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6 Answers

Logging ‘taxi’ time?

Asked by: 8348 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.

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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.

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  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…..

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  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.

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  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

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  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.

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  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.

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