As we move toward MOSAIC as a new reality in the Light Sport/Sport Pilot world, it’s worth knowing how we got here. MOSAIC does, after all, leverage right off of the success of the LSA category. In this casual conversation, I chat with Dan Johnson about the early days of LSA and get some questions answered on how some decisions came to be made.
It is even farther for you guys in Florida, but Right Rudder Aviation in Inverness has the aircraft and the management that we are looking for. They have a J3 Cub if you want tail wheel training. They also have a Pipistrel Alpha registered as a Light Sport for a Sport Pilot rating, and they have another Alpha registered as a glider if you want a Private Pilot Glider rating.
It is all a fairy tale as far as I can tell. I have been trying for 20 years to find a flight school that will train me for a Sport Pilot rating.
In 2020, I completed a Private Pilot Glider rating with a self launch endorsement. However, I still cannot fly anything other than a sailplane because no one (except Right Rudder in Florida) has a motor glider for rent. There are perhaps two dozen flight schools within driving distance of my home in Southern California, and not one of them has a Light Sport Airplane in their fleet.
I am at that age now when I should be selling an airplane if I had one, because I might be too old to fly. Instead, I am thinking about spending my kids inheritance on an airplane so that I can fly once or twice before I die.
The whole LSA/ Sport pilot idea has been a cruel hoax.
I regret you are having so much trouble. You say you cannot find a flight school in Southern California yet Sling Pilot Academy is in Torrence and uses a growing fleet of LSA. I would recommend you inquire at local EAA chapters where you will find experts that understand less traditional training. If you don’t know where to find an EAA chapter, use this link.
It is true, though, that many flight schools with legacy aircraft in their fleet and insufficient knowledge of Sport Pilot will often direct people to what they have and what they know versus getting into the SP/LSA category more fully. Experts don’t like to show what they don’t know.
Sling Academy does not offer training for a Sport Pilot rating.
Hello Max,
Although I did get training for Sport Pilot at Foothill Flying Club way back in 2013 (when they still had the Remos G3), I continued flying at the Sling Flying Club in 2014. I recall several people getting sport pilot certificates over those years. When Sling Pilot Academy took over in 2019, there were a lot more students focused on commercial piloting. However, I don’t believe the Sport Pilot Certificate was ever removed from the list of sport pilot ratings that are offered. It shows up on their web site:
https://www.slingpilotacademy.com/individual-courses/
Not sure if they’ve made any very recent changes, but I think it would be strange to stop offering the Sport Pilot rating considering they have 20+ Sling 2 LSA airplanes available for training. Also, I’ve been renting Sling 2 airplanes from Sling Pilot Academy since 2019 and flying them as a sport pilot.
Max, same here in central Florida. I live in Vero Beach. I have to drive 1:45 to Demand or 1:35 to Sebring to fly LSA. No one in this area has a LSA for rent or to train in. Merritt Island had a sport cruiser for rent but their insurance company requires pilots to either have a basicmed or class 3 to rent. No medical, no rent.
It doesn’t improve your drive times any but wanted to mention that Rexair Flight Training in Naples (APF) has RV-12s for training. That wasn’t the case a year or two ago.
Unfortunately it is tough. I took me 1.5 hours to get to my primary airport when I was training for my Sport cert. It is what it is.