The Sporting Life

Maryland's Eastern Shore has just come off a several-day stretch of blustery, windy weather, and this Saturday has dawned beautifully clear. Time to fly.

The ramp at Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville, overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, is bustling. Some people are preflighting Cessna 172s and 182s, but down at the eastern end, student pilots are doing the walk-around of two-seat airplanes that look a little different. These are the Italian-made Tecnam P92 Echo and Eaglet (high-wing) and Sierra (low wing); and the Sky Arrow, a tandem high-wing. The people preflighting these light sport aircraft (LSA) are training to become sport pilots. (See "What is a Sport Pilot?")

The LSAs belong to Chesapeake Sport Pilot (CSP), one of a growing number of flight schools in the nation whose focus is sport pilot training. (Yes, they'll train you for the private if that's what you really want.) With a roster of 65 clients, a fleet of seven LSAs, and a staff of 15 instructors, CSP is the largest sport pilot training facility in the country, according to manager Helen Woods.

It's also an anomaly. Almost five years after the sport pilot rules were introduced, LSAs and sport pilot instruction aren't exactly prevalent in the training fleet. (For a look at other light sport flight schools, see "Meet Your Light Sport Trainer.") Yet, in spite of a down economy and fuel prices that have been on a roller coaster, business is good. So good that, when you read this, CSP will have replaced its trailer with a two-story building that will include a hangar and 2,400 square feet of space for classrooms and a pilot shop. CSP, which is also a Tecnam aircraft dealer, recently struck a deal to become the exclusive U.S. distributor of Tecnam parts.

Who flies LSAs? They do.

Tim Cochran is finishing up the flight lessons he started years ago.

Jason Levin, Tim Adelman, and Al Adelman launched Chesapeake Sport Pilot in 2007.

Anthony Davis visited numerous flight schools before landing at CSP.

Fresh from a lesson, six-foot, four-inch Tim Cochrane sets down his flight bag. In answer to the question he knows is coming, he volunteers, "I fit that airplane," gesturing to the diminutive Eaglet on the ramp. "I have to put it on me sometimes. Once you're in it, there's plenty of legroom. My head gets pretty close (to the cabin ceiling), especially with a headset, but (I) can sit back and relax. I really feel comfortable I'm not sore when I get out of the airplane." And yes, the Eaglet's useful load of about 600 pounds does permit Cochrane to take along a flight instructor and full fuel. Full fuel is 22 gallons--11 gallons per side.

Cochrane discovered CSP a few years ago when he and his wife came to an airshow at Bay Bridge Airport. He'd started learning to fly in college but had to stop when he ran out of money. He lives in Riva, closer to Lee Airport in Annapolis. But Lee is located inside the Washington, D.C, Metropolitan Area Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), and Cochrane would rather not deal with flying inside that airspace. At CSP, he says he found airplanes he could afford to fly, and instructors with "amazing experience." Things are done "by the book, and safety is a big deal. That was really important to me and my wife."

Some students, like Cochrane, find themselves at CSP's door almost by accident. For others, it was a deliberate path. Anthony Davis of Baltimore became interested in learning to fly three years ago. He estimates he spent about a year visiting area flight schools, traveling as far as North Carolina, to find the right fit. "What I found at these other schools (was) one day you have an instructor and the next day he's gone off to the airline." Davis anticipates he'll fly with CSP's Chuck Wilson until the day he gets his certificate. "He's got about 16,000 hours," Davis says of Wilson. "I wanted consistency in training and I found that here."

And that's how it's supposed to be, because that's what the owners of CSP set out to create when they launched the business in 2007 with one LSA (a Sky Arrow). "We've all been associated with other schools, renting and flying, and our focus was really on customer service," says Tim Adelman, who started the business with his father, Al, and family friend Jason Levin. "We found that the (light sport aircraft) facilitated a different kind of pilot and instructor--someone who was in it for the pure passion of aviation, and that's what we were in it for."

CSP's instructors set their own hours and choose the number of students they want. According to Adelman, this frees instructors to manage their time and exercise their professional judgment. It has also brought to the school "a lot of really successful instructors who had gotten out of aviation," he says.

