CFI = "passenger" or "required crew member"?

[DrMack]

Let's say you are in need of IFR currency and night currency so you hire a CFI to be your safety pilot for the IFR currency maneuvers under the hood. You wrap up the hood work and now want to get three landings in to gain night currency. But if you are not night current, is it legal to have the CFI onboard if they too are not night current? But what if the CFI is night current? The CFI was a required crew member during the IFR hood portions of your flight, but does the CFI become a "passenger" when the hood work is done or is the CFI a required crew member for the entire flight and thus it is legal for you to land 3 times at night to regain your night currency with the CFI onboard because you do not have any "passengers" onboard.

And I'll be the first one to flame the idiot who suggests we run this by the FAA GC for a legal opinion.

 

[Greg Bockelman]

What Dean said.

 

[MikeELP]

Let's say you are in need of IFR currency and night currency so you hire a CFI to be your safety pilot for the IFR currency maneuvers under the hood. You wrap up the hood work and now want to get three landings in to gain night currency. But if you are not night current, is it legal to have the CFI onboard if they too are not night current? But what if the CFI is night current? The CFI was a required crew member during the IFR hood portions of your flight, but does the CFI become a "passenger" when the hood work is done or is the CFI a required crew member for the entire flight and thus it is legal for you to land 3 times at night to regain your night currency with the CFI onboard because you do not have any "passengers" onboard.

And I'll be the first one to flame the idiot who suggests we run this by the FAA GC for a legal opinion.

If the other person onboard is a CFI, the FAA Chief Counsel has already addressed that (see attached).

BUT..even if the other person onboard were only another properly rated pilot (non-CFI) and night current, they may be still be onboard and ACT as PIC while the pilot flying does and logs as sole manipulator the required three takeoffs and landings to regain night currency.

Mike

Edit to add: Dean and Greg beat me to it. Took me to long to find the darn interpretation to attach.

 

[DrMack]

Kewl. Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Thx.

 

[poadeleted20]

BUT..even if the other person onboard were only another properly rated pilot (non-CFI) and night current, they may be still be onboard and ACT as PIC while the pilot flying does and logs as sole manipulator the required three takeoffs and landings to regain night currency.

Just remember that in this case, the right seat PIC must be fully PIC-qualified/current -- category/class (and type if required), any applicable additional training endorsements (HP/complex/TW/high-altitude), IFR-current (if you go IFR), as well as night current (as you mentioned).