Sport Pilot Talk

Does the FAA require VOR proficiency for a PP or SP? If not, do you, as CFIs, devote any time teaching this, as almost everything is GPS navigation now.
Thanks
Mike

I know you asked CFI's, and I'm not one. However, I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night....

When I first started ground school it was for PP, and VOR's were a definite part of the study guide. When I switched to studying for SP, the VOR stuff was no longer there, and no VOR questions were on the SP written test.

Well, a night at the Holiday Inn should qualify you for about anything up to and including brain surgery .

Ok. Thanks. That is kinda the direction my thoughts were heading.

I'm not a CFI, but I can answer your question. I passed my PP checkride without a VOR in my airplane. The PP practical test standards require knowledge of radio navigation, of which GPS is acceptable. That said, I did have to demonstrate the ability to intercept and fly a VOR "radial" with my GPS, something that you can figure out or have your instructor help you with.

And yes, there are VOR questions on the PP knowledge test and no, there aren't any on the SP knowledge test (I've taken them both).

The reason I'm asking this is........ I'm an Amercan living in Ontario, but all my family is in Louisiana and Texas. My US passport would get me into a flight school and being of good health, I'm pretty sure I could pass a medical. But SP is all I'm interested in. The problem presented is that the SP certification is good only within the confines of the country that issues it. I could get the Recreational Pilot certificate here, but it would not be recognized down there. I have access to a plane down there and being there for long stretches, makes me want to be able to fly there. I have flown many years ago, but life got in the way, so I do need to be retrained. So that leads me back to PP certificate. The flight schools here are few, far, and expensive. I know of a school in north Louisiana that goes from SP to Commercial with its emphasis on crop dusting. Their structure is XX amount $$ for each certificate. They have accommodations on site for cheap housing and can do it as fast or as slow as you want. I'm sure they built in a cushion for a student that takes longer, but that's okay.
I figure I can get the PP, let the medical lapse and still hold a valid SP or RC (in Canada) and be able to fly legally.

By all means, go for PP. I did after farting around with SP and I've not regretted it for a minute. And to elaborate on your original question, you don't need to demonstrate VOR skills on your PP checkride if your aircraft doesn't have a VOR, however if your checkride aircraft is equipped with a functioning VOR, it's fair game for the examiner to have you demonstrate it's use.

Which leads me to a question. Is the Rec Pilot certificate valid in Canada?

The US Rec Pilot license may be valid up here, because it has the medical to go with it. If I have to go beyond SP, I may as well go for PP, as it is transferable here with a new Canadian medical and a check ride with Transport Canada. A SP cannot cross border fly because they want to see the medical clearance.

MikeP wrote:The US Rec Pilot license may be valid up here, because it has the medical to go with it. If I have to go beyond SP, I may as well go for PP, as it is transferable here with a new Canadian medical and a check ride with Transport Canada. A SP cannot cross border fly because they want to see the medical clearance.

Once PP qualifications change to allow PPs to fly on a driver's license medical, Canada might change their tune on that to avoid locking a lot of US pilots out of Canada and losing revenue.

MrMorden wrote:

MikeP wrote:The US Rec Pilot license may be valid up here, because it has the medical to go with it. If I have to go beyond SP, I may as well go for PP, as it is transferable here with a new Canadian medical and a check ride with Transport Canada. A SP cannot cross border fly because they want to see the medical clearance.

Once PP qualifications change to allow PPs to fly on a driver's license medical, Canada might change their tune on that to avoid locking a lot of US pilots out of Canada and losing revenue.

I hope so. But one thing is clear with them. They don't want to appear walking in lockstep with the FAA. So if that happens, there may be a two or three year lag time. Just for appearances.

MikeP wrote: I hope so. But one thing is clear with them. They don't want to appear walking in lockstep with the FAA. So if that happens, there may be a two or three year lad time. Just for appearances.

"We're not just the 51st state...REALLY!!!"

Shhhhh. I gotta live here.