Piloting has become a promising career option, which involves a lot of struggles too like sleepless nights, stressful examinations, exciting moments, and big costs. Many people consider they can have a demanding and fruitful career by starting as a private pilot.
The first step of an emerging pilot
A private pilot license is the first step you have to take to become a pilot. However, there is a huge price tag involved with it. This makes it hard for many people to reach their goal of piloting. The rescue comes in the form of a sport pilot certificate. Here we will look into the differences between private and sport pilots.
Time and cost involved
The training of light sport aircraft will take place only under a certificate of the sport pilots. For private pilot training, you have to take more effort into training which costs more time and money. You will have to spend about $10,000 for a license for a private pilot license. The price will be reduced by 50% for sport pilot licensing. This is a huge difference for many people. It takes about 4-6 months for private certification flight training, while it takes just 2-3 months for training in light sport aircraft.
Getting the license
There are three options for pilot certificates: private, recreational, and sport pilot certificates. Among these three, the license category with minimal restrictions is the private pilot license and the one with maximum restrictions is the sport pilot license.
Whichever pilot license you choose, students must get a student pilot certificate before their single piloting. Ground school and flight training do not need any certificates. To get a student pilot certificate under the FAA guidelines, you must be 16 years or above and must be able to understand, read, and speak English.
Student pilots need a flight instruction of 20 hours to get a sports pilot license. This includes 15 hours of instruction with a flight instructor who is FAA-certified, a logged flight time of 50 hours, and an outdoor flight hours of 20 hours. After this, a pilot examiner designated by the FAA will have a check-ride, in which you have to impress with your skills in piloting. You need 40 flight hours to get a private pilot license and the pilot must be efficient enough to fly at night too.
Medical needs to get a sport pilot certificate
An FAA medical certificate is not necessary for the category of light sport aircraft or LSA to get a sport pilot certificate. The medical proof can be a driver’s license. There is no mandatory medical examination, which allows many people, such as retired pilots, to enjoy flying with just a sports pilot license.
There are strict demands to acquire a private pilot license as it provides more power to a private pilot. A private pilot license demands an FAA medical certificate of third class as the standard requirement. You may get the license with a BasicMed, however, there will be some limitations.