BY DOUG STEWART
Who's in charge here?
Here is a question many pilots have difficulty answer ing: 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 pi lot-in-command only during solo flight, but that is only partially correct. Some will answer that the stu dent pilot might be able to log all the flight time during which he is the sole manipulator of the con trols, including time when an in structor is on board the aircraft, as PIC time, but the instructor would be the pilot acting as the pilot-in command. 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)i however, the passenger, although he might never touch the controls, would be the acting pilot-in-command, and furthermore, the stu dent 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 identifica tion zone.) But all who answer that a student pilot may never act as pilot-in-command while carrying passengers wou ld 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 (ital ics 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 pas senger on board, such as an FAA inspector or perhaps a flight in structor who is sitting in the back seat to observe the practical test. Now, you might be wonder ing, "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 read ers of Vintage Airplane are not stu dent pilots." It doesn't apply if you're not a student pilot, but it does raise the issue of understanding the dif ference between being the acting pilot-in-command and logging pi lot-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-in command time. According to CFR 61.S1(e), "a sport, rec reational, 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 endorse ment 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?"
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JU NE 2006