You’re limited to light-sport aircraft (LSA) — small, simple aircraft with weight, speed, and seating limits (max 2 seats).

You can fly for personal, recreational use with one passenger, typically during the day and in good weather (VFR). You can’t fly for hire, at night, or in most controlled airspace without additional training and endorsements.

To earn a Sport Pilot Certificate, a pilot must:

• Be at least 17 years of age

• Read, speak, write, and understand the English language

• Hold a U.S. student pilot certificate

• Hold at least a valid U.S. driver’s license (in place of an FAA medical certificate) or an FAA medical certificate

• Receive flight training and a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor

• Meet the aeronautical experience requirements for the aircraft category and class sought

• Pass a knowledge (written) test

• Pass a practical (checkride) test for the aircraft rating sought

Reference 14 CFR §61.303 for operating limits and endorsement requirements related to sport pilot privileges.

To meet the aeronautical experience requirements, a student must log at least 20 hours of flight time, including:

• 15 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor

• 5 hours of solo flight time

Required training must include:

• Preflight preparation

• Taxiing and ground operations

• Takeoffs and landings (normal and crosswind)

• Straight-and-level flight, turns, climbs, and descents

• Stall awareness and recovery

• Emergency procedures

• Navigation and flight at various speeds

Solo requirements include:

• Solo flight in the aircraft

• At least one solo cross-country flight

• Additional solo flight as required by the instructor to ensure proficiency

A sport pilot applicant must log at least 20 total hours of flight time, consisting of:

• 15 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor

• 5 hours of solo flight time

Included within those hours:

Dual (with instructor):

• Basic flight maneuvers (takeoffs, landings, turns, stalls)

• Emergency procedures

• Navigation and cross-country training

• Preparation for solo and practical test

Solo:

• Supervised solo flight in the aircraft

• At least one solo cross-country flight

• Additional solo time as required for proficiency

Reference 14 CFR §61.313 for more information.

In order to exercise the privileges of a Sport Pilot Certificate, you do not need an FAA medical certificate if you instead hold a valid U.S. driver’s license. This is one of the key differences from other pilot certificates.

Your driver’s license serves as your medical qualification, meaning you must comply with any restrictions listed on it (such as corrective lenses) and ensure it remains valid and unexpired. You also must not have had an FAA medical certificate denied, suspended, or revoked, and you cannot have a known medical condition that would make you unsafe to operate an aircraft.

If you choose to use an FAA medical certificate instead, any class of medical certificate is acceptable.

Unlike private pilot certification, there is no separate FAA medical renewal schedule specific to sport pilots, but you must maintain a valid driver’s license and continue to meet the medical fitness requirements outlined in the regulations.

See 14 CFR §61.303 for more information.

Once you’ve completed the required flight training for a Sport Pilot Certificate, you’ll be eligible for the FAA Practical Exam, commonly known as the checkride.

The checkride is administered by a designated FAA examiner and includes two parts: an oral exam followed by a flight test. The flight portion is only conducted after you successfully pass the oral exam.

If both parts are completed successfully, the examiner will help finalize your FAA paperwork, and you’ll be issued a temporary Sport Pilot Certificate. This allows you to exercise sport pilot privileges while you wait for your permanent certificate to arrive by mail.