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Comment by sethkim | Hacker News Reader

I figured this comment would get me in trouble :)

I recommend doing some instrument lessons if you haven't already. When I got my instrument rating I questioned whether the private requirements are actually enough. The skills that the instrument rating teaches in terms of preparation, workload management, and emergency weather scenarios make me question whether I was really ready to fly before I had it.

With the private or sport license you'll be fine in the majority of cases. I think my comment comes more from the edge and corner cases that more skills and experience help with, not your ability to work in the system at all.

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There is a decent argument to be made that LSA pilots are kept to a safer regime. I only fly in excellent weather and during the day, which eliminates a large majority of the risk profile in aviation. The LSA that I fly, while not IFR certified, has an autopilot, ADSB in, 2 radios, and a Garmin 430 which can be slaved to the autopilot. The plane will essentially VNAV fly itself to the numbers if I load the approach.

For all intents and purposes, LSA pilots really only fly in 10SM vis and excellent weather. Nothing less.

A lot of people look at the 20 hour minimum training for LSA pilots and scoff at that, but I've never met a LSA pilot that didn't follow the exact same training trajectory as a PPL. It took me about 65 hours to get my ticket, and I trained out of the 6th busiest airport in Texas which is nestled under DFW's Bravo.

ATPL here, couldn't agree more with both of your comments.

It's not to say recreational/LS pilots are necessarily inexperienced or hazardous but the odds are certainly higher than someone trained to an IFR standard.

Like you said, raising the systems standards and improving affordability is fantastic. Lowering the barrier to entry in the complex world of aviation would require fundamental changes on so many levels I don't see this project completely achieving it but good luck to them, I think theres more to gain than lose.

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