Recreational Pilot Permit
I went to the dentist today for a long overdue checkup (look Mum, no cavities!). As I was sitting in the chair getting the usual (and unavoidable) plaque build up removed, I overheard another patient talking about some flying related things. So I tuned out of the cleaning, which I normally try to do anyway, and listened in on what the other patient was saying.
I didn’t catch the whole conversation but it sounded like he owned a small aircraft of sorts (perhaps an ultralight?) and that his spouse was ‘thinking of going the recreational pilot permit route’. Up until today I really didn’t know much about the Recreational Pilot Permit (RPP), mostly because it wasn’t available when I got my licence in 1992 and also because it is a lower licence per se; that is, a step down from what I already have. In fact, the only thing I knew about the RPP was that it required fewer hours to be licenced and that the Calgary Flying Club only lets members with recreational pilot permits flying in Alberta and Saskatchewan. So, in essence, I knew nothing. But the disturbing thing about the conversation I overheard was that the patient said that the recreational pilot permit teaches you how to ’take off and land and fly around’, in a very cavalier, ‘no-big-deal-to-get-it’ kind of voice.
After work today I looked up the details on the Canadian Recreational Pilot Permit in the AIP and CAR. The AIP states recreational pilot permit is only valid in Canada. The CARS (401.22) go on to state that the holder of a recreational pilot permit may, under day VFR, act as PIC of any single-engine, non-high performance aeroplane so long as the aeroplane is designed to carry no more than four passengers and no more than one passenger is carried in the aeroplane. Furthermore, only a Category 4 Medical Certificate is required. Finally, in order to receive your permit, the holder must have 25 hours of flight training which must include 15 hours of dual instruction (including 2 hours cross country) and 5 hours of solo time. Oh, and no ground school required. Did I miss anything?
The Transport Canada website has stats page listing the licences in force up to 2003. In 2003 there were 1227 recreational pilot permits in force. That doesn’t seem to be all that many so I’m wondering why the recreational pilot permit came into being in the first place? Especially if the general consensus is that it’s ‘just enough training to get me up in the air’. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for sharing the vast air space with pilots of all levels of training, but I’m not so convinced of this blurring between licencing. It seems as if Transport Canada created what amounts to an advanced ultra-light licence.
Perhaps it was created to allow older pilots to continue to fly after a failed Category 3 Medical? But if that was the case, then why not just put additional requirements on private pilots with Category 4 Medicals? Or was licence cost the driving factor? Were flight schools pressuring the government to create a licence that would be more attractive financially to people? A licence that was cheaper to get? I sincerely hope that isn’t the case, as the last thing that we need is an aviation industry driven solely by financial factors.
So, I’m still at a loss as to why such a licence would be created. I know who can get the RPP, what is required to get the RPP and what can be done with the RPP. Yes, I understand all that, but why create this half trained, half brother to the private pilot licence?
Fri, 05 Aug 2005 01:29 Posted in Flying
