This is where you should find some of the resources you need to work toward your Sport Pilot Certification and License.

Firstly you need to obtain a Student Pilot License!

When do I need a student pilot certificate?

Before you can fly solo. You don't need a student pilot certificate to take flying lessons.

Am I eligible for a student pilot certificate?

You are eligible if:

A sport pilot candidate is not required to possess an FAA medical certificate, but may use a valid U.S. driver's license as proof of medical fitness. Any restriction on the driver's license becomes a medical restriction for exercising sport pilot privileges. Our school asks the candidate to disclose medications and conditions in a medical affidavit, which gives us the ability to talk openly about medical fitness from the start.

A student pilot certificate is required, however, and can be issued by your local FSDO office, any designated pilot or sport pilot examiner for about $25. Candidates complete FAA Form 8710-11, which differs from the traditional 8710-1 in that it includes an area to record driver's license information.

FAR Part 61, Subpart C, pertaining to student pilots, also applies to sport pilot candidates, who must meet each of those requirements before solo and before solo cross-country. It's worth noting that the current FAR 61.93(e)(12) requires instruction in flight by reference to instruments. This is said to be an oversight and should be corrected in the next revision. However, until it is corrected, diligent instructors are continuing to include some hood time for sport pilot candidates.

A sport pilot candidate must receive and log training to fly into Class D, C, or B airspace or to land at airports within this airspace. We permit candidates to earn authorization for the different airspaces of their choice. Whereas in private pilot training a cross-country must be at least 50 nautical miles, a sport pilot cross-country must be at least 25 nautical miles.

This is what we need to achieve!

FAR Sec. 61.309

What aeronautical knowledge must I have to apply for a sport pilot certificate?

[To apply for a sport pilot certificate you must receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor or complete a home-study course on the following aeronautical knowledge areas: ]
(a) Applicable regulations of this chapter that relate to sport pilot privileges, limits, and flight operations.
(b) Accident reporting requirements of the National Transportation Safety Board.
(c) Use of the applicable portions of the aeronautical information manual and FAA advisory circulars.
(d) Use of aeronautical charts for VFR navigation using pilotage, dead reckoning, and navigation systems, as appropriate.
(e) Recognition of critical weather situations from the ground and in flight, windshear avoidance, and the procurement and use of aeronautical weather reports and forecasts.
(f) Safe and efficient operation of aircraft, including collision avoidance, and recognition and avoidance of wake turbulence.
(g) Effects of density altitude on takeoff and climb performance.
(h) Weight and balance computations.
(i) Principles of aerodynamics, power plants, and aircraft systems.
(j) Stall awareness, spin entry, spins, and spin recovery techniques, as applicable.
(k) Aeronautical decision making and risk management.
(l) Preflight actions that include--
(1) How to get information on runway lengths at airports of intended use, data on takeoff and landing distances, weather reports and forecasts, and fuel requirements; and
(2) How to plan for alternatives if the planned flight cannot be completed or if you encounter delays.

Amdt. 61-125, Eff. 4/2/10

FAR Sec. 61.311

What flight proficiency requirements must I meet to apply for a sport pilot certificate?

[To apply for a sport pilot certificate you must receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor on the following areas of operation, as appropriate, for airplane single-engine land or sea, glider, gyroplane, airship, balloon, powered parachute land or sea, and weight-shift-control aircraft land or sea privileges: ]
(a) Preflight preparation.
(b) Preflight procedures.
(c) Airport, seaplane base, and gliderport operations, as applicable.
(d) Takeoffs (or launches), landings, and go-arounds.
(e) Performance maneuvers, and for gliders, performance speeds.
(f) Ground reference maneuvers (not applicable to gliders and balloons).
(g) Soaring techniques (applicable only to gliders).
(h) Navigation.
(i) Slow flight (not applicable to lighter-than-air aircraft and powered parachutes).
(j) Stalls (not applicable to lighter-than-air aircraft, gyroplanes, and powered parachutes).
(k) Emergency operations.
(l) Post-flight procedures.

Amdt. 61-125, Eff. 4/2/10

To Earn a Sport Pilot License Weight-shift-control aircraft category (land or sea) class privileges,

(1) 20 hours of light time, including 15 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor in a weight-shift-control aircraft and at least 5 hours of solo flight training in the areas of operation listed in § 61.311, (i) 2 hours of cross-country flight training,

(ii) 10 takeoffs and landings to a full stop (with each landing involving a flight in the traffic pattern) at an airport,

(iii) One solo cross-country flight of at least 50 nautical miles total distance, with a full-stop landing at a minimum of two points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of at least 25 nautical miles between takeoff and landing locations, and

(iv) 2 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor on those areas of operation specified in § 61.311 in preparation for the practical test within the preceding 2 calendar months from the month of the test.

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Last modified: 08/24/10