Do I Qualify for the Commercial Check Ride?
Understanding how time logged meets requirements.
For the commercial certificate the emphasis is on mastery of the aircraft. [Courtesy: Garmin]
Question: I am preparing for my commercial pilot check ride. I’m training under Part 61 and just reached the 250 total time requirement, of which seven hours was dual instruction in the steam-gauge Cessna 172RG for the required complex endorsement. Then I had to move into a G1000-equipped Cessna 172, a technically advanced aircraft (TAA) but not complex with retractable gear, because the RG went in for maintenance.
My CFI says I will need to log 10 hours of instrument time in the TAA C172 before they will sign me off for the check ride because I won’t meet the experience requirements if I don’t.
Doesn’t the experience in the Cessna 172RG meet the experience requirements for the commercial certificate?
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Answer: This is a complicated question with a complicated answer. I recommend you pull out FAR 61.129, which is the experience requirements for the commercial certificate and cross-reference it to what is in your logbook.
Pay special attention to pilot-in-command (PIC) time. Do you have at least 100 hours of PIC time that includes at least 50 hours in airplanes and 50 hours of cross-country? Please note, the dual instruction logged in the C172RG before the CFI gave you the complex endorsement cannot be logged as PIC.
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You didn’t mention if you have an instrument rating. If you do and intended to use some of that time to meet the commercial requirements, make sure you meet the required training on the areas of operation listed in § 61.127(b)(1) of this part (flight proficiency for the instrument rating) that includes at least 10 hours of instrument training, and it is logged to reflect that it meets the requirements of both 61.129 (commercial certificate) and 61.65 (instrument rating).
Note that 61.129 (ii) states the experience required is 10 hours of training in a complex airplane, a turbine-powered airplane, or a technically advanced airplane that meets the requirements of paragraph (j) of this section, or any combination thereof—where “or any combination thereof” is the operative phrase.
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Make sure the C172 has a functioning autopilot and you know how to use it. By definition, a technically advanced aircraft must be equipped with an electronically advanced avionics system that includes an electronic primary flight display with, at a minimum, an airspeed indicator, turn coordinator, attitude indicator, heading indicator, altimeter, and vertical speed indicator; an electronic multifunction display with, at a minimum, a moving map using GPS navigation with the aircraft position displayed, and a two-axis autopilot integrated with the navigation and heading guidance system.
If you meet the experience requirements, it’s time to focus on the airman certification standards. You may need a few more hours of flight time for that.
For the commercial certificate the emphasis is on mastery of the aircraft. You will be expected to know the systems to a commercial level and be able to fly to tighter tolerances than you did for the pilot certification.
This column first appeared in the October Issue 951 of the FLYING print edition.
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