Can a Sport Instructor give a tailwheel signoff to a private pilot?

A sport pilot instructor can only instruct in LSA and can
only sign off sport pilots. It is possible there are some
cross-overs, such as tailwheel and a flight review in a LSA
would count for a flight review for all higher classes.

But the language is clear, a sport pilot instructor can
endorse for a sport pilot privilege. Whether that
endorsement can be extended beyond the sport pilot to a
higher class certificate is up to the FAA.
A sport pilot instructor in a J3 Cub (sport class aircraft)
and endorse a sport pilot for a tailwheel, but whether it
can be extended to a private pilot operating privilege under
61.31 has not been clearly explained.


"T o d d P a t t i s t" wrote
in message
...
| "Jim Macklin"
wrote:
|
| § 61.413 What are the privileges of my flight
instructor
| certificate with a sport pilot rating?
| (f) A flight review or operating privilege for a sport
| pilot;
|
| short answer, no.
|
| A private pilot is able to operate under the limitations
of
| a sport pilot. According to my last discussion with the
| FAA, a sport instructor can give a flight review to the
| holder of a private pilot certificate (or commercial or
ATP)
| and should require performance up to the sport pilot
| standards. That flight review is then valid for the pilot
| in all cat/class and for all privileges. If your
| interpretation were correct, then the above language
(which
| covers flight reviews and operating privs - like tailwheel
| endorsements) would prohibit the flight reviews too - in
| contradiction to what the FAA told me.
|
| It looks to me like the answer is "yes." A sport pilot
| needs the 61.31 tailwheel signoff and any private pilot
who
| wants to fly a tailwheel airplane under the included sport
| pilot privileges of his PP can get the signoff from a
sport
| instructor. As far as I can see that signoff would then
be
| good for all tailwheel airplanes, regardless of whether
they
| are LSAs or not, just as the flight review is valid for
all.
| For example, there is no multiengine tailwheel endorsement
| and you don't need a multiengine instructor to get the
| endorsement, yet the endorsement from an ASEL limited
| instructor would allow you to fly a multiengine tailwheel
| aircraft.
|
| Of course, this is just my opinion by analogy based on
what
| the FAA's sport pilot group told me. At the time I spoke
| with them they were sort of wondering if it made sense to
| allow a flight review to lesser standards, but that was
| their interpretation of the regs. Maybe it has changed
| since then.
| --
| Do not spin this aircraft. If the aircraft does enter a
spin it will return to earth without further attention on
the part of the aeronaut.
|
| (first handbook issued with the Curtis-Wright flyer)