On Sun, 18 Dec 2005 23:19:10 -0800, Sylvain wrote in
::

Morgans wrote:
The proof (one way or another) will be the statistics gathered after a few
years of the sport pilot program. The results could very well result in
changes in the current system of PPL medicals, or show reasons for keeping
the system in place for many years to come.

again (the subject keeps popping up regularly in this newsgroup),
the data is already here, and has been available for ages:
how many flying hours have been flown by glider (sailplane) pilots,
who routinely do something far more challenging physically than what
most powered private pilots do, i.e., longer, higher, more
adrenaline charged flights, and who do all that without
requiring a medical certificate (not even a driving license as
required by sport pilots);

And what information has been gleaned from those data? I would guess,
that the rate of glider accidents per hour flown is significantly
higher than that of typical private pilot powered operation. But
would that be a result of the glider's lack of an engine or
catastrophic medical issues?