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Nearly 30 years ago, as I wrote my best-selling book, Budget Flying, private aviation was in a surge of growth. People were having loads of fun learning to fly. But just five years later, many pilots were grounded by a round of burdensome regulations, higher insurance premiums, and other rising costs. Some of the biggest names in small planes—Cessna and Piper—were facing layoffs and even bankruptcy. For the next two decades, growth in private aviation leveled off. Even the addition of ultralights and the recreational-pilot certificate couldn't quite get things moving again. Then, on September 1, 2004, everything broke loose. More pilots went flying. More low-cost planes became available. More people were having fun flying again. What happened? The Sport Pilot and Light-Sport Aircraft (SP/LSA) regulations happened. The culmination of nearly 10 years of hard work by aviation associations and aircraft manufacturers, the SP/LSA rewrote the book to make pilot certificates easier to get and a new type of safe aircraft easier to buy. It was a new way of thinking about flying. The premise? Not all pilots even want to fly high-performance aircraft in crowded airspace. Using common sense, the new rules make it much easier for noncommercial pilots to get trained and certified to fly plenty-fast planes under visual flight rules (VFR)—if it's clear enough to see, well, it's nice enough to fly. No flying at night and stay away from clouds. And you don't have to buy a plane that costs as much as a new house! Based on this common-sense concept, private aviation leaders develop a full-blown proposal that, after much hard work, is now the law of the land. This website is for people who want to learn about sport flying. In addition to newbies, there are more than 100,000 ex-pilots can no longer fly because their FAA third-class medical exam has expired. Otherwise healthy enough to fly, they're grounded. The new sport-pilot regulations can give them clearance. If they have a valid driver's license they're probably healthy enough to fly! (If you're one of these pilots, remember that this website is intended for beginners.) Flying your own airplane can be one of the most enjoyable things you'll ever do. Thanks to new sport flying rules, you can learn to fly for less money than ever before. Let this website be your guide to safe and affordable sport flying. |