other information. Like I said, living in Florida should allow weather to not be a factor, sans the occasional thunderstorm

Once again, I appreciate all the replies and I read all of them.

3 back to back hurricanes can slow things down,but yeah. Any particular reason not to do it during the winter down here since it will be much more comfortable in the plane? Flying small planes down here in the summer, especially during maneuvering and training in the heat and bumps can get pretty miserable. Which flight schools are you looking at using?

 

[MAKG1]

Well we are the lightning capital of the world

But it really changes every day. I will be taking my lessons usually before 12am, so it should be clear. Afternoon showers are more common in the summertime.

I'd hope the thunderstorms are over by midnight....

But if you're going to be training at night, a sport pilot certificate is the wrong one.

Perhaps you meant noon?

IMO, the sport pilot certificate is rather severely limiting. But if you're never with more than one passenger, in simple airspace, wimpy aircraft, and day VFR conditions, I guess you can make it work. It's at least better than a recreational certificate....

And FYI, the stuff skipped for sport pilot that a private pilot would do otherwise is the fun stuff. Like night training, operating in Class B, etc.

 

[jpower]

Like foreign languages.

Exactly!

I thought it rained everyday in florida?

It does every single time I'm down there....

I'm getting my sport to save money, and do plan on training with a full CFI to save money on my PPL in later years. Right now I don't need any added benefits of the PPL over the sport, so I may as well just stick with the Sport until I have the money to upgrade to PPL.

To those naysayers, I did exactly this, and it did save me money in the short term. Most likely not in the long run, but I was willing to pay a relatively small premium to get my butt in the air sooner.

IMO, the sport pilot certificate is rather severely limiting. But if you're never with more than one passenger, in simple airspace, wimpy aircraft, and day VFR conditions, I guess you can make it work. It's at least better than a recreational certificate....

Depending what you're doing, it's really not that limiting. I've never really needed to carry more than one person.

And about the simple airspace bit...who really wants to fly regularly into the Class Bs in a piston single (discounting the Mooney Acclaims etc of the world) anyway? Unless you have some twisted sense of fun and really like FBOs emptying your wallet, I don't see much of a benefit.

I'd be interested to see how many people regularly fly at night. I seem to remember seeing a statistic somewhere that said that less than 10% of pilots fly regularly at night. But I could be completely wrong, so don't quote me on that.

IFR? You need an entirely new rating for that anyway which costs another two arms and three legs, so for someone like me who was (is) financially limited, that's so far in the future that it was silly to consider it two summers ago when I got my Sport.

Oh yeah...and wimpy airplanes...not so much. The Tecnam Eaglet (or for that matter, any of the LSAs they produce today) will outrun the "mighty" 150/152 and be a real hoot to fly. And is more comfortable/wider. And won't burn as much fuel while in the process. Auto fuel, that is.

 

[janikpilot]

3 back to back hurricanes can slow things down,but yeah. Any particular reason not to do it during the winter down here since it will be much more comfortable in the plane? Flying small planes down here in the summer, especially during maneuvering and training in the heat and bumps can get pretty miserable. Which flight schools are you looking at using?

Well I have to focus on school right now, plus save up my money to start training. So I can't start financially until next summer. Then I will be able to immerse myself in aviation and not have to worry about my classes. Plus then I can go flying whenever I want senior year

I am looking at North County Flight Training at F45 and Skywalker Aviation at Lantana. Those are the only two within a reasonable drive from me that have an LSA in their fleet. Send me a PM if you have any insight to those schools.

I'd hope the thunderstorms are over by midnight....

But if you're going to be training at night, a sport pilot certificate is the wrong one.

Perhaps you meant noon?

IMO, the sport pilot certificate is rather severely limiting. But if you're never with more than one passenger, in simple airspace, wimpy aircraft, and day VFR conditions, I guess you can make it work. It's at least better than a recreational certificate....

And FYI, the stuff skipped for sport pilot that a private pilot would do otherwise is the fun stuff. Like night training, operating in Class B, etc.

Oops Yes, I meant noon. I always get those two mixed up, I suppose I should just use 'noon' and 'midnight.'

Indeed, the sport pilot certificate is very limiting. But since I am still in high school, and saving up for some kind of financial security in college, I prefer it since it will allow me to get my training in half the time and half the price (approximately ). Right now the limitations are totally fine with me, since I won't have more than one passenger at any time, and don't plan on flying anything fast or complex until later in my lifetime. Trust me, I definitely plan on getting my PPL and some ratings once I am older and have a larger income. I've considered the PPL, but found the sport pilot to be a better fit for me as of right now.


EDIT: As far as flying into airspace, I know I can get special training for that, and be signed off for ATC communication. Living in Florida, all the towered airspace is along the coast, and it's almost impossible to fly along the coast without hitting some kind of airspace. So I do plan on getting an instructor sign-off for ATC, but flying into Class Bravo airspace may not be something I need to do until I progress my training into a PPL.

 

[janikpilot]

Oh yeah...and wimpy airplanes...not so much. The Tecnam Eaglet (or for that matter, any of the LSAs they produce today) will outrun the "mighty" 150/152 and be a real hoot to fly. And is more comfortable/wider. And won't burn as much fuel while in the process. Auto fuel, that is.

