Sport Pilot or Private Pilot?

[SportPilot]

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[SportPilot]

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[Helen]

If it made more sense to go for a Recreational certificate first, followed by a Private, the Recreational certificate would be very popular. It's not.

I presume your mother tried to teach you, "Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't make it right?"

As a previous poster mentioned, the rec certificate did not catch on because as originally drafted, it was very restrictive of travel. A number of years back though the FAA changed that so that a rec pilot can fly anywhere in the country once trained and endorsed. That fact is not widely known. I suspect if you go to your local airport and locate 10 CFIs you'll be lucky to find one that knows that.

Keep in mind too that in the CFI world, 90% of those active giving primary training are young folks, trying to build hours (literally at your expense) towards an airline career. Finding a quicker and easier way to help you reach your goals isn't necessarily on their radar nor do they have the experience to be exploring alternative teaching methods. Most of the other 10% is older CFIs, rather set in our ways, who often instruct so little they have to do FIRCs to stay current. This institution is why rec is not more popular. Sport faced the same hurdles initially and would have faced a similar fate had the medical been attached to it. As it was, the large number of older pilots and students with medical issues who wanted to fly under the sport rules who forced the CFI community to take note.

As for your presumption of "no fatigue," come back and tell me that after you've gotten your CFI and have a reasonable number of signed 8710s under your belt. Fatigue of mind, time, and wallet is just part of flight training. A CFI's job is to help her student manage this fatigue to the best of their ability.

Ten years ago when we first opened CSP, our DPE made an eye opening comment. "Helen, I really like doing your sport pilot checkrides. When I graduate one of your students, they are happy to be a pilot. When I graduate a private pilot student, they are just happy to be done."

Even a sport pilot certificate can be fatiguing for many. For those short on time, funds, or just struggling to get to the finish line, a rec certificate offers a shorter path to completion. And compared to a private pilot certificate, the path is a major short cut, offering to turn a student into a pilot with half the time and money.

Sporty's success has proven that rec pilot can be used to significantly reduce student drop out rates and is an example we should all take note of.

[Merlinspop]

Unquestionably, SP is the fastest, least expensive way for a person to be able to freely exercise the privileges of their certificate.

You have not read the rec training rules. You can graduate a rec student *prior* to most of the cross country and all of the instrument required for sport. For the average student, rec is the fastest certificate to earn.

The question was between Sport or Private, so I didn't consider Rec.

[drseti]

Although Rec Pilot has been on my radar for decades, I thought it had pretty much died with the advent of SP. Glad to hear CSP and Sporty's are keeping it alive. When I started my flight school I frankly never considered it, since I was embracing SP and committed to buying LSAs. But I can see that it might be a good fit for some. Thanks for bringing it into this thread, Helen.

[Cluemeister]

I suggest you stop posting and go take your first flying lesson. Come back when you have some credible experience.

"Hey young whippersnapper, get off my lawn!"

[SportPilot]

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[3Dreaming]

"As for your presumption of "no fatigue," come back and tell me that after you've gotten your CFI and have a reasonable number of signed 8710s under your belt. Fatigue of mind, time, and wallet is just part of flight training. A CFI's job is to help (his or) her student manage this fatigue to the best of their ability."

Done. So, nobody here is entitled to an opinion except you? Who said "no fatigue"? I'm sure a Recreational Pilot certificate would make sense for some.

Of course everybody is entitled to an opinion, and you certainly like to share yours. The problem as I see it is when some one has an opinion that is different than yours you get all bent out of shape as if they are attacking you personally.

When it comes to opinions on current issues involving flight instruction I am more likely to go along with the opinion of some one who is actively doing flight training, especially compared to the opinion of some one who by their own statement hasn't done any primary flight training for several years.

[SportPilot]

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[SportPilot]

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[bneenan]

The Rec pilot can only travel 50 nm from their departure airport from what I understand. That is quite limiting. Going after the private.

[SportPilot]

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[bneenan]

So basically the same as Sport Pilot but without the aircraft weight limit. Interesting. Sounds like the ground School would need to be from the instructor vs online. I'm color deficient and woud have the night flight restriction regardless. Less hours and same priveleges.

[SportPilot]

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[dstclair]

Here's an interactive chart from AOPA: http://www.aopa.org/letsgoflying/cert_c ... &width=675