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3 Answers

Log cross country

Asked by: 4679 views , , ,
FAA Regulations, General Aviation, Student Pilot

My instructor and I went to another airport which is 29NM away from the home airport. After doing post flight he signed my logbook ang write down the total number of hours I flew and the number of landings. 

I thought I would logged my first cross country hours but to my surprise he didn't write anything about it. 

When can a student pilot log cross country hours?

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3 Answers



  1. Chris Dupin on Feb 23, 2013

    For a private pilot rating, a cross country is in part defined as 50 nm or greater. Read 61.1(b)(4) for more of what counts as a cross country.

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  2. Best Answer


    Matthew Waugh on Feb 24, 2013

    You are technically correct – that is a cross-country flight, under 61.1(b)(4)(i).

    Now “For the purpose of meeting the aeronautical experience requirements” under 61.1(b)(4)(ii) for a private pilot certificate as cross-country the flight must include “a point of landing that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure”.

    So traditionally, since the cross-country time of less than 50NM is not “useful” to you in the pursuit of the private pilot certificate it is not logged in the cross-country column. But that is merely a bookkeeping convention intended to make it easier to keep track of your progress in meeting the requirements.

    It is your logbook – if you want to log that time as cross-country make the correction, but you would be wise to make it VERY clear that the time is not to be included in the aeronautical experience required for any certificate or rating where it does not meet the requirements. Yours would be one of very few logbooks that logs that time as cross-country and it will confuse future instructors and DEs, some of whom may mistakenly claim that what you have done is incorrect or fraudulent – so good luck on that conversation.

    Generally speaking it is sufficient that your logbook shows the flight with landings at other airports – that records that you went somewhere else, and the lack of an entry in the cross-country column indicate it was less then 50NM – but your logbook, your decision.

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  3. Santiago on Feb 28, 2013

    Thanks guys really appreciate.

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