The teachers

Tom McKnight originally came to Stevensville from nearby Ridgely simply to investigate these new light sport airplanes. After he got checked out in CSP's Tecnam Sierra, he says, Helen Woods "found out I was a CFI and she grabbed me." He was a catch: McKnight is an aerospace engineer and adjunct faculty member of Delaware State University's airway science department, and is retired from the U.S. Air Force where he was a lieutenant colonel. An airline transport pilot and instrument and multiengine CFI, he has given about 5,000 hours of instruction and now teaches about 20 hours per month for CSP.

McKnight says teaching in an LSA is no different than teaching in any other airplane. "Your approach to training is the same as with any airplane," he says. "They're very safe, reliable aircraft. I hadn't flown much behind a Rotax engine, so I was kind of skeptical at first. The more I flew, the more I said, 'These are safe airplanes, and I feel comfortable taking my friends or anyone else flying.'"

Neal Guernsey gets a weekend "kitchen pass" from his wife to come out to CSP and instruct one day a week. In his 9-to-5 life, Guernsey is vice president and chief information officer of Feld Entertainment in Tysons Corner, Virginia. A retired Naval aviator who flew the A-7E Corsair from the USS Kitty Hawk, Guernsey says, "I've flown everything from jets to commuter planes like the C-12 to regular light trainers: Cessnas, Pipers, Beechcraft. I like (the LSAs) because they're relatively easy to fly for a student. They're less intimidating. The instrument panels are more simplified, the view is great." Being in the Sky Arrow, he says, recreates the visibility sensation of being a fighter pilot. "You've got visibility in all directions."

Barry Weyburn confers with instructor Neal Guernsey.

Karen Heifert says learning to fly has been a wonderful experience.

CSP manager Helen Woods says the school's goal is to keep flying fun and affordable.

The sport pilot curriculum makes flying more approachable, he says. "It's not as intimidating. That's one of the things that hinders a lot of people. They hear about instrument (flight), night flight, it scares them. You don't have to do as much of that and (you) still get a pilot license."

Making flying "approachable" permeates CSP's training philosophy, its curriculum, and its customer service. CSP uses Rod Machado's Private Pilot Handbook for ground school, says Helen Woods, because Machado's text--plain-language theory peppered with jokes and cartoons--makes learning fun. The school hosts picnics and events designed to attract not only pilots but also their family members and others from the community.

The view makes up for the drive

After a health scare in 2008, Karen Helfert found herself thinking about learning to fly. "I've come through fine," she says of the massive blood clots she suffered. With that episode behind her, Helfert found CSP's $99 introductory flight offer through a Google search. When people question the safety of flying in small airplanes, Helfert counters that pilots have more control over the risk in flying than they do driving down U.S. Route 50, the busy beach-bound highway that is the main route to Bay Bridge Airport. She dismisses the drive, saying she would pay $65 to $85 more per hour if she learned to fly closer to her home in White Flint.

A health care professional by trade and an artist by choice, Helfert says flying appeals to her creative side. "You're up there at 2,500 feet and watching the sun coming down over the (Chesapeake) Bay; the visual picture is just fantastic." She's also noticed that since she started lessons, her fear of heights has diminished--she can drive over the 4.5-mile, 186-foot-tall span of the Bay Bridge without white knuckles.

Barry Weyburn drives an hour to the flight school from her home in Rock Hall, Maryland. Ironically, if she could jump in an airplane and fly the route directly, it would take about 10 minutes. She doesn't care.

"I'm always so excited to come and always in such a good mood when I leave," says Weyburn. "If it wasn't for my work getting in the way, I'd be flying all the time." Weyburn has about 50 hours in the Sky Arrow but recently transitioned to the Tecnam Sierra, which will be a more comfortable airplane to take her husband when she has her certificate.

For Whitney Fisler, flying an LSA evokes happy memories of flying gliders and ultralights with her father in California. An attorney who works and lives in Washington, D.C., Fisler says her sport pilot training is "well worth the drive." She flies on both Saturdays and Sundays, and when driving home she will frequently call her family to discuss her lessons. Fisler soloed in November 2008 and has flown all of the airplanes in CSP's fleet. She mainly sticks with the Eaglet, which she adores--even down to the unusual preflight step of having to "burp" the Rotax engine so that she can get an accurate reading of its oil level. "I just enjoy flying on a regular basis. It makes me genuinely happy in a way that (I) can't get from anything else."

