VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR
THE
BY DOUG STEWART
Who’s in charge here? Here is a question many pilots have difficulty answering: Is there ever a time when a pilot with only a student pilot certificate can act as the pilot-in-command (PIC) of a flight when there are passengers on board the aircraft? Many will answer that a student pilot can act as the pilot-in-command only during solo flight, but that is only partially correct. Some will answer that the student pilot might be able to log all the flight time during which he is the sole manipulator of the controls, including time when an instructor is on board the aircraft, as PIC time, but the instructor would be the pilot acting as the pilot-incommand. Again, this would be only partially correct. There are others who might add that a student pilot could be the sole manipulator of the controls with a passenger on board who is not a flight instructor, but who is a certificated, rated, and current pilot (with a current medical certificate); however, the passenger, although he might never touch the controls, would be the acting pilot-in-command, and furthermore, the student pilot could not log the time as pilot-in-command time. Correct again. (A clear example of this would be the two pilots who gained international notoriety by flying into the Washington, D.C., air defense identification zone.) But all who answer that a student pilot may never act as pilot-in-command while carrying passengers would be wrong. There’s one time when he can indeed do this, and that’s while flying on his practical test to obtain his private (or recreational or sport) pilot certificate. This is clearly stated in CFR 61.47(b): “The examiner is not (italics mine) the pilot in command of the aircraft during the practical test unless the examiner agrees to act in that ca-
pacity for the flight or for a portion of the flight by prior arrangement . . ..” I make it a point, on every practical test I conduct, to ensure the applicant understands this regulation. The regulation even applies when there might be another passenger on board, such as an FAA inspector or perhaps a flight instructor who is sitting in the back seat to observe the practical test. Now, you might be wondering, “Why is Stewart explaining all of this? How does this apply to me? I have held my private (or higher) pilot certificate for years, and the vast majority of the readers of Vintage Airplane are not student pilots.” It doesn’t apply if you’re not a student pilot, but it does raise the issue of understanding the difference between being the acting pilot-in-command and logging pilot-in-command time and, further, of determining who is really the pilot with the “final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight.” I have noticed many pilots do not really comprehend this subject, so let’s see if we can bring some clarity to it. Let’s start with the requirements for logging pilot-incommand time. According to CFR 61.51(e), “a sport, recreational, private or commercial pilot may log PIC time only for that flight time during which that person, (i) is the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which the pilot is rated or has privileges.” So let’s say you are a sport, or higher, pilot and have decided it’s about time you learned to fly an airplane with the little wheel in the back. Now, we know an endorsement is required to act as PIC of tailwheel aircraft, but is that endorsement required to log the flight time? No, not at all. As long as you are a rated pilot, you may log all that
Now, you might be wondering,
“Why is Stewart
explaining all of
this? How does it apply to me?”
24 JUNE 2006
time you are receiving dual instruction to gain the tailwheel endorsement as pilot-in-command time, with the exception of time when the instructor is the manipulator of the controls demonstrating what needs to be done. The same rule would apply for those rated pilots seeking to obtain their complex or high-performance endorsements, as well as pilots receiving dual instruction toward their instrument rating. The pilot may log all of the time when he is the sole manipulator of the controls as PIC time. Now let’s get back to the student pilot for a moment. For a student pilot to be able to log flight time as PIC, he has to: 1) be the sole occupant of the aircraft, 2) have a current (within the past 90 days) solo endorsement for make and model of aircraft, and 3) be undergoing training for a pilot certificate or rating. You might, at this point, be asking yourself, “Well, what about the instructor? When can the instructor log PIC time?” The answer to this is quite simple. As stated in CFR 61.51(e)(3), “a flight instructor may log as pilotin-command time all flight time while acting as an authorized instructor.” Thus it would be possible for an instrument instructor (CFII) to log the flight time accrued while conducting instrument training to a pilot in a multiengine aircraft as PIC time, even though the flight instructor was not a multiengine instructor (MEI). (Please note, though, that the instructor would need to have a multiengine rating.) This leads to the question of how a pilot should log the time he spends as a safety pilot for someone who wants to log some “simulated” (hood) instrument flight. The answer, found in CFR 61.51(f)(2), is that the safety pilot can log this time as second-in-command (SIC) time if he holds the appropriate certificate for category and class. Furthermore, the safety pilot must be instrument-rated if the flight requires an instrument rating. So far we have been discussing the issue of logging PIC time, but what about acting as pilot-in-command? Please note there is a big difference between the two. Let’s also note the regulations do not use the words “be” or “is” when referring to pilot-in-command. To begin with, to act as PIC the pilot must have the appropriate certificate for category and class and must have a current, appropriate medical certificate. Furthermore, if the flight is to be conducted under instrument flight rules, the pilot must be instrument-current. Thus, if you are an instrument pilot and have gone into your six-month grace period to regain instrument currency, you may not act as pilot-in-command if you wish to fly under IFR while regaining your currency. In that situation your safety pilot would have to be acting as the pilot-in-command (he would have to be instrumentrated and could log the time as PIC) for the flight. The last situation we’ll look at is when two pilots who are both certificated, current, and rated go for a flight together. Who is the pilot acting as PIC? What if one pilot holds a private certificate and the other holds
a commercial or airline transport pilot certificate? What if one of the pilots is a CFI but not acting as an instructor for the flight? This question should be answered prior to the start of the flight (it is possible the determination could change during the flight as well), for the pilot who is determined to be the pilot-in-command is, according to CFR 1.1, “the person who: 1) Has final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight.” This is important not only from a regulatory point of view, but also, and perhaps even more so, for insurance purposes. Unfortunately, the jury’s still out on this . . . literally. In discussions with FAA personnel and insurance underwriters, I have found it really boils down to what the jury decides. It might be the highest-rated pilot in the aircraft. It might be the pilot in the left seat. Or it might be (forgive my cynicism here) the pilot with the deepest pockets. This is why I strongly suggest that if you are going to be flying in the same airplane with other pilots, you should make no assumptions as to which pilot will be acting as pilot-in-command. So we have seen that the regulations are rather succinct in defining the who, how, and when of logging PIC time. They are a little more vague when it comes to acting as pilot-in-command. But regardless of whether you are logging as or acting as, may your flight be blessed with blue skies and tail winds.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25