Sport Pilot Talk

I've decided that getting my sport ticket in Georgia is going to be damn near impossible. My CFI had major surgery and cant fly for a long while. The only other place that offers LSA training is down to one plane (the other one was just destroyed in a storm on the tarmac) plus it is a 1 1/2hr drive each way. I have decided to go down to First Landings in FLA. They specialize in light spor,t have lots of planes and from what I read in the reviews, appear to be a well run operation. I can only take 6 days off from work but I have got 12 hrs logged here and have already taken and passed the knowledge test so I am hoping to get it done in a week. From what I understand I will be flying 2-3 times a day! Talk about drinking from a fire hose!
Curious to see if anyone else has gone through thier program or similar.

p.s if anyone is so inclined to start a LSA program in the Atlanta area you would have -0- competition.

Last year I rented for a few months at First Landings and can confirm they are a good operation. I spent some time with a few of the instructors, since it took about 10 hrs of dual before I felt comfortable solo in an LSA, and was impressed by all of them. Good luck with your training. I agree it would be nice if we could see more LSA rental/training options in most areas of the country.

Good luck with your accelerated training program. Just be warned, there's a reason why they call this sort of thing a "crash course".

I did one several years ago and enjoyed it. An old thread on it here: http://sportpilottalk.com/viewtopic.php ... =30#p26178

My input at that time was this:

"I took a two week accelerated course with PC Aircraft in San Manuel, AZ last February. I went into it with 20 hours of previous training in a c-150 from way back in 1989. I added 12 hours of dual and 6 hours of solo in an Ercoupe and passed my SP check ride at the end of the course. I took the written beforehand. I REALLY enjoyed the accelerated course format, generally one flight in the morning and one in the afternoon. The weather killed a couple of days, and some days were just one flight. I treated it like a vacation, with the hope (but not the expectation) of passing the check ride in the time I had. It was alot of fun and the cost was very reasonable. I would highly recommend it to finish up a rating, or to start out and get to (at least) solo. If you go into a two week course with the absolute expectation of coming out with an SP rating you may be dissapointed, there are just too many factors, including your own abiltiy to "drink from a fire hose", that could affect the outcome. The folks at PC made this PERFECTLY clear up front."

If you are throwing in the weekends and spending 10 days with them, there is a decent chance you walk away with the rating. There is also a chance that you hit a wall and need more time. It's likely that somewhere along the line you will have an experience that will shake your confidence - for me it was a landing attemp in gusty conditions where my instructor took over and iniated a go-around. In my head I thought I had it, he was pretty sure it would not have ended well. It took me a couple of days and some additional training with the lead instructor to recover and get back on track.

Good luck and clear skies!

Well, I'm with you 100% on 'just wanting to get it done'. My last flight was last September, and between the school's loaded schedule, lack of CFIs qualified in the LSA, and unbelievably unfavorable weather it just didn't happen. So twice I've soloed, then went on hold. So I'm now at that point, just like you, it's time to just go somewhere and get this done. The silver lining to all this is, The Skycatcher that I trained in is rarely rented out, and is available almost anytime I would want it. No need to buy with a deal like that.

I'm training with First Landings and I can confirm it is a well run operation. Good planes and instructors.

Be warned - they're having trouble retaining CFIs. They keep leaving for the airlines. I'm on number 4 now. I believe there are only 2 instructors left teaching light sport. Scheduling lessons can sometimes be tough.

FLs has operations in Apopka and Plant City. I'm flying out of Apopka (X04) and it's a challenging place to land due to difficult crosswinds, particularly in an LSA. Don't know what Plant City is like.

Good luck. Hope to meet you while you're down here.

Sounds good 1/2. I Will be heading down to start training on Saturday. Going to be '"drinking from the proverbial fire hose"'.
8 straight days of flying sometimes twice a day with the check ride scheduled for the last day. I will be the short bearded Italian guy wearing square aviators. The thought of actually becoming the first pilot in the history of my family is pretty damn exciting!

Keep in mind that ANY CFI with Airplane on his Commercial can teach Sport Pilot... Otherwise a CFI L is in order.

Likewise any Pilot with Airplane on their certificate may fly an LSA...

Now, finding a CFI willing to do that can be a bit troubling. The inexperienced CFIs won't want to leave their comfort zone. These are the ones that will tell you, you can train in a C 150/152 then take your test in an LSA. They will also try to convince you to go for a Private Pilot.

Look for one that 'has always wanted to try an LSA' or one who doesn't bat an eye and asks if you have the PTS for Sport Pilot so he can look at it.

I took on a fellow with a Kitfox that needed his tailwheel endorsement. Local outfit wanted to do it in their Decathlon for nearly $300 hr dual. Don't think they knew or cared that he would still need a CFI endorsement in the Kitfox.

Point being, if you have an airplane available then work with the FBO who owns it to get you with an instructor who can get it done!

And yes, sadly, sometimes it just won't be possible unless you leave your area

Jim Hardin wrote: I took on a fellow with a Kitfox that needed his tailwheel endorsement. Local outfit wanted to do it in their Decathlon for nearly $300 hr dual. Don't think they knew or cared that he would still need a CFI endorsement in the Kitfox.

I'm a little confused by this statement. Did he need some other endorsement besides the tailwheel endorsement?

There was a time, early in the LSA era, that aircraft were separated into sets. Your needed an endorsement for each set. No longer the case; endorsements are only for category and class, so any tailwheel endorsement will do.

That's my understanding as well. I was just wondering about his line of thinking.

Jim Hardin wrote:. . . "any Pilot with Airplane on their certificate may fly an LSA..." . . .

That is simply not true.

Bill, there's nothing in the FARs to prevent anyone with an ASEL certificate from flying an LSA airplane. That doesn't mean everybody so licensed is competent to do so - at least, not without some transition training. As we've both discovered, it takes a different kind of touch to handle lightly loaded wings.

Wm.Ince wrote:

Jim Hardin wrote:. . . "any Pilot with Airplane on their certificate may fly an LSA..." . . .

That is simply not true.

Any licensed Sport Pilot, Recreation Pilot, Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, or ATP with airplane single engine land on their certificate.

TimTaylor wrote:

Wm.Ince wrote:

Jim Hardin wrote:. . . "any Pilot with Airplane on their certificate may fly an LSA..." . . .

That is simply not true.

Any licensed Sport Pilot, Recreation Pilot, Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, or ATP with airplane single engine land on their certificate.

LSA covers more than just airplanes, and there are also LSA seaplanes. Oh, you also need a flight review.