Retractable gear and manual controllable-pitch propellers: what a sport pilot needs

You are a sport pilot who has flown a fixed-gear airplane with a simple propeller, and now you have a chance to fly something with retractable landing gear or a propeller you adjust in flight. Can you just go? Not by default. Sport pilot rules start from fixed gear and a propeller you do not have to manage, and the two features that change that, retractable gear and a manual controllable pitch propeller, each have their own training-and-endorsement requirement. Check each one separately. In plain terms, a propeller whose pitch the pilot adjusts in flight is the manual kind. A fixed, ground-adjustable or automated propeller is already allowed under the default described below and does not trigger the requirement.

Where the default comes from

Section 61.316 describes the aircraft a sport pilot may act as pilot in command of. For powered aircraft other than gliders, it calls for fixed landing gear and for a fixed, ground-adjustable or automated controllable pitch propeller. Paragraph (b) then opens a door: a sport pilot may fly an aircraft with retractable landing gear, or an airplane with a manual controllable pitch propeller, after meeting the training and endorsement requirements of § 61.331. The matching limit on the pilot is in § 61.315(c)(20). Gliders are different: the FAA’s advisory circular on sport pilot operations says no § 61.331 training is required for a glider with retractable gear. FAA guidance also says neither system has to have been installed since the aircraft was first certificated, so a later-modified airplane can fall under paragraph (b).

What “manual controllable pitch” means

Part 61’s definition of a complex airplane includes “a retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable pitch propeller.” Section 61.1 does not define “manual” or “automated” controllable pitch propeller. The FAA’s explanation is in the preamble to the 2025 final rule: the extra training is required only for manual propellers because of the “increased workload, attention, and adjustment by the pilot,” unlike pitch controls that are automated. The advisory circular adds that sport pilots may also operate automated controllable pitch propellers without meeting the paragraph (b) requirement. In plain terms, the question is whether the pilot has to manage propeller pitch. If you cannot tell which kind an airplane has, ask your instructor and check the manufacturer’s documentation.

Two features, two routes each

Section 61.331 treats the features in separate paragraphs: paragraph (a) is retractable landing gear on any aircraft, and paragraph (b) is a manual controllable pitch propeller on an airplane. Because § 61.315(c)(20) states the two limits separately, an airplane with both features calls for both. Each paragraph gives two routes:

1. Meet the applicable § 61.31(e) complex-airplane requirements. Normally this means logged ground and flight training from an authorized instructor, in a complex airplane or in a simulator or training device representative of one, a finding of proficiency in the operation and systems of the airplane, and a one-time logbook endorsement. Section 61.31(e)(2) contains exceptions, including qualifying earlier pilot-in-command time and specified approved-program training and competency checks; have your instructor verify whether an exception applies. The FAA says this route works for both features because complex airplane training covers manual propellers and retractable gear.
2. Feature-specific training. Receive and log ground and flight training from an authorized instructor in an aircraft with retractable gear (paragraph (a)) or in an airplane with a manual controllable pitch propeller (paragraph (b)), and get the instructor’s endorsement that you are proficient to operate that aircraft.

The rule does not set a number of hours or a syllabus for the second route. The FAA has also said it will accept properly documented earlier experience in an airplane with a controllable pitch propeller or an aircraft with retractable gear, but an instructor’s endorsement is still required. Instructors with a sport pilot rating must have completed this training and endorsement themselves before teaching in these aircraft.

Practical advice, not a requirement: ask your instructor how proficiency will be judged, ask a prospective instructor about their own endorsement, and keep your endorsement with your pilot records.

The water-aircraft exception covers gear only

Section 61.331(c) says the paragraph (a) training and endorsement is not required for pilots seeking to operate aircraft intended for operation on water with retractable landing gear if they logged pilot-in-command time in such an aircraft before October 22, 2025. It concerns retractable landing gear only. It is not an exception for controllable pitch propellers: paragraph (c) refers only to paragraph (a), and § 61.331 has no matching exception for paragraph (b). A seaplane pilot who qualifies for the gear exception still needs paragraph (b) before flying an airplane with a manual controllable pitch propeller. A pilot without that earlier pilot-in-command time needs the paragraph (a) endorsement.

A hypothetical example

Imagine you are a sport pilot considering an airplane with a manual controllable pitch propeller and fixed landing gear. Even with no retractable gear, the propeller brings in paragraph (b): you would meet the applicable § 61.31(e) requirements, or train with an authorized instructor in an airplane that has such a propeller and receive the endorsement. Before flying it you would also check the airplane against the design requirements in § 61.316(a), such as stall speed and seating capacity since its original certification, any operating limitation on its airworthiness certificate, and whether it has another feature, such as retractable gear, that brings in paragraph (a).

The takeaway

Before flying, list the airplane’s features and match each to its own paragraph of § 61.331. Choose the route with an instructor, confirm the endorsement is logged, and check the airplane’s own limits. The endorsement is a pilot privilege; whether the airplane fits the sport pilot criteria is a separate question.