The Sport Pilot Regulations Created The New Sport Pilot Instructor Rating That Could Offer Some Opportunities

The Situation…You are a private pilot and own a great little Aeronca Champion. Your kids are interested in flying and you would love to have them learn and get a license in your Champ (like the one pictured here). The Dilemma…they can’t get a private pilot license in a Champ, and you can’t locate a taildragger instructor to provide sport pilot training. What to do?

A reasonable solution to this dilemma is to simply become a sport pilot instructor yourself. Under FAR 61 Subpart K, the sport pilot instructor certification rules, you can become the instructor and provide training for your family as well as anyone else that is interested.

To become a sport pilot instructor under Subpart K you must hold at least a sport pilot certificate and have 150 hours total flying time…that’s it! You don’t have to become a commercial pilot, fly a complex airplane, or be instrument rated to be a sport pilot instructor. By the way, even without the commercial certificate you can charge for sport pilot instructing (although, charging your family would be a bit tacky). The basic requirements are simply to pass the necessary knowledge tests and the flight instructor checkride.

Passing the knowledge tests (there are two knowledge tests) and the checkride will require some good preparation and training, but the cost of this could be more than offset by being able to train the kids without paying for another flight instructor. All of your training and the checkride for the sport pilot instructor rating can be performed in your Champ.

The sport pilot instructor rating has added new opportunities for pilots who would love to be instructors but can’t go through the entire process of becoming a flight instructor under the old FAA 61 Subpart H requirements. There are more details to the concept and you can find them in FAR 61 subpart K. It’s something to think about.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/faa_regulations/