Actually ,
The insurance companies are having trouble with insurance on taildraggers
for ALL pilots not just sport pilots. But the flight schools insurance is
covering sport pilot students as well as other students...and no one is
covered in a taildragger. If flight schools buy Ercoupes is solves the
problem I'll keep driving 5 and a half hours to fly a taildragger . Maybe
they will buy one eventually. I had no trouble getting my own insurance as a
sport pilot student and they just can't wait to do more biz with me when I
buy my own plane. I don't see any difference in my first hours of flight
training and a PPL's training. Risky for all new pilots.
CFI's are more than willing to teach sport pilots I have found. yep the
rules need some ironing out, but sport pilot training is happening.
The biggest hurdle is the AIRPLANE! When insurance balks the old
taildraggers from any pilot soloing in them, it leaves a flight school with
it's hands tied. Most flight schools won't chunk out 80G for a new sport
plane , and few sport pilot students will buy their own at that price. So
either some cheaper sport planes come on line or the whole thing will just
be a retirement program for the rich type private pilots who can not get a
medical anymore. Not alot of flight schools go out and buy the Diamonds and
such either, they have the good old all purpose trainers that they pick up
relatively cheap.
True some areas may have the high tech stuff just over flowing but that
is the exception rather than the rule. In NE TN I know of one Cirrus that is
available for rent....still lots and lots of C150's C172 and Cherokee and
Warriors . When everyone that wants to fly builds their own plane then maybe
the prices will come down

Patrick
student SPL
aircraft structural mech

wrote in message
ups.com...

That's the objective. But the real outcome will be more old guys who are
scared they are going to loose their medicals.

That's going to be a major consitutuency of the Sport Pilot rule --
people with PP's and other advanced ratings who "retire" into LSAs.

This will change when the LSAs start showing up (which, in reality,
they have not. J3 Cubs are not going to attract the younger crowd), the
CFIs are ready to teach the new standard (with they are not. obviously,
they have the skills, but they don't have the syllabi, etc.), and most
importantly, the insurance companies know what to do with the LS rule,
which they don't.

That latter one could sink the whole deal. So far, reports from people
who run FBOs do not sound so good.

-- dave j