Jill W. Tallman is associate editor of AOPA Flight Training and AOPA Pilot magazines. An instrument-rated private pilot, she has approximately 500 hours.

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What is a sport pilot?

The FAA introduced rules in July 2004 that created new segments of the general aviation industry: sport pilots, light sport aircraft, and light sport aircraft repair.

Sport pilots can obtain a certificate with as few as 20 hours of flight training, and are not required to obtain a medical certificate (although they must self-certify their medical condition with a driver's license). They can only operate light sport aircraft or two-place production aircraft (such as Piper Cubs, Luscombes, and Aeroncas) that meet the light sport requirements. With additional training and the acquisition of a medical certificate, sport pilots can become private pilots.

More than 100 companies around the country offer light sport training, LSA rentals, or maintenance services, according to ByDanJohnson.com.

For a more thorough explanation of the rules and requirements, see AOPA's Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft page.

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Tecnam

Flight Design CT

Evektor Sportstart

Remos G3

Sky Arrow

Meet your light sport trainer

What you'll need to know to succeed

by Alton K. Marsh

How does a light sport aircraft (LSA) differ from a heavier general aviation trainer, and which one might you end up flying if you decide to become a light sport pilot? (You can also earn a private certificate in a light sport aircraft.) Here's what some LSA operators have to say.

U.S. Flight Academy

The U.S. Flight Academy is based at Denton Municipal Airport in Texas, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There are two German-built Remos G3 aircraft on the flight line serving 15 sport pilot students, but two Tecnam Eaglets are on order. "The Remos hauls more (weight). But the Eaglet is made of aluminum and is spin rated, giving us more training options. It can also be used for IFR training," said the school's director of aircraft sales, Justin Shelley. As to the differences between an LSA and a heavier certified aircraft, Shelley had these comments. "It is of course lighter and the controls are more sensitive. Pilots transitioning from a heavier aircraft tend to overcontrol, or flare too high.

"Other differences include the fact that some of the LSAs have the brakes on the center console."
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Mid Island Air Service

Mike Mancuso is a strong believer in light sport aircraft. He is incorporating them into his Mid Island Air Service flight school at Brookhaven Airport in Shirley, New York. Mancuso supports the Tecnam Eaglet so strongly that he is considering it to replace his Cessna 152s. "Anyone walking through the door who wants to learn to fly will start in the Eaglet," he said.

"We started with a Flight Design CT and an Evektor SportStar. We ultimately decided that the CT, although my favorite, was a bit racy for flight training. We've been using the Evektor, and while everyone loves the airplane, it has been frustrating trying to keep it operating as various maintenance issues have popped up. We have been training for the last year in a Tecnam Sierra, which has been just a dream to teach in as well as to work with. It is easy to land, quick, and comfortable.

"We have also been using a Tecnam Eaglet which has the potential to replace our 152s as our primary trainer.

"The differences in LSA trainers (compared to his Cessna 152s and 172s) are subtle but substantial. The first obvious difference is the Rotax engine. If you've never flown a Lycoming or Continental, you would never know the difference. If you are transitioning, it may take some time to get used to the geared engine and somewhat different limitations."

Light Sport Airplanes West

Light Sport Airplanes West is both a dealer and a flight school. It has Tecnam and Remos aircraft on the line for training, but lately it has focused more on the Remos.

The school attracts mostly older pilots who fear losing their medical. Its oldest renter is 89. Light sport pilots may fly using a valid driver's license as long as their most recent FAA medical application wasn't denied. Transitioning pilots have to learn they can't carry as much weight in a LSA as they did in their heavier aircraft, the school's Sue Parker said. One customer wanted to carry a 75-pound dog, but had to realize that the aircraft could only carry 40 to 50 pounds of baggage.

For some customers the transition to flying with a stick instead of a yoke is "an adjustment," Parker said. Those new to flying have no transition to make; for them, a stick is "normal," as is the lighter feel of the aircraft compared to a heavier aircraft.

E-mail the author at [email protected].