Sport Pilot — Light Sport Aircraft
beginner 41 lessons ~14h total 70 practice questions 9 units Certificate on completion
Earn your wings the fastest, most affordable way the FAA allows.
About this course
The **Sport Pilot certificate** is the FAA's most accessible pathway into aviation. With fewer required hours, no FAA medical certificate, and a focus on simple light-sport aircraft (LSA), it lets new aviators take command sooner and at lower cost than the Private Pilot route — while still building genuine, transferable airmanship. This course covers everything tested on the **Sport Pilot Airplane (ASEL) knowledge test** and required by the **Sport Pilot ACS**. We work through certificate privileges and the long list of operating limitations, the precise definition of a light-sport aircraft, how the driver's license medical standard works, the airspace and weather minimums that bound day-VFR flight, basic aerodynamics and aircraft systems, and the regulations written specifically for sport pilots in 14 CFR Part 61 Subpart J and Part 91. We close with a practical look at **transitioning to LSA** from other aircraft, stepping up to Private Pilot later, and the 2024–2025 **MOSAIC** rule changes reshaping the light-sport category. Every lesson is built on current FAA regulations, the AIM, and ACS standards, with realistic knowledge-test questions throughout so you walk into your written exam — and your checkride — fully prepared.
What you'll learn
State sport pilot privileges and every operating limitation from memory, including the regulatory basis for each.
Determine whether a specific airplane qualifies as a light-sport aircraft using the weight, speed, seat, and configuration limits.
Apply the driver's-license medical standard correctly and recognize when it does not apply.
Calculate VFR weather minimums and cloud clearances for any airspace a sport pilot may enter.
Explain the aerodynamics of lift, stalls, load factor, and stability at a private-pilot depth.
Plan and brief a legal, safe day-VFR cross-country in an LSA and pass the Sport Pilot knowledge test.
CD
Your instructor
Captain Dana Reyes
ATP · CFI · CFII · MEI · AGI
ATP and Gold Seal CFI with 6,000+ hours who has trained dozens of sport and private pilots in light-sport and legacy aircraft across the western U.S.
Summary
Skill level
Beginner
Lessons
41
Duration
5h 47m
Practice bank
70 questions
Certification
Yes
Language
English