Will I regret light sport restrictions
Posted by fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 30 comments
I think getting a third class medical would be challenging. Nothing that makes me dangerous, but the paperwork and cost burden given my history looks pretty intimidating.
My eventual goal is to be able to fly cross-country, see more of the country, and maybe do a day trip to another city if I want.
There is a school near me that does light sport training in an aeroprakt. I do like that mosaic will likely open up the kinds of aircraft available (assuming they're willing to rent to a LSP).
However, it seems like some of the restrictions on LSP would complicate things. Good planning should prevent needing to fly at night (although it would be nice to have the option,) but it like even with great planning, IMC could arise, and being able to get trained in instrument flying would be much safer.
Would it make sense to do LSP now, continue learning and getting time that would make PPL just a knowledge test and check ride, and worry about medical down the line if I feel too restricted, but risk losing privileges after that time investment?
Just try to figure out the medical now, risk never being eligible for LSP, but possibly gain eligibility for PPL?
Just learn to accept the limits of LSP? Has anyone gone that route and regretted it?
RaiseTheDed@reddit
Can I ask, what medical conditions do you think might disqualify you?
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
I can qualify, it just looks like a PITA.
Diabetes: I had an episode of (probably covid induced) hyperglycemia in 2021. Since then A1C has been 4.9, lower than many non-diabetics. Never had a spot reading above 100 mg/dL. Take metformin XR, just because it's a pretty much only upsides medication, but my sugar hasn't gone up when I've gone off.
ADHD misdiagnosis. Tried the meds (less than 4 years ago) but stopped them because they mostly just messed with my sleep.
Mild hypertension and hyperlipidemia kept in check with Lisinopril, and atorvostatin.
Nothing fundamentally disqualifying (as I read the rules), but potentially expensive for a HIMS evaluation, and reading people's horror stories makes me think not worth the hassle.
davidswelt@reddit
You do not have diabetes if these are your numbers off Metformin. Unclear why you are taking Metformin. On the longevity train? Even if you had diabetes you should be ok. Take a look at the FAA documentation for AMEs.
ADHD -- find a senior AME for a consult (before starting a medical / opening MedXpress). Might require neurocognitive testing to show that you don't have ADHD.
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
Endo says he wants everyone on metformin. My read of the longevity stuff is that the evidence is pretty weak. It's cheap and the xr doesn't give me bowel issues, so I haven't seen a reason to fight it.
I'm a little iffy on my Endo though. My background involves science. He seems to think sglt2 is in the disal nephron, and said some other slightly off things.
davidswelt@reddit
what is your diagnosis?
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
In 2021, hyperosmotic hyperglycemic state and t2dm on the basis of the HHS. Never did a glucose tolerance test.
I've monitored fasting and post-prandial at times and the curve wasn't out of the ordinary for a non-diabetic.
Since then, I haven't pursued having someone say I was in "remission" since that seems to be a controversial idea, and there didn't seem to be any benefit to pursuing that.
frkbo@reddit
I'm not a doctor, but I've had T1DM for 30+ years so I've picked up a thing or two about glycemic control. Some endocrinologists are great, some not so much.
If I were in your shoes I'd consider one of two options: either go seek out a second or third opinion from a good endo as to what exactly happened to you in 2021, or chalk it up to a one-time covid complication and forget about it. Both of these involve ditching your current endo. Your primary care doctor can order an A1c any time they (or you) want. If you want to get an FAA medical, you may have to go with the first option.
As for metformin... personally I'm on the metformin bandwagon (the cost/risk/benefit seemed worth it to me), but I'd be skeptical of a doctor who blindly puts everyone on anything. If you want to stay on it, your primary care doctor can prescribe that too.
49Flyer@reddit
If your Endo wants "everyone" on anything, you need a new Endo.
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
Ideally, yes but hard to come by where I live. I think the next closest is a few hours drive.
RaiseTheDed@reddit
The ADHD will probably be the hardest/most expensive one, honestly, since you don't qualify for the fast track right now. It'll also take the longest. Not sure about hypertension and hyperlipidemia though.
I think my comments still stand down below, try to determine how far you want to take flying. There are many sport pilots around. And just because you are a sport pilot, doesn't mean you can't get instrument training for emergency situations (as long as your airplane can do it, J3 Cubs aren't flying in clouds lol).
I started editing my comment with this, then you replied. I'm just going to leave it as-is, maybe someone will find it useful at some point:
Scrolled your post history, I see a post about type 2 diabetes. See this page from the FAA and find diabetes, there's a couple options to choose from.
If T2 is the only thing that is really a factor, it's not a big deal. You can qualify for a third class medical (even first), you just have to submit some extra stuff, but if it's something you really want to do, you might want to consider it. I know several people who have 1st class medicals and work for airlines with T2. Yes, it'll cost some to get all the right stuff, but it won't be as expensive as anxiety or a mental health diagnosis.
With that being said, flying at night and instrument conditions can be easily avoided. But, getting instrument rated will make you a better pilot.
I say start with an intro flight, see if you can determine how far you want to take it. If you're happy with just being a sport pilot, that's all fine and dandy.
frkbo@reddit
Sport pilot here, no regrets. In order to get a medical, I would have had to make several changes to my healthcare that would likely have made my health worse. I've flown coast-to-coast VFR and done lots of day and overnight trips that would have been totally impractical otherwise.
(To be pedantic: the certificate is called "sport pilot", not "light sport pilot". Currently, a sport pilot can only fly Light Sport Aircraft, but the MOSAIC draft specifies a wider range of "aircraft that a sport pilot may operate". Leave the "Light" off unless you're talking about an airplane.)
