Training and Safety

Sport pilot instruction rules need clarification

By Alton K. Marsh

Can your sport pilot training time, when given by a sport pilot instructor, be applied toward the requirements for a private certificate? If you are looking in current regulations, the answer isn’t clear. Three aviation organizations have sought the FAA’s written clarification of the rules.

AOPA, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association jointly signed a letter asking that the FAA clarify that training received from a sport pilot instructor can be applied to the hours required for a private pilot certificate. The letter was sent to John Allen, director of the FAA’s Flight Standards Service in Washington, D.C.

“The flight training regulation as currently written for the sport pilot certificate has created confusion among the pilot community regarding the applicability of training time received from a sport pilot instructor while pursuing a sport pilot certificate,” the letter states.

“To further the growth of sport pilot, our associations believe it is imperative that prospective private pilots be able to apply training they have received for a sport pilot certificate toward the requirements to obtain a private pilot certificate,” the letter adds.

June 10, 2009