Sport Pilot Talk

Huge apologies everyone, the FAA has done 2 office re-organizations in the last 8 months and I have been exhausted with cubicle hopping. I am now in AJV-11, Airspace policy and Rulemaking handling the dockets for Class B and C airspace changes and MOA and restricted airspace stuff... Now, on the the...

And the only other recourse the controller had if unable to climb would be radar contact lost, squawk 1200, good day. I'm not sure how the controller messed the code up, we read the computer assigned squawk from a strip or display and the computer will NEVER assign or let be assigned a code with an ...

And I'll just add the discussion helps me tune the reply so I can address any misconceptions and get everyone on the same page.

Great question and good discussion. 91.131 is the appropriate reference and becomes even more clear when compared to 91.129 and .130. Class D and C requires only 2-way communication established . I highlight that because that does not mean you have given your callsign on frequency. You must get a re...

A discussion in another thread about aircraft designations got me thinking about airport identifiers and the conceptions pilots had of them. So the wisdom bantered around is to make the ICAO version of an airport, add a K to the front, e.g. LAX becomes KLAX. Does that make W13 become KW13? and why i...

Thanks for the welcome, folks. Just so everyone knows where my perspective is coming from, I was a Los Angeles Center controller for my whole career up until February when I took a job at DC headquarters in the EnRoute Airspace office. I have never worked tower or tracon, but had 7 towered airports ...

Good article here about the development of the weight. http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/lsasport/sport-pilot-why-1320 The FAA doesn't always craft the rules looking out for the pilot, but instead, the non-flying public. Look at part 103... 254#, 5 gallons of gas and away from populated areas doesn'...

so I might call myself a "Charlie Tango" for the local traffic. But that will be a lie, too. I'll really be riding a "Charlie Tango Lima Sierra India." I agree that FAA should give us a proper code type like the ICAO terms "FDCT" and "FDMC" could be. Then I w...

Actually, I do know of one controller that was written up for "good day". But he was guilty of a myriad of bad habits and bad phraseology was one they wanted to gig him on. Even I had it noted on an over-the-shoulder I get twice a year. (supervisors hate sending up a "no deficiencies ...

Surprisingly, my Rans with some sheet aluminum but mostly tube, gives a good primary return to airport radar. I was 20 miles out and heard them calling traffic to a mooney on me as I was monitoring them.

"Fat ultralights" were allowed to become ELSA in the window that ended a few years ago. Now, you can have either N-numbered aircraft or a part 103 legal ultralight. The FAA considers fat ultralights paperweights. You cannot get a SP license and be legal to fly a 280# non-registered vehicle...

So, Jason, how would you choose to identify at our little grass strip? I think the best lesson I got about pilot comms was flying into Santa Paula (SZP). It's a sleepy little airport north of LA that has a TON of restored Howards and Gypsy Moths and their monthly open house is madhouse in the patte...

Did your aircraft have a proper electrical system when it was registered? If not, you don't need to even worry about the 30 nm thing as long as you stay out of Class C. Section 93.339 that refers to the SFRA still gives ATC permission to waive the transponder requirement. But facility management do...

Again, old topic, but I'm new and wanted to clarify. A early post gave definitions of SLSA and ELSA, but ELSA in not a definition, it is a certification type and there were 2 ways to get it. One was the grandfathered "fat" ultralights of which less than 2000 took advantage of (mine is one ...

I know this thread is old but here is another perspective... For those you you that missed my post in introductions, I have been a sport pilot for 3 1/2 years, Rans S-12 owner and C162 renter. I was also an air traffic controller at Los Angeles Center for 24 years and now work in the airspace office...