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What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

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Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#181

Post by OJFord »

Dalewyn wrote: post #157
sugarkjube wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can fly a plane without a licence just like you can drive a car without a licence. No problem at all. Until you're caught or in a crash. You can't however, unlike a car, fly a plane without having been taught. If you try, you may be able to get in the air, but the difficult part is getting back on the ground alive.

We can't drive a car without having been taught either. Granted, the amount of training required to drive a car pales in comparison to flying an aircraft, but it's not like humans can just drive a car straight out of the womb.

If it's an automatic, you only really need a vague cultural awareness of what a car is and how it works I think. (Ignoring driving well, fuel efficiently, understanding road markings, etc. - just enough to get around and improve as you go.) Push this to go, steer direction with this. Quite like a boat (motor) - certainly don't need lessons to get going with a wheel and a lever, or directing an outboard motor or rudder.

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#182

Post by andersrs »

entropy47 wrote: post #176
andersrs wrote: post #174

My hot take is that hobby pilots are a bunch of selfish assholes creating a bunch of noise and emissions just do they can have fun. So selfish they only started thinking about removing lead from fuel very recently. One of the aircraft is even called a mosquito so the industry is so aware of the issue they're making a joke out of it. At least commercial aircraft have a purpose and try to be as quiet as possible. Fuck…

> creating a bunch of noise and emissions just so they can have fun Wait until you hear about parents! I haven't actually done the maths but I expect an ultralight is comparable to a car hobbyist in both noise and emissions. Agree that flying a jet liner for fun would be a dick move.

Yeah I hate those kind of people as well when they are noisy. Is that supposed to be an argument?

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#185

Post by flangola7 »

godelski wrote: post #128
paulddraper wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a private pilot. This is basically correct. If your airport is small and you never get in trouble with ATC or have an emergency situation, you will probably not get caught. However, if you do get caught, it is a criminal charge with (IIRC) up to $250,000 fine and 6 years prison time. Or worse, you overestimate your ability and die/kill people. I wouldn't take that risk. If you want to fly a lot, get a license. If…

> E.g. If you have been professionally diagnosed with ADHD, the FAA bans you from any pilot's license ever, even a student license Not quite true. They just need you to be evaluated where you've been off medication for at least 90 days. But if you're on Adderall, you're shit out of luck. Which is pretty dumb since the medication resolves issues. Other dumb things that will/can prevent you from getting your license: A…

I don't understand the 90 days part. Why would someone discontinue the medication that controls their symptoms?

I have ADHD and take Adderall, and plan to pursue a recreational/personal license next year.

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#186

Post by flangola7 »

Dalewyn wrote: post #156
pkilgore wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment contributes nothing. There are multiple levels of licensing with multiple levels of medical clearances. Someone on controlled ADHD medication, diabetes, or high BMI is perfectly capable of managing risk of flying as a private pilot same as boating or driving. They probably shouldn't be airline transport pilots, but that's not really under discussion. It seems like your goal here is to start some sort of…

FAA's regulations are draconian, but they are that way because they are written in blood. When shit goes south, it doesn't matter whether you're a private or commercial pilot. Your plane is coming down regardless, and worst case you might take some other people with you to the other side. More than anything, flying is a luxury compared to something like driving which is a practical necessity or sailing which carries…

This is thinking-shaped text. ChatGPT has better intelligence than this.

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#187

Post by nelgaard »

blt wrote: post #31

> You don’t need a license to operate these aircraft because they’re easy enough to fly that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) doesn’t see the need to regulate them. I don't think that's the reason. The reason is that they are unlikely to hurt anyone besides the pilot in a crash. They can have an engine failure, stall-spin, or fly into a cloud just as readily as any other plane. Those are the biggest risks fo…

Yes, but they are easier to land if you do get an engine failure. With 5 gallons of fuel they are less likely to be surprised by bad weather.

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#188

Post by mschuster91 »

srvmshr wrote: post #144
godelski wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> E.g. If you have been professionally diagnosed with ADHD, the FAA bans you from any pilot's license ever, even a student license Not quite true. They just need you to be evaluated where you've been off medication for at least 90 days. But if you're on Adderall, you're shit out of luck. Which is pretty dumb since the medication resolves issues. Other dumb things that will/can prevent you from getting your license: A…

Why discriminate against diabetes. Of the things listed, this is probably the most common one & a lifestyle disease. This can have a onset in mid-40s to 50s for some genetically predisposed people. Are they not allowed to fly then?

Because diabetes events (both hypo and hyperglycemia) due to human error can and regularly do lead to accidents. It's bad enough in cars, but a plane? Hell no.

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#189

Post by NoNameHaveI »

mschuster91 wrote: post #50
quasarj wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flying into a cloud is a big risk? They're everywhere!

Here in Germany, if you don't have an IFR (instrument flight rules) rating, you're not allowed to fly through clouds, because if you're not trained in using avionics or the plane doesn't have them in the first place, you are very very likely to kill yourself, your passengers and people on the ground. If you encounter unexpected clouds, you are supposed to GTFO... if you try to fly "under" the clouds, you may end up f…

Here in the USA, flying is rather expensive. I am told it is largely due to insurance costs. I am curious, what are common rates to fly a Cessna 172 wet/dry around the world?

Re: What planes can you fly without a pilot’s license?

#190

Post by Ekaros »

srvmshr wrote: post #144
godelski wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> E.g. If you have been professionally diagnosed with ADHD, the FAA bans you from any pilot's license ever, even a student license Not quite true. They just need you to be evaluated where you've been off medication for at least 90 days. But if you're on Adderall, you're shit out of luck. Which is pretty dumb since the medication resolves issues. Other dumb things that will/can prevent you from getting your license: A…

Why discriminate against diabetes. Of the things listed, this is probably the most common one & a lifestyle disease. This can have a onset in mid-40s to 50s for some genetically predisposed people. Are they not allowed to fly then?

I think they focus on type-1 not the type-2 that is likely common even in professionals. Type-1 can cause many immediate issues. And thus likely they don't want pilots with it.
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