I want to get my sport pilots license- question about medical

Posted by datbino@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 14 comments

I want to get my sport pilots license. The medical has me confused. I started training years ago, and was scared to get denied for a medical and never got my student pilots certificate. The catch seems to be that I need a medical to do a solo- But i do not want to go through the medical. Do I need to find a special sport pilot cfi that will let me solo without a medical?

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14 Comments

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Amazing-Chemist-5490@reddit

Hi. So you’re in luck. As long as you didn’t get denied you can solo with your state issued drivers license. But you must comply with all limits it has. Now finding a LSA might be difficult but on Oct 22, 2025 MOSAIC goes into affect and you will be able to solo in many legacy aircraft like a Cessna 172/150. Feel free to DM me if you have any question!

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datbino@reddit (OP)

That is the best news I’ve ever heard man. So I don’t have to poke the bear of the far medical at all. Thank you!

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Amazing-Chemist-5490@reddit

Nope not at all. Stay away from AME like the plague lol. There are limits to sport pilot. You only get 1 passenger, you can’t fly at night ( unless you get a medical) you can’t fly over clouds like a PP can. MOSAIC will really change the game for sport pilots. But just remember the most important rule, you must determine if you are healthy to operate the aircraft.

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datbino@reddit (OP)

I’ve never cared about any of the restrictions to sport pilot beyond not being able to fly my varieze I had. But now I just want a loehle 51 so sport pilot will be fucking sweet

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Amazing-Chemist-5490@reddit

Well you are in luck! For reference, published numbers from Loehle Aircraft and builder reports show: Clean stall speed (no flaps): ~50 mph indicated airspeed This is below the threshold!

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datbino@reddit (OP)

Yep! No mods needed or anything, and I’ll be super happy with a not51 mustang toy.

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flyingron@reddit

As long as the plane meets the LSA criteria and your flight instructor (either a light sport CFI or a regular one) appropriately signs you off, you only need a valid driver's license to fly (if you've never applied for a medical). Student pilot certificates are not required (nor are they affiliated with medical certificates anymore).

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ltcterry@reddit

What do you mean a student pilot certificate is not required? That’s what lets you solo…

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flyingron@reddit

I said that backward, let me fix it. I was trying to point out that the student pilot and medical are no longer the same piece of paper.

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ltcterry@reddit

Indeed. Though that's been true for some time. And even back in the day it was possible to get a Student Pilot piece of cardboard w/o a medical for a potential glider pilot.

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flyingron@reddit

Yes. We got the FAA to issue one just on a paper temporary airman certifciate to issue to one of our long-term volunteers at Oshkosh. We officially made him a pilot with that.

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N420BZ@reddit

Sorry you got downvotes on this. It’s totally a valid question for a student pilot. When you first attempted flying years ago, the student pilot cert and medical were likely the same document. The FAA separated these two things a while back so you can now get a student pilot cert without a medical. All CFIs *should* be comfortable with the Sport Pilot regs, but some don’t see it too often so they might be out of practice on the specifics. If you haven’t already, schedule time with a CFI to discuss the pathway to sport pilot. If you are going for sport pilot, your CFI is able to endorse you if you currently hold a valid drivers license.

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ltcterry@reddit

Why do you think you need a medical? LSA - no medical. Anything else you’re not really training for Sport. At least until some time in October.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity: --- I want to get my sport pilots license. The medical has me confused. I started training years ago, and was scared to get denied for a medical and never got my student pilots certificate. The catch seems to be that I need a medical to do a solo- But i do not want to go through the medical. Do I need to find a special sport pilot cfi that will let me solo without a medical? --- Please downvote this comment until it collapses. Questions about this comment? [Please see this wiki post before contacting the mods](https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/wiki/index/rflyingtower/). --- I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please [contact the mods of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/flying).