Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

6 Answers

Logging ‘taxi’ time?

Asked by: 8422 views Light Sport Aircraft

I hold a private pilot certificate, and will be flying a Kitfox experimental under LSA rules.
Both the Kitfox and I are being put back into service after a long hiatus. I have a current BFR and tailwheel endorsement.
The airplane had its annual inspection 10 days ago, and I have been taking lessons in Cubs, Champs and a Kitfox-like Aerotek.
I decided I will not try to fly it until I have several hours of taxi testing, to the point where I feel comfortable “driving” it on the ground.
My question is, can/should I log this taxi hours as PIC time?   On one hand, this is not flying. On the other, I am gaining proficiency in the ground handling of an aircraft that has a reputation for being very sensitive to control inputs.

Thanks,

Roberto.

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.

6 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Ron Klutts on Aug 07, 2012

    No. Look in Part 1 for the definition of flight time. It involves moving under your own power for the purpose of flight. So if you discover a bad mag during the runup and taxi back to the FBO then you can log it. Taxing for practice isn’t logable.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Gary Moore on Aug 07, 2012

    While you may not be able to count this as flight time – it’s your log book and you can put whatever you want in it…..

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Roberto Waltman on Aug 07, 2012

    Thanks for the replies – Yes, I will probably put it in my logbook, but following Ron’s answer, the time will be in the ‘Remarks’ column and ‘0’ in the actual flight time.
    So, I cannot count this as “time in type” for insurance purposes, etc.

    Roberto.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  4. n on Aug 24, 2012

    Maybe instead of taxing around until are “ready” you might just want to find a good CFI and get in the air. …IMHO

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  5. John Parsons on Jul 29, 2013

    Old topic, but I just ran across this question because I had the same experience Ron describes above. Yesterday I taxied out to the runway, did my run-up and discovered I had a bad mag drop. I taxied back to the FBO. It was a Sunday afternoon and no one was there to deal with the problem, so I drove home. I was planning to log the 0.3 hours, until I looked up the definition of “Flight Time.” True, it begins when you move the aircraft under its own power with the intention of flight, BUT… it ends when the aircraft comes to rest “after landing.” So, no landing means no flight, as I read it.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  6. Mark Kolber on Jul 29, 2013

    In an effort to log every 0.1 one can, there are the usual arguments about the technicalities of the flight time definition. Whatever the FAA might ultimately say about it, I agree with you, John. If I don’t fly at all. I don’t log flight time.

    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.