oh man now im more confused....so those guys in that article logged safety pilot time and its illegal? or is it just because they didnt make a note in their logbook stating that for 50% of the time they were acting as safety pilot and just stated that they were PIC the whole time with no mention of the safety pilot.
Well, not exactly. They weren't using the "safety pilot" excuse. They were "giving each other flight instruction". It's just a variation of the same theme. It's a justfication for both guys taking credit for the same flight time. This is not illegal in itself, but they did not log it as dual given and dual received, they just each logged the same time as "PIC". This is the basis of the falsification charge. Presumably, if you were playing the safety pilot game, and you didn't log it as such, you both just logged it as PIC with no explanation, you could be the subject of the same falsification charges.
Is it legal to log Safety pilot as PIC time? yes it is, according to a 1992 interpretation from the FAA's Chief Counsel. The opinion letter is posted below. In order to do that the safety pilot must be designated the actual PIC of the flight. Personally, it appears to me that this interpretation violates both the letter and the spirit of the regulations. If you read 61.51(e)1 and 2 together it appears that a plain english reading of the words would prohibit anyone who is not an ATP holder, in an operation requiring an ATP (121 captain, etc), from logging PIC time when they are not actually manipulating the controls.
But, how I read the regulation is of course, irrelevant. The Chief Counsel has issued an interpretation, and you are persumably safe following it's guidance.
So if it's legal, wht's the problem?
OK. let's be honest about what is going on, It's a loophole, an aparently legal loophole, to justify logging pilot time when you were not piloting an airplane. You were sitting there, watching for traffic, yet it's entered in your logbook as if you were flying the airplne, and you present it as an indication of your piloting experience, which it is not. Sure, there are things to be learned from being a safety pilot, if you approach it with that mindset, just like there are things to be learned by working on the ramp, and things to be learned by helping a mechanic work on airplanes and things to be learned by sitting in a non-crew seat and observing an experienced pilot or crew operate. None of these things are actually piloting though, yet many would present the "safety pilot" time as time that they piloted an airplane as PIC, because there's a loophole which allows that.
Maybe a different way of explaining it is to look at the "giving dual" dodge.
Let's say that you're a multi-eingine instructor. You give 50 hours of no-$hit multi engine instruction. You're taking students who have never flown a multi engine airplane and you're teaching them to do that, correcting thier mistakes, preventing them from losing control of the airplane, walking them through drag demos, demonstrating manuvers, helping them refine thier technique toward a checkride.
Is that 50 hours legit PIC time? Absolutely, and by most measures, valuable experience.
Now, change the scenario. You and a MEI buddy buy 100 hours of block time in a twin, and you fly off that time, back and forth, over and over. First You "instruct" him for an hour, then he "instructs" you for an hour, then you "instruct" him for an hour, then he "instructs" you for an hour ... back and forth , on and on. At the end of the 100 hours, you have 50 hours that you did fly the airplane, but your logbook shows 100 hours of PIC time. That other 50 hours, when he was flying, is that really legitimate flight time? well.... no, it's not. Let's be honest, you were really not giving each other instruction, you were using "instruction" as an excuse to take credit for time you didn't fly.
So to take that back to the safety pilot issue: Is the your "safety pilot" time more like the first case, or legitimate instruction, or is it like the second case, a loophole to log more time than you'd be otherwise entitiled to log? I'd say that in most cases, it's just a rationalization for logging time that you wouldn't be otherwise entitiled to log.
As a personal; preference, I would prefer my PIC time in my logbook to match the time I actually was Pilot in Command.
You don't end up with that by "splitting" time via the "safety pilot" dodge or "giving each other dual" dodge. In those cases you end up with "time when I wasn't actually piloting, but I can't be prosecuted for claiming it"
The Chief Counsel Interpretation:
October 30, 1992
Mr. David M. Reid
Dear Mr. Reid:
Thank you for your letter of June 12, 1992, concerning the logging of pilot in command (PIC) time under the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR).
In your letter you ask four questions. First, you ask whether there are "any circumstances when, during a normal flight, two Private Pilots may simultaneously act as (and therefore log the time as) Pilot In Command?" The answer is two private pilots may not simultaneously act as PIC but they may, under certain circumstances, simultaneously log PIC time.
There is a difference between serving as PIC and logging PIC time. PIC, as defined in FAR 1.1, means the pilot responsible for the operation and safety of an aircraft during flight time. FAR 61.51 deals with logging PIC flight time, and it provides that a private or commercial pilot may log as PIC time only that flight time during which he is the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which he is rated, or when he is the sole occupant of the aircraft, or when he acts as PIC of an aircraft on which more than one pilot is required under the type certification of the aircraft, or the regulations under which the flight is conducted. It is important to note that FAR 61.51 only regulates the recording of PIC time used to meet the requirements toward a higher certificate, higher rating, or for recent flight experience.
Therefore, while it is not possible for two pilots to act as PIC simultaneously, it is possible for two pilots to log PIC flight time simultaneously. PIC flight time may be logged by both the PIC responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight time in accordance with FAR 1.1, and by the pilot who acts as the sole manipulator of the controls of the aircraft for which the pilot is rated under FAR 61.51. Enclosed please find two prior FAA interpretations concerning logging of PIC time. We hope that these will be of further assistance to you.
In your second question you ask "how shall two Private Pilots log their flight time when one pilot is under the hood for simulated instrument time and the other pilot acts as safety pilot?" The answer is the pilot who is under the hood may log PIC time for that flight time in which he is the sole manipulator of the controls of the aircraft, provided he is rated for that aircraft. The appropriately rated safety pilot may concurrently log as second in command (SIC) that time during which he is acting as safety pilot.
The two pilots may, however, agree prior to initiating the flight that the safety pilot will be the PIC responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft during the flight. If this is done, then the safety pilot may log all the flight time as PIC time in accordance with FAR 1.1 and the pilot under the hood may log, concurrently, all of the flight time during which he is the sole manipulator of the controls as PIC time in accordance with FAR 61.51(c)(2)(i). Enclosed please find a prior FAA interpretation concerning the logging of flight time under simulated instrument flight conditions. We hope that this interpretation will be of further assistance to you.
In your third question you ask "during instrument training, how shall a VFR Private Pilot log the following flight time: Pilot In Command time, Simulated Instrument time, and Actual Instrument time, when that pilot is... A)...under the hood? B)...in actual instrument conditions? C)...under the hood in actual instrument conditions?" The answer is the VFR private pilot may log all of the flight time you described as PIC flight time under FAR 61.51(c)(2)(i) if he was the sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft for which he is rated. Under FAR 61.51(c)(4) the pilot may log as instrument flight time only that time during which he operates the aircraft solely by reference to instruments, under actual or simulated instrument flight conditions. Please note that the FARs do not distinguish between "actual" and "simulated" instrument flight time. Enclosed is a prior FAA interpretation concerning the logging of instrument flight time. We hope this interpretation will further assist you.
Finally you ask "does FAR 61.57 affect how the VFR Private Pilot shall log Pilot In Command time during instrument training, either before or after meeting the 6/6/6 requirement, and if so, how?" FAR 61.57 does not affect how a pilot logs PIC time during instrument training; FAR 61.51(c)(2) and (4) govern logging of instrument flight time. FAR 61.57(e) provides currency requirements for acting as PIC under instrument flight rules (IFR) or in weather conditions less than the minimums for visual flight rules (VFR). Enclosed please find a prior FAA interpretation on instrument flight time and FAR 61.57(e). We hope this interpretation will further assist you.
We hope this satisfactorily answers your questions.
Sincerely,
Donald P. Byrne
Assistant Chief Counsel
Regulations Division
