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3 Answers

Cross Country & Towered Airport requirements for student PPL

Asked by: 4336 views FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

As my flight training is progressing, I've been looking carefully at 61.109 to make sure I tick all the boxes required.  For solo flight, there is the 150 nm with one leg at least 50 nm requirement, and 3 points, with a full-stop landing at each. There is also the towered airport requirement, with 3 full-stop landings.

My question is this:  is there any documentation required to prove you accomplished these tasks, i.e. a statement in the logbook by someone at the airports attesting you were there at so-and-so date and time?  Or is the student pilot's certification that the log entries are true and correct sufficient?

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3 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on Jun 10, 2017

    No, there is no certification required, other than you attesting that it is correct.

    “Back in the day” you used to have to get your logbook signed by somebody at each airport. But this requirement went away decades ago (not sure when, but it no longer existed when I learned to fly in 1993).

    I like to have my students do the towered field landings as one of their stops during the XC. That way, it’s to a different towered field they’ve never flown to before (as opposed to one close by that we already used to practice tower communications).

    And, if you’re wondering (given the lack of proof), if people do actually cheat on this requirement, sadly, yes, some do. But it’s pretty rare, and honestly it would be easy to figure out with very basic questions that will occur during normal conversation. Like, “how was your flight to ABC? What did you think about those power lines on final?” Etc. I mean, after one of my students flies a XC, they are going to want to talk about it, and I want to hear about it – if they didn’t actually fly it, well, I think it’s going to quickly become obvious. (And it’s guaranteed their instructor has been to every airport they’re likely to be using plenty of times.)

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  2. KDS on Jun 11, 2017

    Rick, I go back a few decades before you and as far as I know, it never has been a regulatory requirement.

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  3. RickS on Jun 11, 2017

    Thanks!

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