Sport Pilot Talk

https://www.eaa.org/eaa/youth/free-ye-f ... ecognition

Pilot recognition "rewards" a Young Eagles volunteer based on the number of flights he conducts and the value depends on the number of flights, from a simple letter of thanks at 1 flight to a Lightspeed Zulu headset at 2000 flights. So does this count as operating an aircraft "for compensation or hire"? Even going to get a $100 hamburger is flying for compensation or hire if your passenger splits the check at the cafe so I bet the FAA would look at this and say it's illegal if I were to accept any rewards?

With a lot of volunteer charity work Sport Pilots can only do it if they pay out of pocket for 100% of expenses unlike charities like Angel Flights which pay for the flight (which is why you need to have a PPL for that charity), and YE can be done by Sport Pilots because they pay out of pocket.

It is my understanding that you can split direct operating cost expenses (gas and oil) as a private pilot or sport pilot, provided both pilot and passenger had a common purpose in making the flight. If you and I are going to a concert one state over, it is OK for us to fly, and for me to pay half your fuel (and oil, if you add any on that flight). I cannot, however, pay even 1 cent towards your hangar, insurance, annual inspection, or other costs. The key is that the flight has to be for a common purpose. (Three employees of the same company flying to attend a company meeting would count as being "for a common purpose.")

But the FAA has consistently ruled that if you ask me to fly you to that same out-of-state concert, and I am NOT going to attend the concert, even if I have other business or entertainment in that locale, then I am not allowed to accept any compensation from you. Not half the cost of the fuel for the flight, not a free dinner, not even a shared motel room. The flight has to be for a common purpose, or I'm basically providing an illegal air taxi service.

I'm also pretty confident that the EAA has vetted its Young Eagle pilot recognition program with the FAA and it came up OK. After all, the "winners" of the headsets that are awarded each quarter are selected via a random drawing, which is held well after the flights. To say that the thousands of Young Eagle pilots each quarter have an "expectation of reward" based on 3 of them being randomly selected to win a prize is a stretch... Honestly, I've done Young Eagle flights for years, and never even knew about the program until I was notified that I had been selected to receive one of the headsets! (Which required me to submit some IRS paperwork and pay taxes on the value of the headset received, by the way...) Certainly no "expectation" on my part! The odds are pretty much like winning the lottery, only I didn't even buy a ticket!

JimParker256 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:23 am (Three employees of the same company flying to attend a company meeting would count as being "for a common purpose.")

True - except in this example, the common purpose is work related, rather than purely recreational - which means it is not allowed of Sport Pilots. (Not to mention that there's no way to fit those three employees into an LSA!)

As usual, Dr Paul is absolutely correct. I was thinking about the PPL, not the SPL when I wrote my response, and picked a poor example for SPL folks.

The way I take it is if you could write it off as a business expense then it's for a business, so flying to a meeting would probably count as business related if that's the purpose of the flight.

JimParker256 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 02, 2022 7:23 am But the FAA has consistently ruled that if you ask me to fly you to that same out-of-state concert, and I am NOT going to attend the concert, even if I have other business or entertainment in that locale, then I am not allowed to accept any compensation from you. Not half the cost of the fuel for the flight, not a free dinner, not even a shared motel room. The flight has to be for a common purpose, or I'm basically providing an illegal air taxi service.

What if your purpose is just to get to that locale to have some fun, like to fly to a county fair, and you do whatever strikes your fancy when you get there? Like, how specific is a common purpose? On one end you could argue that going from point A to point B to have fun in point B is a common purpose. On the other end of the extreme you could argue that it's not a common purpose even if both of you are going to a concert but you are going to hear the opening band and your friend is going because he wants to hear the next band.

As with most all FAR's, they are as clear as mud.