toto Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 So … let’s say that my medical expires on January 31. My AME is out of town, and my appointment is on February 11. I have two airplanes, each of which has a 59kcas vs1 in the original flight manual, with no modifications since the factory airworthiness certificate was issued. There’s warmer weather coming next week, with a couple of flyable days. I can exercise my sport pilot privileges to fly either aircraft under day VFR, right? Obviously I already have a complex endorsement on my pilot certificate, so there should be no special endorsement needed to exercise sport pilot privileges in the Mooney. And of course the regular sport pilot limitations would apply (max one passenger etc).
pmccand Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 (edited) I would think that would be perfectly fine. I have read that private pilots can participate under sport pilot privileges as long as you operate under sport pilot limitations. No night flying without endorsements, no night IFR, stay under 10,000 feet MSL max ( not including mountains where you can be 2,000 AGL), 1 passenger, vs1 clean stall maximums, etc. You just cannot fly under Sport privileges if you have been denied or deferred a medical in the past. Edited January 31 by pmccand
1980Mooney Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 1 hour ago, toto said: So … let’s say that my medical expires on January 31. My AME is out of town, and my appointment is on February 11. I have two airplanes, each of which has a 59kcas vs1 in the original flight manual, with no modifications since the factory airworthiness certificate was issued. There’s warmer weather coming next week, with a couple of flyable days. I can exercise my sport pilot privileges to fly either aircraft under day VFR, right? Obviously I already have a complex endorsement on my pilot certificate, so there should be no special endorsement needed to exercise sport pilot privileges in the Mooney. And of course the regular sport pilot limitations would apply (max one passenger etc). Have you read your Insurance Policy or spoken with your Agent? My USAIG Policy says that it covers me as long as I am holding a Private with Instrument Rating or Commercial Rating. Further, it will cover any other pilot acting as Pilot In Command as long as they hold a Private with Instrument Rating or Commercial Rating w/ minimum 750 hours total PIC, 100 hours Retract PIC and 25 hours PIC in a Mooney. Now my policy has been written that way and has been the same for a long time - before MOSAIC. And since my CAS vs1 is above 59kcas, flying with Sport Pilot privilege is not a possibility. But I bet USAIG has the same language in M20C policies which could operate with Sport Pilot privileges. @Parker_Woodruff - any insight would be appreciated. Is this something that is insurance company specific? In this case the OP is proposing to exercise Sport Pilot temporarily There will be more and more cases where Mooney pilot/owners, due to age or health, make a permanent transition from Private+Instrument to Sport Pilot permanently. How do the Insurance companies treat current Mooney pilot/owner policyholders (already owning a "sport pilot friendly Mooney model like the OP) with Private+Instrument who downgrade to Sport Pilot midway during the Policy Term? Do the Insurers just let it slide and address it next Term renewal? Or is the Policy void at the time of the Pilot/Owner license downgrade and a new Policy written, possibly with new rates (no night flights, no Instrument, pax limit)? One last case - consider an Ovation owner (Private+Instrument) that decides to drop to Sport Pilot only. And he trades the Ovation for a "Sport pilot friendly" M20C. Do you anticipate any difficulty for such a pilot/owner getting a new policy (liability and hull)? - will new rates likely be higher or lower (adjusted for Hull value)?
TNdebdriver Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 Have you read your Insurance Policy or spoken with your Agent? My USAIG Policy says that it covers me as long as I am holding a Private with Instrument Rating or Commercial Rating. Further, it will cover any other pilot acting as Pilot In Command as long as they hold a Private with Instrument Rating or Commercial Rating w/ minimum 750 hours total PIC, 100 hours Retract PIC and 25 hours PIC in a Mooney. Now my policy has been written that way and has been the same for a long time - before MOSAIC. And since my CAS vs1 is above 59kcas, flying with Sport Pilot privilege is not a possibility. But I bet USAIG has the same language in M20C policies which could operate with Sport Pilot privileges. [mention=7052]Parker_Woodruff[/mention] - any insight would be appreciated. Is this something that is insurance company specific? In this case the OP is proposing to exercise Sport Pilot temporarily There will be more and more cases where Mooney pilot/owners, due to age or health, make a permanent transition from Private+Instrument to Sport Pilot permanently. How do the Insurance companies treat current Mooney pilot/owner policyholders (already owning a "sport pilot friendly Mooney model like the OP) with Private+Instrument who downgrade to Sport Pilot midway during the Policy Term? Do the Insurers just let it slide and address it next Term renewal? Or is the Policy void at the time of the Pilot/Owner license downgrade and a new Policy written, possibly with new rates (no night flights, no Instrument, pax limit)? One last case - consider an Ovation owner (Private+Instrument) that decides to drop to Sport Pilot only. And he trades the Ovation for a "Sport pilot friendly" M20C. Do you anticipate any difficulty for such a pilot/owner getting a new policy (liability and hull)? - will new rates likely be higher or lower (adjusted for Hull value)? Your medical expiring has nothing to do with the certificate you hold. For example, on the other end of the spectrum, an ATP with a 1st class that’s under 40 still holds an ATP and a 1st class medical after 12 calendar months, he is just not permitted to exercise the privileges of that certificate while it is reverted to third class privileges. Likewise, a private pilot with a third class is still a private pilot, but unless he holds a third class medical, he cannot exercise the privileges of that certificate. By the wording of your policy, you will continue to “hold a private with instrument rating.”Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
toto Posted January 31 Author Report Posted January 31 4 hours ago, 1980Mooney said: Have you read your Insurance Policy or spoken with your Agent? My Mooney policy says this:
midlifeflyer Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 I would check my insurance, but not for the reason stated by @1980Mooney. As @TNdebdriver points out it’s not about the pilot certificate. Your pilot certificate is valid forever unless officially suspended, revoked or surrendered. But I have seen policies that require a current medical certificate. That’s where there might be a problem.
