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6 Answers

Building cross country time

Asked by: 6027 views
FAA Regulations, Helicopter, Instrument Rating

Hi,,,I was just wondering what you guys think, if a person needs to build cross country time for an insturment rating! Can that person fly to another airport that is a minimum of 25 nautical miles (required mileage for helicopter x-c) away with the hood on,,do say,, 3 insturment approaches with a missed approach on each one,,,,and then,,fly back (without touching down) to the original airport!! Can he log x-c for the whole flight?(with and approved safety pilot of course)\'

My issue is I guess, you would have to take your hood off  to do a full down landing! And then you would have to count that off your hood time!! What do you think?

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6 Answers



  1. John D. Collins on Feb 27, 2012

    You need to increase the distance to at least 50 NM from your departure airport and make a landing.  It is my understanding that when the SAC B52’s were launched during the cold war and flew thousands of miles to their turn around point, and returned to the original base, the flight could not be logged as cross country. It was sort of like an extended pattern since the takeoff and landing were at the same airport.

     

    From 61.1:

     

    (4) Cross-country time means–

    ***

    (ii) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements (except for a rotorcraft category rating), for a private pilot certificate (except for a powered parachute category rating), a commercial pilot certificate, or an instrument rating, or for the purpose of exercising recreational pilot privileges (except in a rotorcraft) under Sec. 61.101(c), time acquired during a flight–

    (A) Conducted in an appropriate aircraft;

    (B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and

    (C) That involves the use of dead reckoning, pilotage, electronic navigation aids, radio aids, or other navigation systems to navigate to the landing point.

     

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  2. Bill Trussell on Feb 27, 2012

    I asked Dick Rutan about his “around the world” flight and whether he could log that time as cross country.  He said that technically since the takeoff and landing were at the same airport the answer was no.
    That was one heck of a long cross country for nothing.  He did note that he had so much time it did not matter.
    For those of us who do not have that much time, we have to follow the rules above.
    I should have asked him about safety pilot time and whether the aircraft sponsorship and prize money was considered compensation!

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  3. Nathan Parker on Feb 27, 2012

    The OP said it’s for a helicopter instrument rating, so (ii)(B) doesn’t apply.  Instead, (v)(B) does:
     
    (4) Cross-country time means—
     
    (v) For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements for any pilot certificate with a rotorcraft category rating or an instrument-helicopter rating, or for the purpose of exercising recreational pilot privileges, in a rotorcraft, under §61.101(c), time acquired during a flight—
     
    (A) Conducted in an appropriate aircraft;
     
    (B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 25 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
     

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  4. John D. Collins on Feb 27, 2012

    Nathan,
     
    Thanks, I need to do a better job of reading the question.

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  5. Brian on Feb 27, 2012

    “My issue is I guess, you would have to take your hood off  to do a full down landing!”

    Yes, to steal Nathans quote from (v) (B) with a different emphasis:

    “(B) That includes a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 25 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and”

    If you don’t land you won’t meet this regulation. 

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  6. Kris Kortokrax on Feb 27, 2012

    You need 50 hours of PIC cross country and only 40 hours of total instrument time, of which 15 needs to be with a CFII.  Why can’t you spare .1 to land out of the last approach?
     
    Why 3 approaches? Why not 10 approaches, if you are anxious to build time?  Is there a line to be drawn concerning how many approaches one may perform on a cross country trip and still continue to log cross country time?  (Rhetorical question)

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