etsisk
En-Route
Well, after a discussion with my instructor about what constitutes a cross country flight for instrument rating purposes (he said ya have to have a 50nm+ leg) he suggested that I contact Greensboro FSDO and ask them.
So I did.
I talked with one of the guys there for about 25 minutes, bless his heart. And, in honor of my argument to the contrary, he went and consulted with the OTHER four guys there. And they ALL said that ...
A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE INSTRUMENT RATING 61.1.b.3.ii, THE FLIGHT MUST INCLUDE ONE LEG OF MORE THAN 51nm LENGTH FROM THE ORIGINATING AIRPORT.
Y'all might note that this is in direct disagreement with the definition as we read it - meaning that you could fly as many short legs as you wanted, as long as you made ONE landing at an airport that was a straight line distance of more than 50 nm from the original point of departure. So what they're saying is, you have to have that one long leg, then you can stop as many times after that as you want.
I pointed out that in the definition for the student pilot long cross-country, the regs specifically mentioned that there had to be ONE SEGMENT OF THE FLIGHT that was 51 or more nm long, and that the ABSENCE of that specific clause meant the absence of that specific requirement. They weren't buying it. It was, however, a good conversation. Except for the outcome.
So, if anyone knows a ruling that supports our position and can post a citation to that ruling, I would surely love to see it!
So I did.
I talked with one of the guys there for about 25 minutes, bless his heart. And, in honor of my argument to the contrary, he went and consulted with the OTHER four guys there. And they ALL said that ...
A CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE INSTRUMENT RATING 61.1.b.3.ii, THE FLIGHT MUST INCLUDE ONE LEG OF MORE THAN 51nm LENGTH FROM THE ORIGINATING AIRPORT.
Y'all might note that this is in direct disagreement with the definition as we read it - meaning that you could fly as many short legs as you wanted, as long as you made ONE landing at an airport that was a straight line distance of more than 50 nm from the original point of departure. So what they're saying is, you have to have that one long leg, then you can stop as many times after that as you want.
I pointed out that in the definition for the student pilot long cross-country, the regs specifically mentioned that there had to be ONE SEGMENT OF THE FLIGHT that was 51 or more nm long, and that the ABSENCE of that specific clause meant the absence of that specific requirement. They weren't buying it. It was, however, a good conversation. Except for the outcome.
So, if anyone knows a ruling that supports our position and can post a citation to that ruling, I would surely love to see it!
Last edited: