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Barry asked:
> The question is: If you already hold
a commercial or a private
> pilot certificate, are you required
to also obtain a sport pilot
> certificate? I have been assuming
that if you held a "higher"
> certificate that exercising your
flight priviledge as a sport
> pilot (in a sport plane) does not
mean that you have to have
> a new certificate... but when the
FAA is involved,
> assumptions may not always stand up.
Barry,
That’s a good question
and there’s probably a good subset of lurkers here that’ll be interested in the
discussion so I’ll also post it on the list.
When you have a “higher”
level license, it includes all lower license privileges. An ATP qualified to fly an airliner may
also fly a C-172 and a Sport Plane.
For example, as a private
pilot with a 3rd class medical, I could fly ANY plane that meets my
qualifications (single engine land, for example, with no extra ratings for
complex or instrument or multi-engine, glider, etc.). I can also fly “lower” class planes like Sport planes.
In recognition of my “higher”
qualifications and training, the FAA wrote into the Sport Pilot Rule some extra
privileges for “higher” licensed pilots.
For example, those with only a Sport Pilot license must have an aircraft “set” endorsement
from CFIs. As a Private Pilot, I
may fly any Light Sport Aircraft (or Experimental LSA) without any such
endorsement (as long as it’s within my ratings).
http://afs600.faa.gov/documents/PDF/LSA-Sets%20of%20Aircraft.pdf
That’s the kick-the-tire,
light-the-fire privilege that Private Pilots have always enjoyed for GA
aircraft (still subject to your own ratings, like SEL). I think it’s dumb to just jump in a
plane and fly it without a checkout/familiarization flight, if you can possibly
get one. But Private Pilot rating
is good enough that most of the time, we survive such foolishness – like I did
with my Coupe.
http://ercoupe.org/Fly-in%20Reports/Gas-line-ice.htm
If you fly a lower class
aircraft with your higher class license, all T crossed and i dotted, you still
have all your higher privileges.
Like for example, as a
private pilot with a 3rd class medical, I could fly a properly
equipped SLSA or ELSA kit-built plane at night. But a Sport Pilot could not. If I were instrument rated, I could fly that SLSA or ELSA
kit-built on instruments. But a Sport Pilot could not.
(Note: grandfathered “fat ultralights” and
ultralight trainers being converted to be ELSA have tighter limits on some
things than do SLSA or ELSA kit-build.)
However, if I let my
higher privileges lapse – like letting my medical expire – then I may only
exercise the privileges of the pilot level to which I’m fully qualified. As a Private Pilot exercising Sport
Pilot privileges (with an expired medical) I may only fly day VFR and have
tighter limits on visibility than I would flying the same ELSA with a 3rd
class medical.
It’s like an airline
pilot who lets his/her 1st class medical go past the 1st class
expiration. For the next period of
time, they may still exercise commercial privileges. When the medical goes past the limit for 2nd class,
it’s still valid as a 3rd class till it would have expired had it
originally been a 3rd class.
If the ATP lets it expire entirely, then we’ve got a new Sport Pilot who
is limited to most of the Sport Pilot limits.
That ATP who could, with
a valid medical, be able to fly 550 passengers may only take a single passenger
if flying with an expired medical.
Exceptions for “higher”
pilots exercising privileges of Sport are aircraft-set signoff (as long as the
plane is within the pilot’s ratings) and the Sport Pilot sign-off for higher
class airspace or flying a plane that’s faster than 87 kts. (There may be more
exceptions but I can’t remember them off-hand.)
A negative exception is
that a commercial pilot may NOT do any commercial flying in any Light Sport
Aircraft except flight instruction.
Does this cover all your
questions or did I hopelessly confuse you?
Ed
Burkhead
http://edburkhead.com
ed -at- edburkheadQQQ.com
(change -at- and remove the QQQ)
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 1:00
PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Certificate question re:
[COUPERS-FLYIN] more sport pilot stuff
Hi Ed... I wanted to ask you a question
"off the list" as the seeming "guru" and holder of such
knowledge. I just joined recently so I didn't want to bore anyone in the event
the subject has been addressed earlier. If you want to publish the question and
the answer, I'll leave it up to you.
The question is: If you already hold a commercial or a private pilot
certificate, are you required to also obtain a sport pilot certificate? I have
been assuming that if you held a "higher" certificate that exercising
your flight priviledge as a sport pilot (in a sport plane) does not mean that
you have to have a new certificate... but when the FAA is involved, assumptions
may not always stand up.
Thanks,
Barry
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