CPL(airplane) experience requirements

[MauleSkinner]

So an aspiring ppl should explicitly mark log book “solo” for cross country when no one else is aboard?

If he wants the time to count towards solo requirements, yes.

 

[midlifeflyer]

So an aspiring ppl should explicitly mark log book “solo” for cross country when no one else is aboard?

It's not really a PPL issue because, for a student pilot, PIC = solo (no assumptions being made that the flight was illegal).

After that, since the commercial requires some solo time, a pilot who is thinking of pursuing a commercial certificate should log solo, at least for those flights they plan to use for that purpose.

A lot of paper logbooks don't have solo columns and I don't think it's necessary to create one. Considering the small number of flights involved, a notation it was solo in the remarks should be enough.

 

[Lindberg]

So an aspiring ppl should explicitly mark log book “solo” for cross country when no one else is aboard?

An aspiring private pilot had better be solo anytime he's logging PIC.

 

[MauleSkinner]

So an aspiring ppl should explicitly mark log book “solo” for cross country when no one else is aboard?

It's not really a PPL issue because, for a student pilot, PIC = solo

An aspiring private pilot had better be solo anytime he's logging PIC.

Just to clarify, @bonefishpete , are you asking about someone aspiring to be a Private Pilot, or a Private Pilot aspiring for additional certificates/ratings?

 

[bonefishpete]

Just to clarify, @bonefishpete , are you asking about someone aspiring to be a Private Pilot, or a Private Pilot aspiring for additional certificates/ratings?

My son has ppl now but wants to continue working towards commercial license.
Solo for the ten hours mean no one else in plane like passengers or just no flight instruction given?

 

[MauleSkinner]

My son has ppl now but wants to continue working towards commercial license.
Solo for the ten hours mean no one else in plane like passengers or just no flight instruction given?

Solo is solo…no one else in the airplane.

 

[midlifeflyer]

My son has ppl now but wants to continue working towards commercial license.
Solo for the ten hours mean no one else in plane like passengers or just no flight instruction given?

Does reading the regulation help? It's in 61.51, also known (by me, anyway) as "The Universal Rule of Logging Flight Time":

Logging of solo flight time. Except for a student pilot performing the duties of pilot in command of an airship requiring more than one pilot flight crewmember, a pilot may log as solo flight time only that flight time when the pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft.​

 

[bonefishpete]

Solo is solo…no one else in the airplane.

Thank you

 

[flyingcheesehead]

So an aspiring ppl should explicitly mark log book “solo” for cross country when no one else is aboard?

For any flight when nobody else is aboard... And they should keep doing it after the checkride.

I would recommend that every pilot log *a lot* of things, some of which may require you to repurpose some columns in your logbook:

Non-time columns: Date, type/tail, departure/destination, day/night takeoffs and landings, holds
"Standard" columns: Total, PIC*, SIC, Solo, Dual received (and given if you're a CFI), ground/sim, actual/simulated instrument, day/night, Cross Country*, category and class

Here's where I use some nonstandard columns:

PIC should be split into "61.51(e) logged PIC" and "61.3 acting PIC". Yes, even if you don't think you're ever going to fly professionally. I didn't - I flew for 16 years and then an opportunity to fly professionally dropped into my lap. While I didn't even need it then, now I've gone back and painstakingly determined whether or not I was actually the acting PIC for over 1,600 flights - NOT fun, but some places want that information.

Cross Country should be split into at least "50nm/Rating Cross Country" and "All cross country". While most ratings specify the 50nm variety, one of the requirements to be a 135 captain is 100 (VFR) or 500 (IFR) hours of Cross Country - However, the applicable definition of Cross Country in 61.1(b) is flight "That includes a landing at a point other than the point of departure". There's also the ATP definition that doesn't even require a landing but *does* require 50nm. I fly enough cross country - And rarely do I fly anywhere and turn around without landing - that I never bothered with an "ATP cross country" column, but others may want it.

