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FAA Approves Sport Pilot License
"Light-Sport airplanes will be limited in size and power: maximum weight 1,320 pounds, maximum two seats, maximum airspeed 120 knots, single non-turbine engine, fixed landing gear. If it's a Light-Sport, it should be one of the easiest planes to fly."
This has the potential to dramatically increase the number of people owning and flying planes. Not only is it easier for a person to become a Sport Pilot, it is easier and cheaper for a company to sell a Light-Sport airplane. (For years, people have been building "kit" airplanes just so they will fall under the looser "homebuilt" rules. Now, there will be no need to build a plane unless you actually want to do so.) Several airplane companies have promised to produce Light-Sport planes that will cost no more than a luxury car."
The FAA tried something like this years ago with the Recreational Pilot Certificate - however, the requirements were almost the same as the full private (still need a full class 3 medical, nearly as many hours needed to qualify), and the rec. license was 'crippled' in features compared to the full private. It was hardly surprising that almost no one bothered with it.
On the second attempt, they seem to have got it right. The class of plane the Sport Pilot license addresses are non-complex, easily maintained and things happen slowly enough that even very green pilots shouldn't have a hard time handling them. Over-regulation has been killing general aviation for years so let's hope this gives the recreational end of it a good boost.
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Being a private pilot myself, I can see why one wants to reduce costs. It does take an awful lot of both money and time to get a PPL. However, never forget that flying can be very unforgiving if you do something you shouldn't. I just hope that what little requirements are left, are rigid enough to not cause danger to others. _ /Bjorn.
This is good news for people like me who used to fly but had to give up our licenses due to overly restrictive Third Class Medical requirements.
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I know there will be lot's of critics here, all spouting off about 9/11, but that's nonsense. Flying a small aircraft into a target does not cause similar damage. That was proven shortly after 9/11 when a teenager in Florida killed himself after trying to duplicate the events of 9/11, and it was a bigger plane than what is permitted by this new class of license.
As for using it to carry a bomb, another criticism frequently heard, this also is of no merit. The original World Trade Center attack was done with explosives in a van, similar to the Oklahoma City event. You can bring an explosive in a briefcase as well, possibly even a small nuclear device. You don't need an aircraft for that.
Finally, passing legislation allowing the FAA to oversee ultralights is a good thing. Previously, it was self regulated, with almost nothing in the FAR about them. This now allows the agency to oversee safety where there was previously no one there to do so. This may be bad, as well as good, because the FAA is not known for its speed when it comes to certification, but will help the general aviation industry and sport pilots in the long run.
As for pilot training for terrorists, I don't see anyone chasing after Microsoft for Flight Simulator
Pilots (which I assume you are) need to take their superiority complex down a notch. Really, you're no better than anyone else, on the ground or the sky.
I beg to differ. I would argue that anyone who can pass his private pilot training is statistically less likely to kill himself and others while piloting an airplane. In that sense, pilots are "better". If you're talking about "better" in some other context, go play that game with someone else since you're obviously trolling.
And getting your license may not be "really that difficult", but it's also not really that affordable either.
I'm all for making it more affordable. Making it substantially less safe is not the right solution to that problem.
Why are you letting these clowns ruin our country?