The FAA officially released the final revisions to the Sport Pilot rules this Monday. Overall, they seem to have been greeted warmly by the AOPA and the EAA, though there are a few lingering points of dissent. Overall, it seems to me that the rules generally make the Sport Pilot rating easier to obtain and administrate and give Sport Pilots more opportunities in their operations.

The EAA posted a great summary of the changes with comments on their associated impact. Some of the major benefits include:

• Sport Pilots are no longer required to carry their logbooks when they fly (they should still carry copies of applicable endorsements though)
• Sport Pilot instructors no longer need to log 5 hours in make and model of an aircraft to give instruction in it
• Sport Pilots flying in the mountains can go higher than 10,000' MSL...up to 2,000' AGL max
• Owners of E-LSAs that used to be certified as S-LSAs can now perform their own maintenance
• LSAs can now be used for training at Part 141 flight schools

Letting flight schools use LSAs will significantly reduce the costs of flight training...and will give new pilots access to some great aircraft. It's also good to hear that Sport Pilots can now enjoy flying in places like Colorado. I also imagine E-LSA owners are very excited to be able to do their own maintenance. That'll save a lot of money for those who have the right expertise.

One other outcome is that the FAA wants to do a better job of keeping track of which types of aircraft Sport Pilots have endorsements for. They have a website where pilots can check to see if the FAA knows about their endorsement and if not, send in a copy of their logbook to get added to the list. (Don't worry...not being on the list doesn't preclude you from exercising privileges for which you have proper endorsements.)

What do you think about these rule changes? Do you or anyone you know fly purely as a Sport Pilot? How do you think they'll affect you? Leave us a comment and let us know.