There is a new bird in town. Actually it is an Aeronca Champ, built in 1946, but it represents a new class of aircraft for people learning to fly.

Over the years the FAA, whose charter from Congress requires them to promote general aviation, has become concerned over the lack of "training starts," people new to aviation who have started training to become pilots, any kind of pilot. So after much input from the industry they created a whole new class of pilots. The new category is called "Sport Pilot" and encompasses a lot of activity already happening in aviation, and was completely unregulated.

It has been my experience that when a person steps into an airplane in the status of passenger, they want assurance that the pilot is going to be capable of flying the aircraft and will do it safely. The U.S. airlines have earned that trust by providing the safest means of travel the world has ever known. People in general though don't have that kind of trust for those of us who fly the smaller aircraft probably because our accident record is not so shiny bright as our big brothers.

Until recently there was a whole class of aircraft that the FAA paid little attention to and that was the class called ultra-lights operated under Federal Regulation Part 103. They had a maximum weight for takeoff and a maximum airspeed that they could fly, constraints that were pretty well adhered to. Then, too, the pilots flying the ultra-lights had no requirements for training or proficiency and actually could teach themselves to fly. There were limitations; for instance they were not welcome to use "big airplane" airports, couldn't fly at night or in the weather but darn they were fun airplanes to fly.

Well the new "Light Sport" classification of aircraft was designed to include all those ultra-light aircraft that had been so attractive to beginners and those who were just looking at pursuing the thrill of flight. The rules are simple; the airplane can have a maximum gross weight of only 1,320 pounds.

It can only fly in daylight hours in good weather and can't go to big busy airports. Perfect for the pilot who is just beginning and perfect for the working man who just wants to fly and doesn't have the huge amount of money that modern complex aircraft require to buy and operate.

Whether by accident or design it turns out that quite a few of the aircraft that many of us learned to fly yea many years ago also qualified to fit in the category of light sport aircraft. So I happened to find an old "Airknocker" that was for sale and it came home to live on McCook's Regional Airport. Hopefully we can generate more interest in aviation in this area, and more young people will be able to pursue the career so dear to my heart. At work and play, aviation has been a good part of my life and I want to pass it on.

In the process of change the FAA also initiated a new category of pilots by changing the requirements for an annual flight physical. The reasoning was that if the Sport pilot can only fly the Light sport aircraft with its many limitations why not drop the physical requirement to what has been successful for balloon and glider pilots for years and require only that they carry a photo identification card and self certify that "I feel well enough today to conduct safely under the existing conditions." Again the change has made it possible for pilots who have let their medical expire over the years and feel that they can't pass another one to still fly using only those privileges available to the Light Sport Pilot.

It will be interesting to see how the new standards work out. Industry has already ginned up big time and is producing all sorts of new light sport qualified aircraft. Most of the ultra-light crowd has gone to the effort to get their aircraft registered and qualified to the new standard and have gotten themselves qualified as "Sport Pilots." It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. And here we are in McCook, Nebraska ready to also be a part of the action. Interested? Come talk to me and we can get you started!