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Sport pilot training: Our neighbors to the South take the plunge.
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Photo: Ahunt
It takes a good deal of courage to open a new business in a new field with the economic troubles of late, but a young group of CFI's in Florida have taken the challenge. The group, fresh out of college, utilized a business plan from a college competition and opened the region's first Sport Pilot Flight School.
"Pilots take no special joy in walking. Pilots like flying." - Neil Armstrong
It's the first of it's kind because it focuses solely on the newer Sport Pilot certificate. The Sport Pilot rating was created in 2004 with the intent to make it easier to enter the world of aviation. The training has fewer requirements, but comes with several limitations. A Sport Pilot can only operate smaller planes, two seats, and one with relatively little power and range.
"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen it's shadow from the sky" - Amelia Earhart
With this goal in mind, the new company has begun training in a Remos G3 600. Students can get their training in as little as two weeks if they have the time and the cost is a fraction of a Private Pilot certificate. The Florida school offers an all enclusive package for $2,995. That includes the bare minimums of what's required to gain the license, so students should expect a little more as people learn at different paces.
This all supports a growing trend in the flight training community. The new idea surfacing is that the Sport Pilot certificate should be a stepping stone to higher certificates. With the ever growing airspace system and more stringent regulations, it's now believed that going right for the Private Pilot certificate may be too dificult, too much to learn. Graduating from a lesser ticket such as Sport Pilot to the next step ,Private Pilot, is believed to be more effective and easier on the student.
Along with new students eager to enter the field, the school reports seeing a good number of older pilots. The veterans of the sky come to the school to transition to the sport pilot world before their health takes them out of the game. A sport pilot doesn't need a medical certificate like other licenses and a pilot can transition easily if they've not failed a medical exam.
The school seems to be doing well, reporting several sales of their all-inclusive packages and has intentions to expand in the near future. Whatever the future holds, I'm sure these bright young pilots will do very well.
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