Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Instructors log cross country time

Asked by: 2548 views Flight Instructor

Can a flight instructor technically log cross country time whenever they land at another airport (with a student) regardless of the distance? According to 61.1, you can log it if you have a private license, in an aircraft and land at a point other than the point of departure. It only requires 50 nm when you're going for aeronautical experience requirements which an instructor is not. Thoughts?

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.

2 Answers



  1. CFIsince1990 on Sep 07, 2017

    Yes, as long as you are conducting flight training under the same conditions of flight and type of flight in an airplane and operation you are rated for. Also, 61.51 (e)(1)(D)(3) allows a certified flight instructor to log PIC flight time for all flight time while serving as the authorized instructor in an operation if the instructor is rated to act as PIC of that aircraft.

    I guess your question is can a short 20 mile flight to another airport (with landing) be logged by the instructor as cross country time even though it does not count for cross country time for a student pilot as far as the required aeronautical experience goes.

    I would think both could log it as cross country time, but it just would not count toward the aeronautical experience totals for a private, commercial, or instrument pilot applicant, although it would count for TOTAL cross country time in your logbook.

    Ideas?

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. CFIsince1990 on Sep 07, 2017

    change \”your logbook\” to \”both (student and instructor) logbooks\”

    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.