Flight Training - August 2011 - 30

THE SLEEPER

a growing family. He is a captain of a 630foot bulk freighter on the Great Lakes. He is a sport pilot by choice. “Cost was a huge factor,” says Menough about his decision to choose the sport pilot certificate over other options. The lower time commitment necessary to complete the sport pilot certificate was a consideration, too. During the off season, Menough is a stay-at-home dad with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old seeking his attention throughout the day. That presented some issues when Menough made an attempt to settle down to do his ground-school work. “There wasn’t one minute when I didn’t have a toddler pulling on my leg.” Like the newer Light Sport aircraft, Menough made use of technology to improve his situation. He studied using Gleim’s online ground-school resources— using his iPhone to log in and access the material. His studying was sporadic, but frequent. “Anytime I had a spare minute, I did it strictly online.” Menough did his actual training in an A-22 Valor with Joe Crocker, an instructor at FlightLine Aviation in Sebring, Florida. The exceptional visibility the Valor offers shook Menough initially, as did the size of the aircraft, but he grew to enjoy the airplane and adapted to his training well. “I was really nervous,” says Menough of his initial training flights. “I’d never been in a plane that small before.” He overcame the nervousness, which is not at all unusual when beginning flight training, but Menough found out that his day job left him with a few bad habits that he would have to overcome if he was going to become a pilot. One was his use of the rudder. Whenever Menough was just slightly off course, he would tend to revert to his training aboard ship and just bump in a bit of rudder. Breaking that bad habit and using coordinated inputs of both the rudder and ailerons took some getting used to, but he did it and was able to complete his training and earn his sport pilot certificate in an impressive 20.7 hours, at a cost of approximately $3,000. The FAA minimum training time required for a sport pilot certificate is 20 hours.
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Tecnam: From Italy with love
Fly a Tecnam and you'll be singing "That's Amore" all day. Although Tecnam isn't the best seller in the United States., to say it owns the market in variety is like saying Italians love pasta. Six different Tecnams are now being imported to this country; all but one is an LSA. Pictured here is the P2004 Bravo, but in the United States, the P2008 is the best seller. FUN FACT: A division of Tecnam makes fuselage panels for Boeing and the tailplane for the ATR regional airliners.

MODEL: Tecnam P2004 Bravo WHERE IT'S MADE: Italy CONSTRUCTION: Composite and metal ENGINE: Rotax 912 ULS, 100 horsepower CABIN WIDTH: 48 inches AIRFRAME PARACHUTE: No

QUIRKS/ Little-known facts about aviation’s newest certificate
On its face, sport pilot is readily understood and easily communicated: It’s a faster, hopefully cheaper way to indulge your aviation passion. Sport pilots require fewer training hours and are limited to aircraft that fall under the Light Sport aircraft rules. Certain aspects of the rules, however, continue to confuse and astound the general pilot population. Here are a few examples: Medical or no medical? Sport pilots can self-certify with a valid driver’s license so long as an application for an FAA medical certificate has never been denied, revoked, suspended, or withdrawn. If self-certifying, any limitations on a driver’s license (use of corrective lenses, for example) carry through to piloting privileges. Limited to LSAs? A sport pilot can only act as pilot in command of an aircraft that meets the light sport aircraft requirements. But, nothing in the rules prohibits a student from receiving dual instruction from a CFI in a non-LSA aircraft. Theoretically, a student could receive dual training in a Cessna 150 (which does not meet the requirements for light sport aircraft), so long as he soloed and took the checkride in a Cessna 162 Skycatcher (which does). CFI versus CFI-SP: CFIs don’t need any additional rating, endorsement, or proficiency to train sport pilot candidates within the category and class listed on their certificate. Just as a private pilot can exercise the privileges of a sport pilot, a CFI can operate as a sport pilot instructor, which means he, too, can self-certify with a valid driver’s license. The same stipulation about prior medical certification applies. If operating as a CFI-SP, the instructor must adhere to the privileges and limitations spelled out in FAR 61.429. —Jill W. Tallman

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Flight Training - August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - August 2011