• For an Introductory / Discovery Flight
• For piloting an Ultralight Powered Parachute
• To get your Student Certificate (to begin formal training for a Sport or Private Pilot)
• To test for a Sport Pilot
• To achieve Private Pilot status
• To be rated as a CFI (FAA Certified Flight Instructor)

Requirements for a Introductory / Discovery Flight in a Powered Parachute
— Sunglasses
— Closed-toed shoes
— Obtained at least 18-years on this planet, (or convince the CFI that your child is very mautre for their age)
— Uner 340-lbs in the winter months; and under 280-lbs in the hot summer months.
— Able to understand basic English

Requirements for Piloting an ULTRALIGHT Powered Parachute
The FAA has a special section in their FAR manual (Federal Aviation Regulations) called “Part 103”. The powered parachute industry commonly refers aircraft that meet these specifications as “FAR 103” – also commonly known as the ULTRALIGHT rules. As a pilot, to fly an ultralight, under the FAR-103 rules, you can…

— ....fly alone;i.e., in a lightweight(under 254-lbs) single seat unit with no more than 5-gals
     of fuel.
— ....fly at any age; i.e., you do NOT have to meet any age requirements
— ....fly during the day, and as long as you maintain at least 3-miles of visibility and a
     specified distance away from clouds
— ....fly away from congested areas; i.e., you can NOT fly over assembly of persons
     (football games, etc); or populated areas (nothing taht a 9-house subdivision would be
     classified as a congested area)
— ....fly in 'E' & 'G' airspace. So, if you would like to fly a single seat, weighing under
     254-lbs, with no more than 5-gallons of fuel capacity in a powered parachute, there are
     no regulatory requirements for training. Noting however, that the prudent pilot will
     certainly seek out some training for safety’s sake. But, the amount of training required
     is determined by the Instructor and not by the regulations.

Requirements to get your Student Certificate
(basically this is the initial document needed for one to begin formal training)
A student pilot is obviously one learning to fly. This person should always be prepared to commit the required time & effort, and hence become saturated in all the required facets of aviation knowledge and flight skills. And please note that the learning process can – in all sincerity - contain just as much joy - as the final certificate! And once endorsed for solo flight, it is the student who may fly solo or with an instructor to obtain the required flight training hours. Perhaps it should also be noted here that a Student certificate is valid for 5-years. But they will need to be endorsed on that certificate at least every 90-days by a CFI for continued solo flight and to obtain flight time & experience.

A Student sport pilot for powered parachute solo flight must…
— Be at least 16-years old; (17-yrs old to be a certified pilot) [Ref: § 61.305]
— Read, write and understand the English language [Ref: § 61.305]

And to fly solo with a Student Certificate....
— Have at least a 3rd Class Medical or a USA State Driver License Note: If using your State driver’s license (as your medical) then
     you must also adhere to any restrictions on that license [§ 61.303(b)]
— Have passed a PreSolo knowledge test; with a Logbook endorsement
— Have received adequate ground & flight training; with a Logbook endorsement
— Have a current & an endorsed (within the last 90-days) Student Pilot certificate    
— Have demonstrated proficiency and safety of the required maneuvers and procedures in the make and model of PPC

Requirements to test for Sport Pilot
A sport pilot is one who is certificated to fly a light sport aircraft.  The sport pilot certificate does not list category and class ratings, such as powered parachute land (PPCL).  Each category, class and set of LSA, where one is authorized to act as pilot in command, will be given via logbook endorsements. To be eligible and to be test as a sport pilot for powered parachutes, one must…
— Meet the requirements of a Student Pilot (above), and…
— Be at least 17-years old
— Have a minimum of 12 flight hours in a PPC
       • With at least 10-hrs logged entries, signed as Dual Flight training
            - With at least 1-hr logged as Dual Cross-Country training
            - With at least 3-hrs logged as Preparations for the Practical test
              (and must be endorsed within 60-days of taking the Practical)
       • With at least 2-hrs logged as solo
            - With at least 1 logged solo cross-country flight and a straight-line,
              non-stop distance landing at least 10-NM (11.5-miles) from the
              departure
— Have at least 20 full-stop landings from a traffic pattern
       • With at least 10 of the 20 as solo landings
— Demonstrate confidence in the Knowledge [§ 61.309], Proficiency [§ 61.311] and Aeronautical Experience [§ 61.313] areas
— Be endorsed for; and pass a Knowledge test (70% of the 40 questions answered correctly)
— Be endorsed for; and pass a Practical test (100% required with ‘open-books’)
       • Note that the Practical test must also be given within 24-months of passing the Knowledge test
       • Typical Practical Test includes:
            - 2-hrs of Oral questioning (“Open Book” test) and
            - About 2-hrs of Flight & field tests

Requirements to achieve Private Pilot
If you hold at least a recreational pilot certificate but not a rating for the category and class of PPC, you can operate the powered parachute only if you receive a logbook endorsement [§ 61.321] from the instructor who trained you on the required aeronautical knowledge [§ 61.309] and operation areas [§ 61.311], and then pass the proficiency check.
The initial logbook endorsement will certify you have met the aeronautical knowledge and flight proficiency requirements for a powered parachute LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) privilege, and hence clear you to take the proficiency check from another instructor. For the Private rating, there will be a little more work involved to advance to a stage above a SP rating. You will need to take a Knowledge test at the level of Private, and you will have to do get all of the dual training hours (notably for night and controlled airspace).