Plus, (and maybe this is just a personal interest) the new LSAs come with some pretty cool panels. There's a whole bunch of information at my fingertips that you just can't get in a steam-gauge aircraft. So for half the price of a C172 with a G1000, I can enjoy the glass cockpit life without having a PPL.

 

[maddog52]

Exactly!


It does every single time I'm down there....



To those naysayers, I did exactly this, and it did save me money in the short term. Most likely not in the long run, but I was willing to pay a relatively small premium to get my butt in the air sooner.


Depending what you're doing, it's really not that limiting. I've never really needed to carry more than one person.

And about the simple airspace bit...who really wants to fly regularly into the Class Bs in a piston single (discounting the Mooney Acclaims etc of the world) anyway? Unless you have some twisted sense of fun and really like FBOs emptying your wallet, I don't see much of a benefit.

I'd be interested to see how many people regularly fly at night. I seem to remember seeing a statistic somewhere that said that less than 10% of pilots fly regularly at night. But I could be completely wrong, so don't quote me on that.

IFR? You need an entirely new rating for that anyway which costs another two arms and three legs, so for someone like me who was (is) financially limited, that's so far in the future that it was silly to consider it two summers ago when I got my Sport.

Oh yeah...and wimpy airplanes...not so much. The Tecnam Eaglet (or for that matter, any of the LSAs they produce today) will outrun the "mighty" 150/152 and be a real hoot to fly. And is more comfortable/wider. And won't burn as much fuel while in the process. Auto fuel, that is.

+1. Excellent points. And if you really do have a need for Class B, C, or D airspace, it's just some training and an endorsement from a CFI.

 

[zaitcev]

And about the simple airspace bit...who really wants to fly regularly into the Class Bs in a piston single (discounting the Mooney Acclaims etc of the world) anyway? Unless you have some twisted sense of fun and really like FBOs emptying your wallet, I don't see much of a benefit.

Or you may be living in Florida or Arizona. In case of Florida, at SportPilotTalk they sometimes discuss how to get to/from a specific airport without busting Bravo, because they have no endorsements. It's hair-raising. In Arizona, sneaking under Bravo means meandering around pointy rocks. Heck I thought Denver's Bravo was oppressingly low. I'm sooo happy that I can deal with that, or at least try... Denver in particular is full of jerks who always say "I don't have time to deal with you, squack VFR".

I'd be interested to see how many people regularly fly at night. I seem to remember seeing a statistic somewhere that said that less than 10% of pilots fly regularly at night. But I could be completely wrong, so don't quote me on that.

Night VFR can be unsafe, for example it's easier to fly into a cloud than eating a pancake, and in some LSA-qaulifying antiques you have to rely on T+B if that happens. Also, there's moon calendar to consider. But making my wife rolling out of bed before 9 a.m. is a such a chore that almost every return trip from anywhere turns into a night arrival. Night privileges of PP are much more important for me than the passenger limit.

 

[zaitcev]

But since I am still in high school, and saving up for some kind of financial security in college (...)

Dude, talk to David White. There's a difference that his parents bought him a 172 while he was in 10th grade (IIRC), but he may have some tips nonetheless.

 

[Henning]

Dude, talk to David White. There's a difference that his parents bought him a 172 while he was in 10th grade (IIRC), but he may have some tips nonetheless.

He's also home schooled IIRC.

 

[MDeitch1976]

I was shooting for the Sport License initially. Then after hitting 35 hours, and talking with several people I switched to training for the Private. If you are capable of passing the medical just go for the private. Unless you have been around flying for many years, and have some experience behind the controls. I can not see most people being able to do the Sport in 20 hours. My thought initially was I would be flying on my own a lot sooner with the Sport License. Look at the added benefits of the private license. The larger and faster aircraft you will be able to fly, with more people, and be able to bring along some baggage. When you hit 20 hours, you will have to think how likely is it that your instructor would sign you off for a check ride? I would honestly say, budget for 40 hours, would probably be more realistic for the Sport License. You should be able to get there by then. Also, this insures you will have enough money available to get to your goal of a sport license.

That's my two cents.

 

[SportPilotCO]

Just a quick response to the airspace and airplane comments. I am a sport pilot living in Colorado. I own an Aero AT-4 aka Gobosh 700. Since earning my SP cert, I got my B,C endorsements (learned at Centennial in Denver so I had a D). I have flown to Oshkosh twice in a Gobosh, flown mine solo round trip from Colorado to Sebring FL for the LSA expo last year and will do so again this year and am planning to also fly from their to the Bahamas (yes you can do this as a SP). I have flown the AT-4 into Leadville CO with a field elevation of 9934 feet. I regularly fly in Denver's class B airspace and Colorado Springs class C. A few weekends ago we flew my plane down to Tucson for the long weekend.

The bottom line is that there is a lot of confusion about what sport pilot's can do and can't. It really isn't that limiting and you really can fly LSA's cross country. As folks have said and you have acknowledged, get your training from a CFI vice S so you can count your hours for your PP later. I have several friends who have gotten SP first and transitioned to PP.

Good luck and have fun.

Carl