I get asked this question a lot, and I mean a lot! There's a real confusion among pilots about the concept of logging Pilot In Command time. I've already gone over, in previous posts, about how important it is to log PIC time. If you desire a flying job anywhere, PIC time is your key to getting hired. The more, the better! Even if you're not looking to cut your salary in half (by taking a flying job, over a real job), PIC time will help with insurance rates.
The core of the confusion, I believe, stems from the term that we use to describe it: PIC time. We have a column in our logbooks, which says “Pilot in Command,” and it is here we fill in all the time which we legally can. The initial assumption is that anytime we are ACTING as PIC we can LOG PIC. The truth cannot be further from that assumption!
I will, for the purposes of this post, call the time which we log in the PIC column in our log books “P1 time.” This is a term which I have acquired from my chap Milton. I'm not sure if all British pilots call it P1 time (while drinking tea and toasting the queen, of course :) or if that's his term, but I like it.
So the question is this: when can we log P1 time? Well contrary to what most pilots believe, we cannot log P1 time simply because we are the PIC. The regulation for logging P1 time is in Part 61.51 (e). It lists the following possible situations where a pilot can log P1 time, in an order which I have chosen:
The pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft. Well that's pretty easy. If we're solo, we log P1 time (we also log solo time). No one else will aruge with us, so that's solved.
An Airline Transport Pilot can log P1 whenever they're acting as PIC and they're required to have an ATP. Keep in mind this is for ATPs only, and only when they need their ATPs, usually part 121 operations. Don't try to apply this to our normal argument.
A CFI can log, as P1 time, all the time that he ACTs as CFI. Personally, I disagree with that one, but it is in the regulation. A CFI can go up with a student, not be the PIC, not EVER touch the controls and still log the entire flight as P1 time.
Now for the tough one, a sport, recreational, private or commercial pilot may log P1 time only under two conditions. The first is when he is the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which he is rated. The second is when he's acting as PIC and two pilots are required to be on board.
The confusion on the first condition comes with the word “rated.” Rated (as confirmed by FAA legal) means category and class and (if necessary) type rating. It DOES NOT include the requirements for ACTing as PIC as defined in 61.31 (tailwheel, complex, high-performance, pressurized). So, yesterday you took your ASEL private pilot check ride, and you have none of the 61.31 endorsements. Can you ACT as PIC for a Beech Bonanza (HP and Complex)? No, of course not. Can you LOG P1 in a Bonanza? YES, absolutely if someone else is the PIC for the flight.
There's another wrinkle to consider. Imagine I'm your buddy and I take you for a flight in Gigi (Bonanza, complex and HP). We've already established that I have to be PIC, and we established that when I give you the controls, you can log PIC. However, what do I log??? Nada. I'm only ACTING as PIC, not logging P1 time. That's how I have a flight in my logbook from LDJ- TDF-LDJ (685 miles) and I only logged ½ an hour. I handled the takeoff and landing, Milton flew the entire rest of the time!
Now for the second condition. If two pilots are required to be on board, then the PIC can log P1 time. Since most of the aircraft we fly only require one pilot, this doesn't come up frequently. Where it does happen is when two pilots takeoff and one puts on a hood (view limiting device) so that he can log simulated instrument time. In this case, if the first pilot is the sole manipulator of the controls and the second pilot (who, hopefully isn't wearing a hood) is the PIC, then BOTH pilots log P1 time. If the second isn't able to be the PIC (for insurance or 61.31 rules), then he will log SIC time since he is the second in command.
What does it mean to ACT as PIC: “You are the person solely responsible for the safe outcome of the flight.” If something goes wrong, you're the guy they pin it on. That's all, no big deal.
If you take the time to read them, the FARs really do spell all of this out in detail. Now go back and re-read this post but change all the P1's to PIC and you shouldn't be confused anymore. It's really easy to see how one would think that PIC=PIC, but hey, this is the FAA and law, it's not supposed to be that easy!
Safe flying!