midlifeflyer Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 6 minutes ago, toto said: My Mooney policy says this: You posted that as I was writing. Yep. That language is pretty broad but I can still see a possible issue with no certificate whatsoever being viewed as an “equivalent.” I’m not saying what the answer is, just that I see a question. … and another policy might say something different. 1
toto Posted January 31 Author Report Posted January 31 5 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said: You posted that as I was writing. Yep. That language is pretty broad but I can still see a possible issue with no certificate whatsoever being viewed as an “equivalent.” I’m not saying what the answer is, just that I see a question. … and another policy might say something different. Yes, but .. the certificate or its equivalent is “as required” by FAA. If no certificate is required, then I meet that requirement with a valid driver’s license.. I think? I’ll check the other policy. And Parker is my agent on both, so hopefully he has nothing better to do with his weekend than chime in here 1
toto Posted January 31 Author Report Posted January 31 Fwiw, the other policy actually doesn’t mention medical certification at all:
Hank Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 46 minutes ago, toto said: Fwiw, the other policy actually doesn’t mention medical certification at all: Wow, that's nice! Your PPL is effective until suspended or revoked. But you can convert to Basic Med and continue to fly your Mooney regardless of stall speeds, Sun position or cloudiness, too. Take the free online course every other year, and visit the state-licensed physician of your choice every four years with the checklist.
midlifeflyer Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 3 hours ago, toto said: Yes, but .. the certificate or its equivalent is “as required” by FAA. If no certificate is required, then I meet that requirement with a valid driver’s license.. I think? I’ll check the other policy. And Parker is my agent on both, so hopefully he has nothing better to do with his weekend than chime in here That's why I said I don't have an answer. Perhaps Parker has one.
midlifeflyer Posted January 31 Report Posted January 31 3 hours ago, toto said: Fwiw, the other policy actually doesn’t mention medical certification at all: I'd want to read the entire policy before coming to the conclusion that no medical certification is required. Even without more, "currently effective" is subject to an interpretation that it includes both pilot and medical currency.
Parker_Woodruff Posted February 3 Report Posted February 3 On 1/31/2026 at 6:50 AM, toto said: Yes, but .. the certificate or its equivalent is “as required” by FAA. If no certificate is required, then I meet that requirement with a valid driver’s license.. I think? I’ll check the other policy. And Parker is my agent on both, so hopefully he has nothing better to do with his weekend than chime in here sorry @toto...you scored the weekend I was setting up a replacement computer and getting a house ready for sale. Most insurance companies are fine if the pilot is FAA legal, unless they've inserted a specific requirement, such as those that require annual medical certificates for pilots who have reached a certain age, like 75+. 1
toto Posted February 13 Author Report Posted February 13 Well, I flew the Piper last weekend and I didn’t turn into a pumpkin or anything. Based on feedback from this thread, I caught up with Parker directly before I went to the airport and he confirmed that my insurance policies wouldn’t present any problems. I now have my FAA medical current again.. so that was fun while it lasted 1
Hank Posted February 14 Report Posted February 14 5 hours ago, toto said: Well, I flew the Piper last weekend and I didn’t turn into a pumpkin or anything. Based on feedback from this thread, I caught up with Parker directly before I went to the airport and he confirmed that my insurance policies wouldn’t present any problems. I now have my FAA medical current again.. so that was fun while it lasted You can always fly under Basic Med, and never worry about an FAA Medical Examiner again . . .
toto Posted February 14 Author Report Posted February 14 6 minutes ago, Hank said: You can always fly under Basic Med, and never worry about an FAA Medical Examiner again . . . Yeah. I keep threatening to do a trip to Canada or a hop over to Grand Cayman, or even one of those Caribbean Flying Adventures. https://www.caribbeanflyingadventures.com/ I also toy with the idea of getting a turbo and flying above 18k from time to time. It’s not like it would be terribly hard to go get an FAA medical for a special trip once in a while, but not having one might be an excuse not to do it Anyway, y’all have just about convinced me - between this thread and DMs.
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