How I Learned to Fly.

This article presents views of the author on the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s sport pilot initiative. Under new rules of the FAA, a student would need only 20 hours of flight instruction, with cooperative cloud ceilings, one could knock that out in a week. Sport pilots have to stick to single-engine planes. They must fly only during the day, remain in uncontrolled airspace and keep it under 10,000 ft. Sky Bryce Airport is frigid at sunrise. The author met his instructor, Nathan Mayers, and was immediately impressed. They reviewed physics, then carefully preflight the training craft, Zenair's Zodiac CH 601 XL, to verify fuel levels, airworthiness and gauge responsiveness. The 728-pound plane is powered by a four-cylinder, 100-hp Rotax 912S with a fixed wood-composite prop.