What’s the difference between sport pilot private pilot?

Jackson: What’s the difference between sport pilot private pilot?
Hi I was wondering what is the difference between sport pilot and private pilot? Which one do you get first?

Answers and Views:

Answer by viennatech
A sport pilot licnese is only valid in the US and allows you to fly a certain class of airplane. (light weight, only 2 passengers) it also has a less restrictive medical policy.

A PPL gives you all this and much more, you can fly bigger planes, with more passengers but have more work and a stronger medical to pass.

You could get the sport first, then grow into the ppl, if you already had a ppl you’d likely not want the sport unless you were having issues with your medical.

Answer by Viola At Neon
Have you checked the FAA web site?

Many countries have a lower-level pilot’s license. It restricts what you can do (planes, passengers), where you do it (your own country) and when you do it (daytime VFR).

You can do either, but if you want to upgrade to anything else (IFR/night/CPL/etc.), you need a PPL. Like all U.S. regulations, the Sport Pilot regulations are excessively complicated.

Ours is called a Recreational Pilot Permit. It’s not a big seller here because while you don’t need as many hours of flying, the flight test is still to PPL standards. Also, it’s only valid in Canada, and the threshold of the runway I fly from is only 10 km from the Canada-U.S. border.

Later: yes, the medical requirements are different. In Canada it’s the difference between a form you and your doctor sign (Category 4), vs. an official examination by an official doctor (Category 3). Other countries have similar setups.

Answer by Howard L
The previous poster has it almost right. The medical requirements are actually almost identical except that the sport pilot doesn’t need to get a medical from an FAA flight surgeon. A sport pilot can self certify that he meets all of the requirements but will get in trouble if they find out he lied. Anyone who has already failed an FAA physical can not get a sport pilot certificate without first getting an FAA waiver.