Pack Flight Services
Sport Pilot Test Information
Cross Country Destination: Your destination will be assigned when you schedule your test.
Examiner Weight: 165 Pounds
Baggage Weight: 10 pounds, plus whatever you normally keep in the airplane.
Test Fee: Please refer to the Rates page for current test fee information
Scheduling and Weather Policy: Please refer to the Scheduling page for details.
Required Endorsements:
Please refer to the current edition of advisory circular 61-65. At the time of writing, 61-65H is current. You will need the following endorsements in order to take your Sport Pilot practical test. Please have your instructor review your logbook to ensure that these endorsements are complete and current. Missing endorsements may prevent your test from being completed on schedule. Other endorsements may apply, but at the minimum we will need the following:
-A.1 Prerequisites for Practical Test (61.39)
-A.2 Review of deficiencies on Knowledge Test (61.39)
-A.3 Pre-solo Aeronautical Knowledge Test (61.87b)
-A.4 Pre-solo flight training (61.87 C1 and C2)
-A.7 Solo flight for each 90 day period. You must have a current solo endorsement in order to take the practical test! (61.87p)
-A.9 Solo Cross Country flights (61.93 C1 and C2)
-A.10 Solo Cross Country flight planning (61.93 C3)
-A.17 Aeronautical Knowledge Test (61.35 A1 and 61.309) (NOTE: The knowledge test results alone are not sufficient. You must have this endorsement as well!)
-A.20 Taking Sport Pilot Practical Test (61. 309, 61.311, and 61.313)
-A.22 Operations in B, C, or D airspace (61.325) (NOTE: This endorsement may not be required depend where the test is conducted. If it is at ORL, then we need this one.)
-A.23 Light Sport Aircraft with a VH less than or Equal to 87 knots (61.327) OR A.24, Light Sport Aircraft with VH greater than 87 knots. This will depend on your airplane.
-A.73 Retesting after failure of a practical or knowledge test (61.49) (NOTE: Only required for a retest)
Required Documents:
Please ensure that you have ALL of the following documents, in addition to the required endorsements listed above. If you're missing documents or paperwork, I won't be able to conduct your test and we'll need to reschedule for another day. That's not fun for anyone.
-Completed application in IACRA
-Please have your IACRA login credentials readily accessible.
-Paper copy of the 8710-11 printed from IACRA after CFI signature. (Hopefully we don't need this, but if IACRA is unavailable the paper copy allows us to continue the test
-Knowledge test results
-Pilot logbook with all pages totaled
-Record of ground instruction received (This is missing all the time. I can't do the test without it. You're paying your CFI to give you ground training, make them log it for you!)
-Government issued photo Identification. Passport, US driver's license, Military ID, etc. Foreign Driver Licenses are not acceptable.
-Valid, unexpired medical certificate (Third Class or higher) OR Basicmed OR valid US driver License
-Student pilot certificate
-All aircraft documentation (ARROW, as applicable)
-All aircraft maintenance records (AV1ATES, as applicable. Please confirm any pertinent AD compliance!)
-Completed cross-country navlog, with supporting documentation (charts, weather briefing information, performance data, etc)
Test Advice:
-Go through the maintenance records well in advance of the test date. Verify that all the inspections are up to date, ESPECIALLY the airworthiness directives. Remember, 91.7 says that it is your responsibility as PIC to make sure the airplane is airworthy. While it is the owner's responsibility to keep it airworthy under 91.405, it is your job to make sure the owner is doing their job. Please review 91.417 carefully. AD Compliance is a consistent issue. If they are not documented correctly, I can not and will not fly your airplane, which means your test is cancelled. Blanket statements such as "All AD's are current" are not acceptable. The FAA is very clear about the requirements. For further detail, you can read the Easter-Precision Letter. Remember that recurring AD's need to have their next due date listed too. This has been enough of an issue recently that I have adopted a no-show policy, and I will probably charge you a cancellation fee if your test can't be conducted as a result of information that, in reality, is part of the test.
-Read the PTS. The whole thing. ESPECIALLY the Introduction section in pages 1-17. Everyone skips this section. This describes how your test will be conducted and what the expectations are. I'll cover this with you before starting the test, but there's a lot of details and it's better to be familiar with it up front.
-Read the manual for your airplane, especially the systems section.
-Electronic flight bags like Foreflight or Garmin Pilot are fine, but be sure that you're comfortable with the technology and how to use it. You'll be tested on the tools you bring to the test.
-I strongly recommend getting an "official" weather briefing from Flight Service, Foreflight, or some equivalent program. Printing METARs and TAFs from aviationweather.gov almost always leads to missing information. As a good rule of thumb, if you didn't have to give someone your aircraft registration number in order to receive your briefing, you're probably missing information that you're going to need during the test and during your flight. Don't forget to look at the NOTAMs!
-Please dress comfortably. There's no need to "dress to impress." Shorts are perfectly fine.
-Bring a snack or some lunch. Sometimes the test runs long, especially if we have any weather delays. No one flies well when they're hungry.
-Take your time. A lot of the mistakes I see during tests are simply the result of people rushing into things without thinking about what they're doing. If you take an extra 10 minutes to finish the test, that's fine. Watch the details.
-If it doesn't look right, go around. Let me say that again: Go around. Many accidents can be avoided simply by going around.
-You're going to have a simulated engine failure during your flight. There will most likely be a runway under you when that happens. You will be expected to touchdown on that runway. Plan accordingly. Many people fly their approach with no intention of actually landing, which totally defeats the point of the exercise. Pick a touchdown spot, and then fly an approach that'll get you there.
Questions?
Text me and ask! I'm here to help. You can try calling me too, but I do spend a lot of time in airplanes and I'm not always available to answer. A text message is the most reliable and preferred way to reach me.