Quote Originally Posted by 1600vw View Post
Sport pilot comes in a few different flavors. Meaning you could go all out and get the complete sport pilot certificate or you could " piece mill " it. What do I mean by this. Sport pilot certificates can be given to those who only wish to fly single seat airplane. Who will never transition through Controlled " think ATC" airspace. Who only want to fly like a ultralight but fly something N Numbered. They only need a basic SP certificate. To fly anything farther or more one must get endorsements.

But if you are getting a SP certificate and plan on acting like a PP. Then yes this is not enough time to teach such things. Take it in small bites and it can be done in a couple weeks. But we have those who believe a SP certificate is a certificate to commute the aviation system we have today. I do not see it this way. Its a way for those who fly, or want to fly, on the cheap " ultralight looking things" to do it legally. They go no where but to get into the air for an hour in the morning or evening. But if you want to fly more " GA " style then you do need more training. IMHO

I said from day one, those who go after the SP certificate should take it in bites or portions. Take it in little sections and move up as you go. It keeps the Pilot "student" studying and at the airfield or school longer. Keeps CFI's busy. Its a win for all of aviation if handled this way. IMHO. To force feed one a complete SP certificate with all the bells and whistles that lets you commute the entire aviation system with all the endorsements to do so. I believe will take longer then two weeks and it should. This training should be an on going thing. Never stop learning or training. Win win for all involved in aviation. IMHO

But lets say a person wants to be a Black belt. There is no short cut or piece mill. The training is what it is. But SP is not like this. It can be taken in small bites. Unlike most things in life, say learning to drive a semi truck or flying a Jet full of people. SP can be broken down into bites. Take it one bite at a time and the training will fly by. Excuse the pun.
This isn't quite on the money.

All Sport Pilot Certificates allow for a passenger. All Sport Pilots are restricted to daytime VFR and to aircraft that meet LSA criteria.

The endorsements beyond that are Controlled Airspace, Seaplane, and Conventional Gear.

The "Sets" of aircraft that initially came with the Sport Pilot license are gone, as they were completely unwieldy and impossible to enforce. It made no sense to have an endorsement for a Cub but not a FlightDesign CTLS.

That said, as a Sport Pilot I have done it "in chunks," getting my SPL and then a tail wheel endorsement. I also did spin training and some light aerobatic training. This isn't too far from what a PPL holder might do.

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A PPL can be earned for single seat aircraft only as well, but I don't know anyone who has gone such a route or a CFI that is willing to instruct from the ground through all phases of training.