14 CFR 61.311 What flight proficiency requirements must I meet to apply for a sport pilot certificate?
Subpart J—Sport Pilots
A reference copy of the official regulation text for study. It is not legal advice or an FAA interpretation; always confirm against the current official source.
To apply for a sport pilot certificate, you must receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor on the following areas of operation, as appropriate, for airplane single-engine land or sea, glider, gyroplane, helicopter, airship, balloon, powered parachute land or sea, weight-shift-control aircraft land or sea privileges:
(a) Preflight preparation.
(b) Preflight procedures.
(c) Airport, heliport, seaplane base, and gliderport operations, as applicable.
(d) Hovering maneuvers (applicable only to helicopters).
(e) Takeoffs (or launches), landings, and go-arounds.
(f) Performance maneuvers and, for gliders, performance speeds.
(g) Ground reference maneuvers (not applicable to gliders, helicopters, and balloons).
(h) Soaring techniques (applicable only to gliders).
(i) Navigation.
(j) Slow flight (not applicable to lighter-than-air aircraft, helicopters, and powered parachutes).
(k) Stalls (not applicable to lighter-than-air aircraft, gyroplanes, helicopters, and powered parachutes).
(l) Emergency operations.
(m) Post-flight procedures.