Here’s a summary from Arty Trost, who lives in Oregon, on her cost of getting set up to fly LSAs as a Sport Pilot. My comments are in square brackets [ ] …. Keep in mind that she is an accomplished ultralight pilot and is grandfathered into the SP/LSA rule. If you are starting from scratch, it will be a bit more expensive than this.
If you want the privileges of flying as a Sport Pilot, then you should consider transitioning. Primary advantage is being able to fly over congested areas – and not having to give way to spam cans in the pattern. PLUS not having to worry about being ramp checked and fined if you’re flying illegally…flying a “fat� single seater, (or, after 1-31-2010, a 2-seater.)
But – if you don’t care about those advantages and you’ve got a legal ultralight, you might want to continue flying as an ultralight. The disadvantage to Light Sport is cost, cost, cost. Here’s what it cost me out-of-pocket – not to mention the study and prep time and the stress!!
Airworthiness certificate – $ 0
BUT – the FAA out of the Hillsboro FSDO did my inspection . If you don’t have an FAA inspector close by, you’ll have to find a volunteer DAR (usually an EAA member) or pay a DAR to do the inspection. [These costs are usually in the $350 range.]
N-Number $15
I spent $10 to reserve the N-number I wanted, and $5 to register it.
EAA’s package to transition your ultralight. $20
This takes you step-by-step through the process and I found it well worth the money.
Now – the cost for a Sport Pilot license. (None of this is applicable if you already have a Private Pilot license. If so, you only need a proficiency check-ride and endorsement to fly an E-SLA.)
Study materials for the Sport Pilot license. Gleim books for the Knowledge test and the oral/practical: $40 ($20 each)
King Video course (for the Knowledge exam alone) $139
(I see that King has raised their cost to $239.)
FAA written exam $90
I took the computerized exam taken at a local community college. LazerGrade coordinates the exam with the college and charges the fee. You can also take it at
many FBOs. Check on-line for what’s available in your area.
Oral and flight exam $750
Brian and Carol Carpenter came to Sandy River Airport so I could take my exam in my Drifter. If you go to their FBO in Corning, they charge $375. BUT you’ll probably need transition training in their trainer to take the flight exam – and I don’t know what their hourly charge is. There are 4 DPEs in Orgon who can give you the oral and flight exam – I don’t know what they charge. Be sure to ask about transition training time and costs if you won’t be taking the exam in your own plane. [There are 39 listed in Texas, and 6 of those are in the SE Texas area, convenient to Houston.]
If you transition your ultralight to an E-LSA you’ll definitely want to take a Repairman Inspection 16 hr. course so you can do your own annuals instead of trying to find an A & P who will do it (and who will almost certainly charge you for it.)
Rainbow Aviation’s course $375
They gave the course in Independence, OR 2 weeks ago, and I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at a friend’s house instead of making the 1 3/4 hr. commute each day. If you have to go to Corning, CA you’ll be adding in the cost of travel & lodging. [When I took the course, I had to pay for room/board.]
So my total cost for aircraft and pilot transition was $1429…and a LOT of study prep time.
I personally like the Gleim test prep CD programs… you get to repeat the questions over and over until you fully understand them. Using the Gleim Private Pilot test prep CD, I got a 96% on the Private Pilot exam, so I always recommend them. The King video, I hear, is good, and so is the Sporty’s video (but they don’t have a course, yet, for Sport Pilot, just Private and Recreational), but for a transitioning pilot who is experienced, I’m not sure that they are necessary. They are very helpful and recommended but not necessary. Now, if you’re a seat-of-the-pants UL pilot, then I’d say they were necessary because the practical exam is usually pretty strict.
The other cost she doesn’t mention is the biennial flight review: 1 hour of ground instruction and 1 hour in-flight with a qualified instructor once every 24 months. This is something the UL pilot isn’t required to pay for.
If you are starting from scratch then, as a ball-park figure, you’ll probably need to add another $2500 to her figure. But, this is still less than half of what you’d pay for a Private Pilots license.