This should be fine for commercial XC, right?

TimRF79

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Dec 10, 2017
Messages
352
Location
Houston, TX
Display Name

Display name:
Tim
Leg 1-> KAXH - KUXL 116nm
Leg 2 -> KUXL - 5R8 19nm
Leg3 -> 5R8 - 4A6 456nm (and 573nm from KAXH)

I know Leg 2 is less than 50nm, but since it is one flight, it should count?
And there is no expiration on the flight? Meaning if I flew this in 10-2022 and want to get my commercial in 10-2032 that should still be fine?
 
As long as you hit 300nm total with one leg being at least 250nm straight line distance with landings at 3 different airports, you’re good.
 
Leg 1-> KAXH - KUXL 116nm
Leg 2 -> KUXL - 5R8 19nm
Leg3 -> 5R8 - 4A6 456nm (and 573nm from KAXH)

I know Leg 2 is less than 50nm, but since it is one flight, it should count?
And there is no expiration on the flight? Meaning if I flew this in 10-2022 and want to get my commercial in 10-2032 that should still be fine?

I assume 10-2032 was a typo? (No expiration, as such, but hopefully, in ten years, you'd have done some more flying!)
 
Leg 1-> KAXH - KUXL 116nm
Leg 2 -> KUXL - 5R8 19nm
Leg3 -> 5R8 - 4A6 456nm (and 573nm from KAXH)

I know Leg 2 is less than 50nm, but since it is one flight, it should count?

And there is no expiration on the flight? Meaning if I flew this in 10-2022 and want to get my commercial in 10-2032 that should still be fine?

There is no expiration. Of course, the requirement itself could change by the time you apply.

For the flight itself, let's try a checklist using the exact words in the regulation

61.129(a)(4)(i) "One cross-country flight of
  • "not less than 300 nautical miles total distance" The total distance (as depicted in SkyVector) is 591 NM..... CHECK
  • "with landings at a minimum of three points," Landings at KUXL, 5R8, and 4A6.....CHECK
  • "one of which is 250 nautical miles from the original departure point" Distance between KAXH and 4A6 is 573 NM.....CHECK
See how easy that was. Not sure where you found a 50 nm leg requirement to worry about.

On a similar note,
with one leg being at least 250nm straight line distance
where do you see a requirement for a 250 NM leg in the regulation as opposed to the standard language used in a number of cross country regulations calling for "a straight-line distance of" a certain umber of nautical miles "from the original departure point"?
 
is there a time limit as well ? Can you fly a two legged journey 300 miles away, and fly it back the next day or does the requirement of it imply that you have to finish it in one day ?
 
is there a time limit as well ?
Not explicitly.

…Can you fly a two legged journey 300 miles away, and fly it back the next day or does the requirement of it imply that you have to finish it in one day ?

61.129 is event based, not time based.

(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.
 
Define “solo”
is this good enough?

61.51(d) 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.​
 
is there a time limit as well ? Can you fly a two legged journey 300 miles away, and fly it back the next day or does the requirement of it imply that you have to finish it in one day ?
No. The FAA has long been in record that a cross country flight is mostly in the eye of the beholder. There's probably some point where it become absurd but, generally speaking, "The 'original point of departure' for the purpose of a cross country does not change with a new day or delay." That's from the old, orphaned Part 61 FAQ.

More recently, in 2009, in answering a number of question about cross country logging (mostly regarding safety pilot scenarios), the FAA Chief Counsel made the following observation in response to a question about repositioning fights:

“There is nothing in § 61.1(b)(3)(ii) or previous FAA interpretations dictating how separate flights must be logged. Accordingly, the pilot may choose what is considered a discreet flight and what is merely a segment of a flight, and then log that time appropriately when the flight is conducted. Section 61.1(b)(3)(ii) requires that the flight include a landing at a point other than the point of departure.”​

My long commercial solo covered three days.
 
Back
Top