Economy-Acadia3987@reddit
I would say get the light sport and then start the medical process
Mike92104@reddit
I started with sport, and then upgraded to private. Honestly 90% of the flying I do can be done on a sport certificate.
My airplane of choice currently is an Aeroprakt A32. They're a blast to fly.
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
The flight school as an A22. It looks like a very capable plane.
Financially, owning one wouldn't be a smart decision in the short term, but maybe I can find a partnership or someone who rents them out.
Mike92104@reddit
I think the A32 is just an upgraded version. The A22 will probably ve a blast too. Owning an airplane is never a "smart" decision. Go get the sport certificate. If you decide it's too restrive, you'll have fun upgrading to the ppl. Hopefully mosaic will get done before you need to.
MostNinja2951@reddit
Remember that sport pilot rules prevent flying in IMC, they do not prevent instrument training. You can still get some training hours and learn enough IFR skills that you can escape a VFR into IMC emergency and get down safely.
As for the rest, it's not a big deal assuming the expansion of the LSA category happens as expected. The C172 range is perfectly capable of most of what you'd do as a hobby pilot and the night flying limitation isn't too hard to work around. A full PPL is obviously better but if your medical limitations include a high risk of being grounded and losing the SPL option it's probably not worth the risk.
ltcterry@reddit
“Light” is part of the aircraft description. The Certificate is “Sport Pilot.”
Post-MOSAIC it’s likely that a Sport Pilot won’t be much different in practice than a typical Private Pilot - one other person, daytime, below 10,000 feet. This is most of my first 1,000 hours!
And if you want to be a Commercial Pilot, do it in a glider w/ no medical required.
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
That's a good point.
Commerical Pilot in a glider would apply only to gliders, no? Would it affect privileges in other aircraft?
ltcterry@reddit
Your Certificate would say “Commercial Pilot” on the front.
The back would say “glider. ASEL Sport only” or something similar.
In a no-medical situation it’s just fun and bragging rights.
cazzipropri@reddit
My recommendation is to keep investing into the third class, and as soon as you get it, go BasicMed.
This is contingent on the third class being feasible at all, of course.
Empty_Masterpiece_74@reddit
How long has MOSAIC been just over the horizon? I wouldn't hold your breath. The industry and the regulators have the power now and they are not going to let that go anytime soon.
Standish_man89@reddit
It’s slated for April 2025 and had already passed through the commenting period.
Empty_Masterpiece_74@reddit
With light sport, you will get the sign offs that you need to do what you want. Fly into controlled space? Get a sign off. You will just get an instructor to sign you off, it is a certification and not a license per say. You will get Certifications signed off by your CFI, not an examiner. That is my take on it. I am not a lawyer though. I believe you will still need to only have 2 people in the plane no matter how many seat it has.
hartzonfire@reddit
As someone mentioned to me before, while getting your LSA hours-tailor them to benefit you for a PPL later. Longer cross countries, etc. There’s probably more but the x-country is the one I remember.
12-7@reddit
Fly light sport for now, see if you actually like it as much as you think you might. You can always take the private checkride later if and when MOSAIC actually comes to fruition in the form that people expect it to take.
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
Based on my reading EAA asked them to allow night vfr with maybe just a vision test, but who knows. There's are a lot of other lobby groups with something to say.
Definitely seems like a reasonable middle ground for now. Just nervous I might love it but end up forever feeling limited, or trying for medical and losing privileges.that would be pretty heartbreaking.
12-7@reddit
Yeah, the EAA and others can ask, but I'll only believe what I see when the regulations change. My point is simply not to make plans based on what may happen in the future. I still think sport pilot is a reasonable path for you. If and when MOSAIC comes to fruition, you can determine if you're fine continuing to fly under LSA rules or if you want to upgrade to a private certificate and go through the medical process then.
bhalter80@reddit
You can always upgrade from SP if you decide that you can get certified so I don't think you're painting yourself into a corner. You can even get instrument training and fly practice approaches to maintain proficiency with those skills for use in an emergency if it makes you feel better.
I'm in the middle of doing an IFR rating for a private pilot who's been flying a Mooney for 400 hours without an instrument rating. I also just did a refresher for someone with about that number of hours that was extremely non-proficient in instrument flight. I bring that up because they seem to be getting by flying only in VMC even in New England where we have a lot of IMC. Learning the skills needed for an instrument rating is really transformational on your flying and I highly recommend it whether you can hold an instrument rating or not
fleemfleemfleemfleem@reddit (OP)
If I did go LSP at first I would definitely ask the cfi to teach me instrument flying after even if I might never be allowed to use it. I'm looking at it as a "continuous improvement" kind of thing where the licensing is a great milestone, but not the end of the road.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I think getting a third class medical would be challenging. Nothing that makes me dangerous, but the paperwork and cost burden given my history looks pretty intimidating.
My eventual goal is to be able to fly cross-country, see more of the country, and maybe do a day trip to another city if I want.
There is a school near me that does light sport training in an aeroprakt. I do like that mosaic will likely open up the kinds of aircraft available (assuming they're willing to rent to a LSP).
However, it seems like some of the restrictions on LSP would complicate things. Good planning should prevent needing to fly at night (although it would be nice to have the option,) but it like even with great planning, IMC could arise, and being able to get trained in instrument flying would be much safer.
Would it make sense to do LSP now, continue learning and getting time that would make PPL just a knowledge test and check ride, and worry about medical down the line if I feel too restricted, but risk losing privileges after that time investment?
Just try to figure out the medical now, risk never being eligible for LSP, but possibly gain eligibility for PPL?
Just learn to accept the limits of LSP? Has anyone gone that route and regretted it?
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