Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Light and Sporty Guy
It seems to me that sport pilot rules and medicals and what is or is not required, or what is an “ultralight” are pretty popular topics – so I’m just going to pound out what I think I have figured out along with references to the specific regulations for non-medical heavier than air flight and for some of the various certification methods for Light Sport Aircraft (as defined by the FAA). I assume that any errors on my part will be met with a full broadside…
Part 103: ultralight vehicles
What is a Ultralight vehicle? Part 103.1 defines an ultralight vehicle as: ”a vehicle that:
(a) Is used or intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant;
(b) Is used or intended to be used for recreation or sport purposes only;
(c) Does not have any U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate; and
(d) If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds; or
(e) If powered:
Also, the regulations are pretty much stand alone: 103.7
“(a) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to certification of aircraft or their parts or equipment, ultralight vehicles and their component parts and equipment are not required to meet the airworthiness certification standards specified for aircraft or to have certificates of airworthiness.
(b) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to airman certification, operators of ultralight vehicles are not required to meet any aeronautical knowledge, age, or experience requirements to operate those vehicles or to have airman or medical certificates.
(c) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to registration and marking of aircraft, ultralight vehicles are not required to be registered or to bear markings of any type.”
Also, 91.1 (applicability) (e) This part does not apply to any aircraft or vehicle governed by part 103 of this chapter
So, 103 pretty much covers everything you need to comply with when operating under that part. No certificates, no A&P, no scheduled inspection required by FAA rules. There are limitations on where they can be operated – not over congested areas, A,B,C,D, and surface class E airspace requires permission, Day VFR, visual reference to surface, and you have to not interfere with other aircraft.
If your “ultralight” has an N number, it does not fall under part 103 – see light sport…
Gliders:
A medical is not required per 61.3 C 2 vii, and 61.23 B but 61.53 does apply: “For operations provided for in §61.23(b) of this part, a person shall not act as pilot in command, or in any other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember, while that person knows or has reason to know of any medical condition that would make the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner.”
Note that gliders include “self-launched” gliders (often referred to as motor gliders). And it seems to me that the line between self-launch glider and powered aircraft seems to be fuzzy at best; part 1.1 definitions state: “Glider means a heavier-than-air aircraft, that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces and whose free flight does not depend principally on an engine.” Some of these self-launched gliders turn out to be capable of reasonably good cross country performance under power such as the Stemme S-10 or the Aeromot Ximagio. To fly these, you need a glider category on your certificate with a self-launch endorsement. 61.31 j iii.
Maintenance requirements depend on how the glider is certificated – normal or experimental.
Operating under sport pilot rules:
A sport pilot (or a pilot with at least recreational pilot operating under the sporty rules) may fly a light sport aircraft (61.303). You can use a driver’s license in place of a medical but, again, you need to “Not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make that person unable to operate a light-sport aircraft in a safe manner.” But, to be clear, nowhere will you find it stated that this means you must meet the requirements for an FAA third class medical. I would also point out the differences between 61.53 A and B – the FAA draws a distinction between meeting the requirements for a medical certificate and not having a medical condition that would make you unable to operate safely. They are two different standards. You can argue about which is more restrictive... Also the medical catch 22 applies: you must “Have been found eligible for the issuance of at least a third-class airman medical certificate at the time of his or her most recent application (if the person has applied for a medical certificate [and] Not have had his or her most recently issued medical certificate (if the person has held a medical certificate) suspended or revoked or most recent Authorization for a Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate withdrawn” 61.303 B
There are variations in the details of which of the restrictions under subpart J, sport pilots apply and which endorsements are required some of which depend on if you have an actual sport pilot certificate or at least a recreational pilot certificate.Some of the limitations that apply (61.315) are minimum visibility of 3 miles (overrides the typical 1 mile requirement for class G), visual reference to the surface required, 10,000 feet MSL (unless you are less than 2000 AGL) maximum, no “in the furtherance of a business”, no charitable flights. No operation in B, C, D airspace without an endorsement unless you hold a private or better certificate. And if you hold a sport pilot ticket, you need endorsements for aircraft with speeds on either side of 87 knots.
Also note that you can get a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating – this lets you do training / flight reviews / etc. in an LSA without a medical. [edit 2018 : rules changed allowing SP instructor time to count to other ratings] You can also get training in a LSA and have it apply towards your private or whatever
43.3 may be an issue if you have a sport pilot ticket: “Except for holders of a sport pilot certificate, the holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot which is not used under part 121, 129, or 135 of this chapter. The holder of a sport pilot certificate may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft owned or operated by that pilot and issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category.” So that gets a bit weird – if you have a S.P. certificate, you can’t do p.m. on legacy light-sport aircraft such as a Champ or Taylorcraft.
There also seems to be some confusion about exactly what is a “light-sport aircraft”. The definition is found under part 1.1 definitions (and I included this at the end of this post). There are limits on weight, speeds, seats, but NOT on how the aircraft is to be certificated - there are several options. 1.1 also includes the phrase “since its original certification, has continued to meet…” This phrase can be an issue for some of the legacy aircraft which may have had an in-flight adjustable propeller installed at one time, or an STC to increase gross weight or…
Light sport includes airplane single-engine land or sea, glider, gyroplane, airship, balloon, powered parachute land or sea, and weight-shift-control aircraft land or sea
(continued)
Part 103: ultralight vehicles
What is a Ultralight vehicle? Part 103.1 defines an ultralight vehicle as: ”a vehicle that:
(a) Is used or intended to be used for manned operation in the air by a single occupant;
(b) Is used or intended to be used for recreation or sport purposes only;
(c) Does not have any U.S. or foreign airworthiness certificate; and
(d) If unpowered, weighs less than 155 pounds; or
(e) If powered:
(1) Weighs less than 254 pounds empty weight, excluding floats and safety devices which are intended for deployment in a potentially catastrophic situation;
(2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;
(3) Is not capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight; and
(4) Has a power-off stall speed which does not exceed 24 knots calibrated airspeed.”
