LSA is cool

[Chairboy]

I've talked my mom into taking a discovery flight.  She's the type that would have never been up to committing to the full PPL experience, but Sport Pilot really intrigues her.

No FAA medical to stress about, half the minimum hours, the cost is quite a bit lower as well.  

She told me about how she saw three small planes, possibly cubs (there are a gaggle of them living up there in Seattle) she saw fly over the other day, doing a river run.

I think Sport Pilot is going to be a bigger thing than most people think, and that LSA will fill our skies.  It's going to revitalize GA.

Thoughts?

[Hangtime]

Wots LSA? (thought this was a gun oil thread ) Some kinda light aircraft VFR restricted license?

[Chairboy]

Yep.  No FAA medical, use your drivers license instead.  Daytime only, and only in planes that are Light Sport approved (eg, certain stall speed and gross weight limitations).

Piper Cub, early Ercoupes, Aeronca Champs, lots of planes qualify, and there's a whole new generation of LSA planes coming out that cost peanuts compared to the standard new planes being sold today.  $250,000+ for a freakin Cessna 172?  C'mon.

http://www.sportpilot.org/becoming/new_pilot.html

[RAIDER14]

how much would 1 of these LSA planes cost if you bought a used 1?

[Chairboy]

Used planes that qualify for LSA?  You can find them from $10k on up.  $20k for something like an Ercoupe, $35-40k for a nice Piper Cub, etc etc.

[Ghosth]

I would think that the Kit companys would be jumping into the LSA market with both feet as well.

[Chairboy]

Yep, they are.

[NattyIced]

I didn't even know that existed. Thanks Chair.

[Mustaine]

if you do the 20 hours and get the sport pilot license, and then fly a bunch do those house count towards getting a full pilot license?

[Chairboy]

They do!  Imagine, being able to carry your friends around with you while you train, pretty neat, eh?

But that's not the real benefit.  The real benefit for existing pilots is that anyone who is worried that some little medical thing (the kind that doesn't affect your ability to fly safely but might be trouble during an FAA medical) can just let their medical lapse and stick to flying LSA as a Sport Pilot, using just their drivers license as a medical.

You're still responsible for determining if you're capable of safely operating a plane, and YOU get to make the decision now, not some doctor six months ago.

[Maverick]

Keep in mind that the sport pilot license comes with restrictions in the air craft you can use, where you can fly, how far you can fly and when. IIRC there is no night flight allowed in sport pilot ops is there?

It does fit a significant portion of pilots in that it is very much like those who just like to "go fly around the pea patch" a bit. They really don't want to go anywhere, deal with ATC or anything, they just want to spend a couple hours burning gas in the air. For those getting licensed with a taildragger, theyt actually may be safer in taxiing than many certificated pilots who only have experiance in tri gear planes.

[Mustaine]

Originally posted by Maverick
...They really don't want to go anywhere, deal with ATC or anything, they just want to spend a couple hours burning gas in the air.

thats totally me personally.

[Holden McGroin]

Originally posted by Chairboy
....$250,000+ for a freakin Cessna 172?  C'mon.

When you will soon be able to buy a very light jet for the cost of 4 172's and do 480 mph or a Lancair Columbia for 1 1/2 172's and get a glass cockpit and 270 mph, it makes you wonder what Cessna's marketing plan is.

[indy007]

Originally posted by Holden McGroin
When you will soon be able to buy a very light jet for the cost of 4 172's and do 480 mph or a Lancair Columbia for 1 1/2 172's and get a glass cockpit and 270 mph, it makes you wonder what Cessna's marketing plan is.

Smart thing to do would be make a smaller, lighter 152 with a composite body. Tack on a rotax to the front, throw in something affordable on the planel like a Blue Mountain EFIS/Lite (plus some backup steam guages) and try to roll out something in the $80k range to compete with LSA's like the Sigma.

From their press releases and whatnots, looks more like they're focussing on the business jet market.

[Chairboy]

Cessna's big plan to compete is to make a new version of the C-177 Cardinal, essentially, except with composites, if the rumors I heard are true.

The composite Cessna 152 you mentioned?  It's been done a few times lately in the last couple years, but all by people other than Cessna.    Go figure!