Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Performing the duties of PIC

Asked by: 6321 views Commercial Pilot, FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor

Here is a question of research for instructors:

When the commercial pilot requirements changed (2010, 2011?) and inserted this phrase to the solo requirements:

“…performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board”

What does this mean?  What is allowed to be crossed over?  ie:  Can the 2 hours from the 100 NM  Night Dual cross country count towards the 5 hours of solo (or “…performing the duties of pilot in command in a single engine airplane with an authorized instructor on board”)?  Same question about the 10 take off and landings at a controlled tower.

What I am also looking for is any documentation, legal ruling, or AC speaking to this?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Nov 12, 2013

    Nothing can be “crossed over.” “Performing the duties” is a substitution for solo flight that, as I recall, originally appeared in the 1997 revision to Part 61 as a way to solve the problem of commercial multi students being unable to solo due to insurance restrictions.

    It was later extended in the October 2009 Part 61 revision to other certificates and ratings.

    In either case, the idea is for the student to either act as though he’s solo, although being supervised by the CFI, or to act as though he is PIC of a multi-pilot crew, with the CFI as crew.

    Your best bet for a reference is going to be to go to the government’s Federal Register site and pull up the October 2009 Final Rule. There are only a few legal interpretations on the subject. I don’t have them handy but I din’t think they address your question directly.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.