For Solo Flight:
You can fly solo with a ‘Student Pilot Certificate’ as soon as your instructor thinks you are ready and endorses your ‘Student Pilot Certificate’ for solo flight. Your instructor will also put several endorsements in your log book showing the training you have completed prior to solo flight.
To carry passengers as a Sport Pilot:
To carry a passenger you need at least a Sport Pilot certificate for the category and class of aircraft you will fly. To get your Sport Pilot license, you take a Practical Test, also known as a check ride. The test consists of an oral portion and a flying portion. To get ready for your checkride you must:
Pass an FAA Knowledge Test:
This is a computerized test given at small airports all over the country. Find test locations here: https://faa.psiexams.com/faa/login
It is good to get this test out of the way before starting your flight training. Your test results are valid for 24 months from when you take the test, so there is no down side to taking this test ahead of time.
You can prepare for it with a test prep app or a book from Gleim that costs about $20. https://www.gleimaviation.com/shop/spkt/
Make sure you take the right test. For your Sport Pilot certificate, take test code SPW, Sport Pilot Weight Shift Control. For your Private Pilot certificate, take test code PWSC, Private Weight Shift Control.
Get flying experience with a CFI (certificated flight instructor):
Complete 15 hours of flight time with an instructor including 2 hours of cross country training
Complete 5 hours of solo flight time
Get the required endorsements from your flight instructor
Fill out an online application FAA Form 8710-11 at iacra.faa.gov
Have your instructor electronically sign your application
Your Sport Pilot certificate lets you carry one passenger in a light sport aircraft, sunrise to sunset, up to 10,000 feet. You must stay out of Class B, C and D airspace unless you take additional training and get an endorsement for those airspaces. If you want to fly above 10,000 feet or at night, you need your Private Pilot certificate.
Private Pilot requirements:
Pass FAA written test for Private Pilot. For your Private Pilot certificate, take test code PWSC, Private Weight Shift Control. Test locations can be found here: http://candidate.catstest.com/sitesearch.php
20 hours of flight time with an instructor which includes 3 hours of cross country flight training and three takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating control tower
–If you want night privileges, 3 hours of night flight are required
10 hours solo flight, 5 of which must be solo cross country, including one solo cross country over 100 nautical miles with landings at a minimum of 3 points, and a minimum of 50nm straight line distance between two of those points. 61.107 (b)(10)
For example, KDTS to KJKA (63nm), JKA to PNS (27nm), PNS to DTS (37nm) exceeds the requirement at 127nm. A shorter route is K54J to KMAI (50nm), KMAI to K1J0 (22nm), K1J0 to K54J (29nm) for a total of 102nm.
I am already a pilot and current. Is training all I would need?
As a certificated pilot, to fly a different category and class of aircraft you need training from one instructor to fly solo, then a proficiency check from a second instructor so you can carry passengers.
I’d like to know the price of the explorer 103. I live in nj in the lake areas and this would be great. I already fly kart powered paragliders and would love this
Approx $26k. We emailed you the current price sheets.
can a non American citizens,from Europe come to you for trike training in amphil model cygnet two seater.
Yes, just submit an application through https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov/. It does not take long to get approved.
Im interested only in 1 seat or 2 seat Trikes like the cygnet or the 103. What should I do? No previous experience. A lot of comments here look old???Is this all current?
Hi John
Yes, this is current. We have been producing these trikes and teaching flying for a long time. FAA regulations typically don’t change very quickly so this information about FAA requirements stays current by default.
What you should do is email or call us so we can discuss the details of your wants and needs regarding flying.
Michael Percy
mike@AirtimeAircraft.com
Is the “Sport Pilot Certificate” honored internationally,….and is it legal to fly other countries and islands? Second, Can I pick up my 2 seater in Europe (Poland). If not where in Europe could I pick it up? Last,…are there any health restrictions that are imposed such as a regular pilots license?
Hi Dale
Many countries honor the US Sport Pilot certificate but it is not automatic. It is up to each country to decide for themselves. Private, Commercial, and ATP, all the licenses that have been around a long time, have been internationally standardized back in the 1940s by the International Civil Aviation Organization in the document ‘Convention on International Civil Aviation’. As ultralights and Light Sport Aircraft developed more recently, countries have made their own rules which are not necessarily standardized like the old ones are. However, FAA Pilot Certificates are well regarded and will count for something, even at the Sport Pilot level, in most countries.
In the US, a huge benefit of the Sport Pilot regulation is the ability to fly without a separate medical certificate. Your driver license is sufficient. If the state you live in lets you drive, then you may fly a light sport aircraft subject to the same restrictions that are on your driver license.
But if you can pass the test for a Medical Certificate, we can train and test you for Private Pilot Weight Shift Control. Then your pilot certificate will be honored internationally per the ICAO convention.