• Private Requirements…
— A current third class medical
— Flight experience as per §61.109(i)
— A person who applies for a private pilot certificate with a powered parachute category rating must log at least 25 hours of flight
     time in a PPC that includes…
       • 10 hours of dual flight training with an authorized instructor including…
           - 30 takeoffs and landings, and
           - 3 hours of night flight training in a PPC that includes 10 takeoffs and landings (with each landing from a traffic pattern) at
             an airport
           - 3 hours of flight training in preparation for the Practical Test in a powered parachute, within the 60-day period of taking
             the Practical
           - 1 hour of cross-country flight training in a PPC with a landing at
an airport at least 25 nautical miles from the airport of departure;
      • 10 hours of solo flight training in the areas of operation listed in §61.107 (b)(9)
        Solo time must include at least…
            - 3 hours in a powered parachute, consisting of at least…
            - 1 solo cross-country flight with a landing at an airport at least 25 nautical miles from the departure airport; and
            - 20 solo takeoffs and landings to a full stop, as part of a traffic pattern at an airport
            - At least 3 of the 20 takeoffs and landings must be at an airport with an operating control tower.
      You need a recommendation from a Certified Flight Instructor who is himself a Powered Parachute Private Pilot.
      You need to get a check ride from Designated Pilot Examiner authorized to provide check rides for Powered Parachute Private
      Pilots.
The privileges of a private pilot powered parachute include those of a sport pilot, plus the ability to fly at night and above 10,000 Feet Mean Sea Level. The privileges of a Powered Parachute Rated Private Pilot are the same as an Airplane Rated Private Pilot.

• Already a Private Pilot
If you're a private pilot that wants to get a sport pilot powered parachute endorsement, you must first work with a powered parachute Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) in order to complete your initial training. That CFI can then recommend you to another powered parachute CFI for what is called a proficiency check. (§61.321) The proficiency check is nearly identical to a regular Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) practical test except that:
— You don't have to pass a knowledge test if you hold a private certificate.
— You don't have to complete a minimum amount of training before the proficiency check.
— And the ‘Check Ride’ can be done by another powered parachute CFI instead of a DPE.

Once you have completed the proficiency check, you will be able to take passengers along for the ride IF you are also current. If you haven't been flying for awhile, you will need to also have a flight review. The good news is that the flight review can be done in a powered parachute and you don't have to have a medical.

Note: If you hold a recreational pilot certificate, but not a medical certificate, you must comply with cross-country requirements in § 61.101 (c), even if your flight does not exceed 50-NM from your departure airport.

Requirements to be rated as a SP Instructor, a CFI (Certified Flight Instructor)
A Sport Pilot Certified Flight Instructor is a pilot who can instruct; endorse logbooks for privileges; and who can give proficiency check flights & Flight Reviews. To be eligible as a SP Instructor (CFI) for powered parachutes, one must…
— At least meet the requirements of a SP (above), in the same Category & Class of LSA, be current and…
— Be at least 18-years old
— Have a minimum of 100 flight hours logged as Pilot
      1) With at least 15 of the 100-hrs logged in a LSA powered parachute (i.e., “N” numbered PPC)
      2) With at least 75 of the 100-hrs logged as pilot of a powered aircraft (your “N” numbered PPC counts here)
      3) With at least 50 of the 100-hrs logged as pilot of a powered parachute
      4) With at least 15 of the 100-hrs logged as Cross-Country time
         • With at least 5 of the 15-hrs logged in a PPC (Note that PPC cross-country flight is only required to be a straight-line,
           non-stop distance, with a landing at least 10-NM from the departure.)
— Be endorsed for; and pass a Fundamentals of Instruction test (70% required to pass)
— Be endorsed for; and pass a Knowledge Test (70% correctly answered of the 70 questions)
— Confirm preparations for the CFI Practical test (and be endorsed within 60-days of taking the Practical)
— Demonstrate confidence in the areas of operations [§ 61.409], and have evidence of your aeronautical experience [§ 61.411]      areas
— Be endorsed for; and pass the CFI Practical test (100% required)
      1) Note that the Practical test must also be given within 24-months of passing the Knowledge test
      2) Typical Practical Test includes:
         • 4-hrs of Oral questioning (“Open Book” test) and
         • About 2-hrs of Flight tests

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