Sport Pilot Talk

MovingOn wrote:That says nothing about FAA medicals. What percentage of certified aircraft have damage? Maybe LSA are harder to takeoff, fly, or land. Maybe a high percentage are new pilots, etc. You should not draw conclusions with one data point. Maybe you only looked at planes that were for sale because they had damage history??

Lowering standards, seldom improves performance.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's likely a duck.

.......

BrianL99 wrote:Lowering standards, seldom improves performance.

True only when there is a demonstrated correlation between the standard in question and the performance you're trying to optimize. It is not clear to me that such a correlation exists between the third class medical certificate and safety of flight. If the standard said you had to be six feet in height or taller, would failure to comply with that standard in any way degrade performance? (It may for basketball players; I'm not so certain that it would for pilots.)

......

Possessing an FAA medical certificate doesn't automatically make you fit to fly. It doesn't even mean that on a particular day, a particular medical examiner found you fit to fly. What it does mean is that, on a particular day, a particular medical examiner failed to detect any conditions that would make you clearly unfit to fly.

drseti wrote:Possessing an FAA medical certificate doesn't automatically make you fit to fly. It doesn't even mean that on a particular day, a particular medical examiner found you fit to fly. What it does mean is that, on a particular day, a particular medical examiner failed to detect any conditions that would make you clearly unfit to fly.

…and for EVERY flight after the exam, EVERY pilot (including CTLSi) is REQUIRED to self-certify for EVERY flight whether they have a DL, 3rd, 2nd, or a 1st Class medical.

A sport pilot using a DL is not EXEMPT from a medical. The FAA deems the medical requirements for a DL to be what it requires for the limited sport pilot privileges. Sport pilots cannot fly as extensively as PPLs…speed, night, altitude, airspace restrictions for example.
The FAA demands history regarding traffic violations and DUI, the same as the state DL. The pilot can lose his flying privileges from DUI and traffic violations as a 3rd Class and as a DL.
So…the DL 'medical' for the (then) new Sport license was deemed by the FAA to be the appropriate level of medical needed. History has borne this out to be a good call.

drseti wrote:

BrianL99 wrote:Lowering standards, seldom improves performance.

True only when there is a demonstrated correlation between the standard in question and the performance you're trying to optimize. It is not clear to me that such a correlation exists between the third class medical certificate and safety of flight. If the standard said you had to be six feet in height or taller, would failure to comply with that standard in any way degrade performance? (It may for basketball players; I'm not so certain that it would for pilots.)

I'm not sure the basketball analogy is analogous to flying an airplane.

As for the "Medical" aspect, it seems everyone is ignoring the "quasi-medical" aspects of an FAA Medical, such as permission to access your Driver's record.

With all due respect to other's opinions, it's ludicrous to suggest that "lowering standards" by not requiring an FAA Medical, is going to have a positive effect on GA safety.

BrianL99 wrote: it's ludicrous to suggest that "lowering standards" by not requiring an FAA Medical, is going to have a positive effect on GA safety.

I don't think anyone is arguing that. We are maintaining that it won't have a negative impact. And, I believe ten years of Sport Pilot experience bears this out.

.......

......

CTLSi wrote:So there are a lot out there who are flying as failed 3rd classers who did little more than avoid that last medical exam and continue to fly knowing they have disqualifying medical issues.

And they're falling out of the sky left and right!



As sick as they all obviously are, it's amazing they didn't die behind the wheel on the way to the airport!

FastEddieB wrote:
As sick as they all obviously are, it's amazing they didn't die behind the wheel on the way to the airport!

[/quote]

There's an 88 year old pilot in the Tampa area, flying around in an Eclipse. I wouldn't mind being behind him in the pattern, but I sure don't want to be close him when he's driving on the highway

Don (snaproll), here's where you get to brag about your dad.

.......

.......