 

[iamtheari]

I’ve said it before. Solo flight time is all time that you control the airplane by reference to the second half of Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

I probably over-log things. I can tell all my solo time from the beginning and I still log it precisely. Same with night takeoffs and takeoffs and landings at towered airports. There’s no reason for it, other than my weird form of OCD.

But you do need to log sufficient solo time and flights to qualify for the commercial certificate. You can document it any way you like in your logbook, as long as the examiner can understand it and confirm you’ve checked the boxes.

 

[StraightnLevel]

(i) One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance, with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point.

Question: If I do a flight from KETB to T41 (~900 nm) with stops at KUUV and KCDH, does the final landing at T41 count as the third stop, or do I need to add another one to meet the requirement?

 

[MauleSkinner]

Question: If I do a flight from KETB to T41 (~900 nm) with stops at KUUV and KCDH, does the final landing at T41 count as the third stop, or do I need to add another one to meet the requirement?

What part of the reg would T41 not fulfill?

 

[StraightnLevel]

What part of the reg would T41 not fulfill?

It's not clear if the endpoint of the flight counts as a "stop", though I get your point that the final landing is in fact a third landing point, certainly more than 250 nm from the departure point.

 

[MauleSkinner]

It's not clear if the endpoint of the flight counts as a "stop", though I get your point that the final landing is in fact a third landing point, certainly more than 250 nm from the departure point.

“Stops” are not part of the reg. Landing points are.

 

[midlifeflyer]

It's not clear if the endpoint of the flight counts as a "stop", though I get your point that the final landing is in fact a third landing point, certainly more than 250 nm from the departure point.

“Stops” are not part of the reg. Landing points are.

Even if they were, I usually stop at the end of a flight.

 

[StraightnLevel]

Even if they were, I usually stop at the end of a flight.

Sure - it seems obvious. I thought the same when I got a CFII endorsement for my instrument checkride that the DPE didn’t accept. After that Charlie-Foxtrot experience, I have been effectively trained to question EVERYTHING that a DPE may want to dig into.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Sure - it seems obvious. I thought the same when I got a CFII endorsement for my instrument checkride that the DPE didn’t accept. After that Charlie-Foxtrot experience, I have been effectively trained to question EVERYTHING that a DPE may want to dig into.

Perhaps one of these conditions at work?

Regaphobia and Regulitis - related but different

Regaphobia. A self-fulfilling, irrational fear of reading regulations based on a belief they are incomprehensible. The sufferer simply avoids even trying.

Regulitis. Psychological conditon which causes people of average or better intelligence to lose basic reading comprehension skills when looking at regulations. It is sometimes associated with the FAA-Anon movement whose followers believe all FARs have hidden meanings.

Fortunately, regulitis is a psychological condition as opposed to the more serious Reglexia, which is a neurological condition.

 

[StraightnLevel]

Perhaps one of these conditions at work?

Regaphobia and Regulitis - related but different

Regaphobia. A self-fulfilling, irrational fear of reading regulations based on a belief they are incomprehensible. The sufferer simply avoids even trying.

Regulitis. Psychological conditon which causes people of average or better intelligence to lose basic reading comprehension skills when looking at regulations. It is sometimes associated with the FAA-Anon movement whose followers believe all FARs have hidden meanings.

Fortunately, regulitis is a psychological condition as opposed to the more serious Reglexia, which is a neurological condition.

Is it possible to get a SI for these, or are they career-ending?

 

[iamtheari]

Sure - it seems obvious. I thought the same when I got a CFII endorsement for my instrument checkride that the DPE didn’t accept. After that Charlie-Foxtrot experience, I have been effectively trained to question EVERYTHING that a DPE may want to dig into.

What endorsement was allegedly wrong for your instrument check ride?

 

[StraightnLevel]

What endorsement was allegedly wrong for your instrument check ride?

It’s a long and complex series of issues, including a heated conference call between the CFII and instructor. I’m reticent to present it in a public forum, because some of the detail I didn’t have any history with, so I’m not sure I fully understood why they were in disagreement.