I seem to recall that the majority, perhaps 4000? were the previous ultralight pilots that qualified to receive a Light Sport Certificate after 2004.
Last edited by Bill Berson; 12-26-2017 at 11:15 PM.
Don't forget, the number of Sport Pilot certificate holders is a small fraction of the total number of people flying with SP privileges. I personally know a fair number of people flying LSA with SP privileges, and a grand total of one working toward an actual Sport Pilot cert. And he had to buy into an LSA to be able to finish his training.
Measure twice, cut once...
scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.
Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.
This chart shows Sport Pilots growing about 400 per year. Private Pilots are declining about 6000 per year.
https://www.faa.gov/data_research/av...men-stats.xlsx
There aren’t any restrictions on carrying passengers cross country with the sport pilot certificate. There is with the recreational pilot certificate.
Correct, other than the PP being able to carry more than one passenger if his medical situation and aircraft allow it. I believe, however, that his point was that there is benefit to the added training received for the Private Pilot ticket. Night takeoffs and landings, flight by reference to instruments, unusual attitude recovery, etc. I don't know if the last two are required for Sport Pilot training or not, but it would be very difficult to argue against them being a good idea - especially if carrying a passenger.
Measure twice, cut once...
scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.
Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.
The problem is finding an suitable airplane to put on an rental fleet that meets the Light sport criteria yet is still affordable to rent. you can get an older 150 for $20,000 and rent it out for $70-$100 an hour depending on location, a c-172 or Cherokee for $40,000-$70,000, rent it out at around $120-$150 and hour or buy a CT LSA for what? $110,000 and rent it out for $200 an hour. about the only older plane that can reasonable be rented out as light sport is an ercoupe, good little airplane but a 200 pounder and instructor will be very tight and marginal on performance for about the same price as a C-150. the Taylor crafts, Champs, Chiefs and such have a little problem of having the little wheel in the back. Though nothing wrong with a tail wheel, they are a lot of fun, It is very hard to get insurance to put one on a rental fleet. Most I've seen rent out dual only, and are pricey.
as an owner you have the wide world of experimental airplanes like the RV-12, some of the fisherflying line, Rans, belite, and others, you can even go with the taylorcrafts, champs and such yes insurance will be more but not like trying to rent it out, may have to search for an instructor competent in tail wheel but we are out there.
I hope you achieve your goal of flight, and as Bernie Pietenpole's wife said about the cost of the plans, "there are much worse things to spend your money on"
Last edited by cdlwingnut; 12-30-2017 at 12:59 PM.
Cdlwingnut, you make some valid points. I will note that the hourly operating costs for an RV-12 (for example) are far lower than for a Cherokee or 172, but they're not cheap. I think you could rent one for the same hourly rate as the older planes and still do all right, but obviously most FBOs and flight school operators don't see it that way.
I've been saying for several years now that if you can't rent, and can't afford to own outright, you really need to find some like minded people and form an LLC, partnership or flying club to spread the cost around. The numbers get pretty reasonable pretty quickly. No, you can't buy an RV-12 for $20K. But three guys can for $20K each. Your hourly cost to fly is pretty low, especially compared to a Cherokee or a 172.
Measure twice, cut once...
scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.
Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.
I think the vast majority of RV-12 are E-LSA kits and not eligible for commercial rental or instruction.
This is the problem.
Only factory completed SLSA RV-12 are eligible for instruction and the cost is not affordable.
I searched, but didn't find a price for factory new SLSA RV-12 from Synergy Air at the website:http://www.flyrv12.com/
Last edited by Bill Berson; 12-30-2017 at 04:28 PM.