Hi Zach,Not in Australia. Medically they are separate licences. I know this from personal experience. I have VFR CPL licence (I am a retired ATC) that I let medically lapse aroung 2001. Eaerly last year I discovered the sport aviation scene and enjoyed the experience. However last October I decided to do my PPL medical so as to bypass the the restriction that sport aviation subject to. The Aviation Medical people however required that I do stress ECG. This identified a problem with my heart and on 5 january I had a triple bypass. The results of the op are all positive and I have flown since in the sport aviation category. Later this month I have another check up with my cardiologist and it is expection that he will be able to advise the Aviation Medical people that there is no reason why I should not get a PPL medical certificate.Neil Bradley

Hi Zach,Not in Australia. Medically they are separate licences. I know this from personal experience. I have VFR CPL licence (I am a retired ATC) that I let medically lapse aroung 2001. Eaerly last year I discovered the sport aviation scene and enjoyed the experience. However last October I decided to do my PPL medical so as to bypass the the restriction that sport aviation subject to. The Aviation Medical people however required that I do stress ECG. This identified a problem with my heart and on 5 january I had a triple bypass. The results of the op are all positive and I have flown since in the sport aviation category. Later this month I have another check up with my cardiologist and it is expection that he will be able to advise the Aviation Medical people that there is no reason why I should not get a PPL medical certificate.Neil Bradley

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I'm also happy to hear that the system worked for you so well (and that the examination found your condition and lead to it's prompt treatment).

i could never fly, bad eye sight that cannot be corrected. Flightsims only for me =(

Also; other fears come to mind when talking about the license you mentioned. in the US, the minimum time needed for the license is 20hrs. That's next to nothing.

People make too much of hours in aviation. There's too much "well I have [insert high number] hours, so I know what I'm talking about." As a dispatcher at a flight school out in Phoenix, there were some students at 150 hours and still hadn't got a PPL because they were just that bad. I got my private at 41 hours. Is that likely because I was inexperienced and (as most would also try to suggest, based on the hours argument) poor, or because I was on my game and the quality of my flight hours was higher?Furthermore, 20 hours is the legal minimum, and you still have to pass a checkride. If you can't hack the checkride, you don't get your cert. I understand the thought that 20 hours is low, but if you think about it, most instructors (provided the student is competent) release their students on solos at around 10-15 hours, it's not too different. If you think those pilots are bad, go up to the airport on a nice weekend and watch the weekend warriors with hundred and thousands of hours. You'll see similar idiotic tendencies.I played baseball for ten years. Based on a time-only metric, I'd be in the majors by now.I do see your hesitation, and I don't mean to say that hours are a purely worthless measure, but years of experience in the corporate world, hours in aviation, and so on, all need to be backed up by the quality and applicability of those years/hours.

I see what you're driving at, but when dealing with experience <100hrs, your point is moot I dare say. The difference between a 20, 30, 50, and 70hr pilot can be extreme.I've hung around the local FBO since I started a high school internship there 8 years ago. I know exactly the weekend warriors you're talking about! I hate sharing the pattern with them.Notice I also mentioned skill level of some of the pilots, which I did not relate to having low time.But I digress. Sorry OP!

Maybe a little bit off topic but I had my first two teoretical hours for the JAR PPL-A today. :)