(2) Has a fuel capacity not exceeding 5 U.S. gallons;
(3) Is not capable of more than 55 knots calibrated airspeed at full power in level flight; and
(4) Has a power-off stall speed which does not exceed 24 knots calibrated airspeed.”
Also, the regulations are pretty much stand alone: 103.7
“(a) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to certification of aircraft or their parts or equipment, ultralight vehicles and their component parts and equipment are not required to meet the airworthiness certification standards specified for aircraft or to have certificates of airworthiness.
(b) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to airman certification, operators of ultralight vehicles are not required to meet any aeronautical knowledge, age, or experience requirements to operate those vehicles or to have airman or medical certificates.
(c) Notwithstanding any other section pertaining to registration and marking of aircraft, ultralight vehicles are not required to be registered or to bear markings of any type.”
Also, 91.1 (applicability) (e) This part does not apply to any aircraft or vehicle governed by part 103 of this chapter
So, 103 pretty much covers everything you need to comply with when operating under that part. No certificates, no A&P, no scheduled inspection required by FAA rules. There are limitations on where they can be operated – not over congested areas, A,B,C,D, and surface class E airspace requires permission, Day VFR, visual reference to surface, and you have to not interfere with other aircraft.
If your “ultralight” has an N number, it does not fall under part 103 – see light sport…
Gliders:
A medical is not required per 61.3 C 2 vii, and 61.23 B but 61.53 does apply: “For operations provided for in §61.23(b) of this part, a person shall not act as pilot in command, or in any other capacity as a required pilot flight crewmember, while that person knows or has reason to know of any medical condition that would make the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner.”
Note that gliders include “self-launched” gliders (often referred to as motor gliders). And it seems to me that the line between self-launch glider and powered aircraft seems to be fuzzy at best; part 1.1 definitions state: “Glider means a heavier-than-air aircraft, that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces and whose free flight does not depend principally on an engine.” Some of these self-launched gliders turn out to be capable of reasonably good cross country performance under power such as the Stemme S-10 or the Aeromot Ximagio. To fly these, you need a glider category on your certificate with a self-launch endorsement. 61.31 j iii.
Maintenance requirements depend on how the glider is certificated – normal or experimental.
Operating under sport pilot rules:
A sport pilot (or a pilot with at least recreational pilot operating under the sporty rules) may fly a light sport aircraft (61.303). You can use a driver’s license in place of a medical but, again, you need to “Not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make that person unable to operate a light-sport aircraft in a safe manner.” But, to be clear, nowhere will you find it stated that this means you must meet the requirements for an FAA third class medical. I would also point out the differences between 61.53 A and B – the FAA draws a distinction between meeting the requirements for a medical certificate and not having a medical condition that would make you unable to operate safely. They are two different standards. You can argue about which is more restrictive... Also the medical catch 22 applies: you must “Have been found eligible for the issuance of at least a third-class airman medical certificate at the time of his or her most recent application (if the person has applied for a medical certificate [and] Not have had his or her most recently issued medical certificate (if the person has held a medical certificate) suspended or revoked or most recent Authorization for a Special Issuance of a Medical Certificate withdrawn” 61.303 B
There are variations in the details of which of the restrictions under subpart J, sport pilots apply and which endorsements are required some of which depend on if you have an actual sport pilot certificate or at least a recreational pilot certificate.Some of the limitations that apply (61.315) are minimum visibility of 3 miles (overrides the typical 1 mile requirement for class G), visual reference to the surface required, 10,000 feet MSL (unless you are less than 2000 AGL) maximum, no “in the furtherance of a business”, no charitable flights. No operation in B, C, D airspace without an endorsement unless you hold a private or better certificate. And if you hold a sport pilot ticket, you need endorsements for aircraft with speeds on either side of 87 knots.
Also note that you can get a flight instructor certificate with a sport pilot rating – this lets you do training / flight reviews / etc. in an LSA without a medical. [edit 2018 : rules changed allowing SP instructor time to count to other ratings] You can also get training in a LSA and have it apply towards your private or whatever
43.3 may be an issue if you have a sport pilot ticket: “Except for holders of a sport pilot certificate, the holder of a pilot certificate issued under part 61 may perform preventive maintenance on any aircraft owned or operated by that pilot which is not used under part 121, 129, or 135 of this chapter. The holder of a sport pilot certificate may perform preventive maintenance on an aircraft owned or operated by that pilot and issued a special airworthiness certificate in the light-sport category.” So that gets a bit weird – if you have a S.P. certificate, you can’t do p.m. on legacy light-sport aircraft such as a Champ or Taylorcraft.
There also seems to be some confusion about exactly what is a “light-sport aircraft”. The definition is found under part 1.1 definitions (and I included this at the end of this post). There are limits on weight, speeds, seats, but NOT on how the aircraft is to be certificated - there are several options. 1.1 also includes the phrase “since its original certification, has continued to meet…” This phrase can be an issue for some of the legacy aircraft which may have had an in-flight adjustable propeller installed at one time, or an STC to increase gross weight or…
Light sport includes airplane single-engine land or sea, glider, gyroplane, airship, balloon, powered parachute land or sea, and weight-shift-control aircraft land or sea
(continued)
Last edited:
