The Path from Student to Sport Pilot

Getting your sport pilot certificate follows a defined, repeatable sequence. Knowing the steps keeps your training efficient and legal.

Before you solo, you need a student pilot certificate, obtained through the FAA's IACRA system with help from your CFI or a designated examiner. There is no minimum age to begin training, but you must be at least 16 years old to solo an airplane and 17 to take the sport pilot practical test (14 CFR 61.83, 61.103).

Sport pilots use a valid U.S. driver's license as evidence of medical fitness for airplanes. You must not know or have reason to know of any medical condition that would make you unable to operate safely (14 CFR 61.23(c)). We cover the details in the medical section.

Your CFI trains you toward the Sport Pilot ACS standards and provides logbook endorsements for solo flight, solo cross-country, the knowledge test, and the practical test.

Pass the Sport Pilot Airplane knowledge test — a multiple-choice exam. A passing score is 70%, and the result is valid for 24 calendar months.

A DPE or qualified examiner administers an oral and flight test to ACS standards.

Under 14 CFR 61.313, a sport pilot applicant (airplane) needs at least:

• 20 hours total flight time
• 15 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor
• 2 hours of cross-country flight training
• 5 hours of solo flight time
• 1 solo cross-country of at least 75 nm total distance with a full-stop landing at a second airport and one leg of at least 25 nm
• 3 hours of test preparation in the 2 calendar months before the test
• At least 2 takeoffs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower (for many training paths)

Most students exceed these minimums — they are floors, not averages.