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For Many, Sport Pilot Is the More Affordable Ticket to the Sky

Mid Island Air Service on New York’s Long Island has found success training new sport pilots in modern BRM Aero Bristell LSAs. [Courtesy: MIAS]
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Key Takeaways:

  • The high cost of earning a private pilot certificate often deters aspiring aviators, making sport pilot certification a significantly more affordable entry point into flying.
  • Mid Island Air Service (MIAS) finds success by offering sport pilot training in modern Light-Sport Airplanes (LSAs), costing an average of $12,000 for completion, which is substantially less than a private pilot license.
  • MIAS utilizes technologically advanced yet simpler-to-fly LSA aircraft (Bristell) and employs a transparent, student-centric training approach that helps maintain student engagement, reduce washouts, and achieve high FAA pass rates.
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We all know many people who express an interest in learning to fly, but when they finally decide to walk into a flight school that only teaches private pilot and above, the sticker shock of earning a private pilot certificate can often scare them right back into the parking lot.

It is this high cost of admission to the sky that has propelled Long Island’s Mid Island Air Service (MIAS) to find success training new sport pilot students in modern light-sport airplanes. Because of the lower cost and shortened FAA flight time requirements for a sport pilot certificate, prospective student pilots can stretch a smaller budget to achieve their dream to fly. 

Dan Pimentel

Dan Pimentel is an instrument-rated private pilot and former airplane owner who has been flying since 1996. As an aviation journalist and photographer, he has covered all aspects of the general and business aviation communities for a long list of major aviation magazines, newspapers and websites. He has never met a flying machine that he didn’t like, and has written about his love of aviation for years on his Airplanista blog. For 10 years until 2019, he hosted the popular ‘Oshbash’ social media meetup events at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

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