Logging vs. Being PIC

You are an instrument-rated private pilot. Your friend is working on the rating and you have acted as her safety pilot while she practices under the hood. Shes doing great. Today ceilings are high but below final approach fix altitudes. You feel comfortable filing IFR as pilot in command while she flies, so you file and off you go in the clubs 172. No hood for your friend today. She does all the flying. Two approaches, with 12 minutes in actual instrument conditions. She did well.

Mark Kolber

Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

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Key Takeaways:

The "Golden Key" to FAA flight time logging (FAR 61.51) clarifies that a pilot's status (e.g., acting Pilot in Command) is independent of their ability to log flight time, which is solely for qualification and currency.
Pilots can log Pilot in Command Flight Time (PICFT) by fitting into specific regulatory "boxes" such as being the "sole manipulator of the controls" for an aircraft they are rated for, or acting as PIC on a flight that legally requires more than one pilot.
This "box" system can lead to counter-intuitive scenarios, where two pilots may log PICFT for the same flight segment, or the actual Pilot in Command (responsible for the flight) might not be able to log any time if they don't fit a specific 61.51 logging provision.

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You are an instrument-rated private pilot. Your friend is working on the rating and you have acted as her safety pilot while she practices under the hood. She’s doing great. Today ceilings are high but below final approach fix altitudes. You feel comfortable filing IFR as pilot in command while she flies, so you file and off you go in the club’s 172. No hood for your friend today. She does all the flying. Two approaches, with 12 minutes in actual instrument conditions. She did well.

Back on the ground, the logbooks come out. How does she log the flight time? How do you?