Ask a Flight Instructor

Posts Tagged ‘Private Pilot’

From Mark, we have another question about Sport Pilot:

Does a current Private Pilot have to get a Sport Pilot rating as part of the requirements of being a CFI-SP Sport Pilot flight instructor?

Mark, the FAA has a table (pdf; it’s hard to track down!) that lists all the requirements for various SP certificates. CFI – Sport Pilot lines that are relevant to your question are here:

Training requirements:

• 150 Hours – Total
• Additional flight training requirements for each category and class.
• Sport Pilot certificate or higher
• Category and class privileges or rating

Testing requirements:

• CFI Recommendation - Knowledge test – Practical Test

So, you have to have at least 150 hours total time, and hold at least a sport pilot certificate with the appropriate category & class for the type of aircraft you will be teaching in. Aside from that, you’ll need to get a CFI endorsement and pass the knowledge & practical tests.

Today’s question comes from Daniel who asks:

I have a private pilot certificate with a glider rating only. I am training for an airplane single-engine rating.

The FARs seem to describe the requirements for student pilots to solo, and the requirements for additional ratings to be issued, but I can’t find anything about solo requirements for rated pilots seeking additional ratings.

Since I am already a rated pilot, do I need to get a student pilot certificate in order to solo? (I have a valid medical, but it is more than two years old so it is not valid on its own as a student certificate.) It seems absurd to me to have to get a new student certificate, but I cannot find anything in the FARs to tell me otherwise.

Well Daniel, I have some good news, You will not need to get another student pilot certificate but you will need a new medical to solo since yours is expired.  To obtain a medical you’ll have to visit a AME or Aviation Medical Examiner.  The FAA has some search tools to find a local AME.  You will need at least a third class medical to solo. It will look like this.

Once you have obtained any FAA Private Pilot certificate you can use that to train for other pilot categories, class and ratings.  This time however, instead of receiving endorsements to solo on your student pilot certificate, you’ll receive the endorsements and sign-offs in your pilot logbook.

If you are looking for the official FAA reference for this, the best place to look is the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards. You want to look at page “1-V” for the Additional Rating Task Table that will show you which maneuvers and tasks you will be required to complete on your checkride.  for an additional category rating on your current private pilot’s license.  Look for the column that is labeled “glider”.  I’ve highlighted it in the table below:

After you pass the airplane private pilot checkride, you’ll turn in your private pilot glider certificate and receive a new 120 day temporary airmen certificate that will specify that you now have private pilot privileges for glider and for airplane single-engine land.

Good luck with your training and be sure to…Fly Safe!

Like most parents at this time of year, I’m making my daily trek to Wal-mart to buy school supplies for my kids. Even if you don’t have kids, I’m sure you can remember being sent home with a list of needed school supplies that ranged from protractors to rulers. Good times.

If you are just starting your flight or ground pilot training, you may find yourself overwhelmed by all the different supplies and accessories that are available for the beginning pilot. One look at a Sporty’s catalog or website will have you convinced that there are a lot of things you need to buy in order to become a pilot. When you get a little bit of experience under your belt, you’ll be more convinced that companies make a lot of money selling pilot supplies that are absolutely not necessary. So in my role as your online ground instructor, I’ve prepared a “Flight School Supply List.” Only the things you need and nothing you don’t. So here we go. Don’t show up to class without them:

(the items link to mypilotstore.com an affiliate of Askacfi.com)

• Good sunglasses. You can get an artifical heart, lungs, hip and just about everything else except your eyes (for now anyway). Take good care of the ones you have by investing in a good pair of sunglasses, just don’t lose them. My personal recommendation? Serengeti Salto S-Flex. Great lenses and comfortable with even the stiffest headset.
• Headset. If you are just starting out, don’t buy a headset until you solo. Until then, borrow a pair from your flight school or instructor. Once you’re ready to make that investment, don’t waste your money buying anything but the best set available. There are only two headsets I recommend, David Clark or Bose. This is not an advertisement but the advice of someone who has tried just about every pair of headset out there and has learned that Bose X is by far the quietest and most comfortable headsets I have ever worn. The runner-up and value award going to David Clark H10-13.4 The number 13.4 represents how many ounces they weigh. You can’t break em either, I’ve tried.
• Basic Logbook. Don’t get anything too fancy. Just a good basic logbook. All flight schools will have one for sale.
• Books. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of books you can purchase. Here are the 7 books you’ll need to purchase (in order of importance):
  • 2009 FAR/AIM Book
  • Private Pilot Practical Test Standards
  • Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
  • Private Pilot Oral Exam Guide
  • Aviation Weather Services
  • Aviation Weather
  • Jeppesen Private Pilot Manual or the one used by your ground school
• Basic Aluminum E6B Flight Computer just get a plain old E6B. Learn the basics before purchasing an electronic flight computer.
• Simple Fixed Plotter (for cross country flight planning). As simple as possible.
• Current VFR Sectional for your area if you fly in a really busy area, the appropriate terminal chart would also be recommended.
• Flashlight. Don’t get the biggest, heaviest, or most expensive flashlight (you’ll lose it) just one that is small and bright enough to comfortably take with you in your flight bag. Smith and Wesson makes a nice small bright 6 LED Flashlight that is pretty good.
• Good flight bag. There are a myriad of options when it comes to flight bags. Get one that isn’t so big you’ll never use after training but one that can at least hold a toothbrush, toothpaste and a pair of skivvies for your cross-country or short overnight. The Sky High Gear Freedom VII Flight Bag is pretty well recommended.

I think that just about covers it. You’ll be tempted to add more stuff to your shopping cart, but don’t. You’ll only rack up more costs to your flight training which is getting too expensive as it is. I wish I had this list when I was going through flight school. I was the favorite customer of my local pilot store and they saw me coming from a mile away. My shelves and flight bags are still packed with all kind of useless junk like fancy kneeboards and holding computers. Just stick to the basics and as your flying expands you can slowly add to the list (but you won’t need to add much).

Feel free to comment if you think I forgot something or have a recommendation of your own.

Fly Safe.