Hobbs, tach and employment

[Vavso]

As far as logging hours in your log book and seeking employment does it ever come up whether you log Tach, hobbs or actual flight time I have been logging Hobbs time. Will this be an issue with ANY potential employer thanks Vavso

 

[tarp]

Not being smart but I was told:

"People log Hobbs, Airplanes log Tach."

You may belong to a club or have a deal with an FBO for using a plane based on Tach (engine wear), but your logbook is meant to reflect the "clock" hours you spend in the plane.

If you want an example, the airlines track two times - "block" and "flight". Both are run off the time of day - there's no tachometer that I know of in a jet.

Block is the elapsed time from when the door closes and the beacon goes on (still at the gate) until the door opens and the beacon goes off (at the arrival gate). This is (usually) the time the pilot records in his/her logbook and is the basis for his/her paycheck.

Flight is the elapsed time from "wheels up" (departing or lifting off the runway) until "Weight on wheels" (touchdown). This is (usually) a maintenance number to determine how many "flight hours" the airplane has accrued. And just to be fair, there are some operators where this is the basis for the pilot's paycheck - unfortunate, but true. I have worked in a place where the pilot gets paid "Flight hours plus 10 minutes" - meaning they encouraged us to close the door and get to the runway in a hurry and do the same getting back down.

 

[bigD]

anyone know of a conversion factor for tach vs hobbs?

Obviously there's no actual conversion factor, but the three places I've seen that billed based on tach used 1.2x the tach value.

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

According to the AIM Flight Time means:
(1) Pilot time that commences when an aircraft moves under its own power for the purpose of flight and ends when the aircraft come to a rest after landing. (AIM, Subchapter A Definitions, Part 1 Definitions and Abreviations)

When I flew Part 135 freight I would look at my watch when I started rolling and note the time. When I came to a stop at my destination I would look at my watch and check it again. The difference is what I logged for both the company's 135 records as well as in my logbook.

At airlines most people use block time for their logbooks. Block Time has no FAA definition found in the AIM but is used by the FAA for crew time limit purposes. That has many different meanings depending on whom you talk to. At SkyWest in the CRJs that have ACARS installed it starts at doors closed, beacon on. In the E-120 with AFIS (a poor man's ACARS) it starts with right engine oil pressure and parking brake off. With CRJs and E-120s without ACARS or AFIS it starts at whenever the captain puts down on the manifest as his predicted "OUT" time and ends when they arrive back at the arrival gate. "Flight Time" at SkyWest means time from takeoff till landing based on weight on/off wheels sensors if ACARS/AFIS or actual clock time noted by the crew if not so equipped. Flight time is then used to schedule required maintenance checks. All of these times are often referred to as OOOI times, Out-Off-On-In. Hobbs meters aren't used at SkyWest though I think some of the CRJs have them, though we never use them. I don't know what their start triggers are.