3) You are designated PIC. You are responsible for the safe operation of the flight. On multi-crew aircraft, this is always the captain. Captain is always responsible for what happens - thus he gets to log PIC, since he is in command.
Actually, no. The captain is not always PIC. Whomever is designated as PIC in an aircraft requiring more than one crewmember, is PIC. That may be the "captain," or someone else. Being "captain" has nothing to do with it.
You may be confusing your regulations. Under Parts 121 or 135, the person designated as PIC by the certificate holder remains the PIC for the entire flight...which is always the captain in that case. However, this has nothing to do with logging, except insofar has the designation of the PIC to meet the requirements of 61.51(e)(1)(iii).
What if I took the rudder pedals out of the left side of a 172, and the yoke out of the right side of a 172, and slapped an experimental sticker on it?
It would then require two pilots, thus two PICs!
This still wouldn't do it. Only one pilot in command is required, or permitted, regardless of how the aircraft might be bastardized. There is only ever one pilot in command. Only one person may act as pilot in command. If th aircraft design requires two crewmembers, that's another matter, but if there are one or ten or a hundred required crewmembers, there is only one allowed, required, or permitted pilot in command.
That aside, gaining experimental certification isn't as easy as merely slapping a sticker on an aircraft, especially a modified certificated airframe. In this case you're going to need a field approval for major alternations, and may be required to fly under an experiemental certificate, assuming the FAA will grant the exemption. I doubt they would.
Regardless of weather the FAA would do so or not, only one pilot may act as pilot in command, even though more than one may log it.
Pilots arguing over if a Safety Pilot can log PIC? Wow, thats a new one haha
Actually, it's one of the most common regulatory questions of any posed...and it's no debate. There is no question that more than one pilot may log PIC legally, and the FAA has made it quite clear in multiple interpretations of the regulation.
