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4 Answers

Logging cross country time, after commercial certificate.

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Commercial Pilot, FAA Regulations

So I am currently a commercially certificated pilot. It just dawned upon me the other day that you can technically log every flight as a cross country flight so long as the destination is different than the original point of departure (correct me if I am wrong). I have not been doing this, as I believed cross country was still considered any straight line distance greater than 50nm and to an airport different than the departure. SO before I make any major alterations to my former logbook entries, and how I record cross country time in the future, I'd like to make sure about it. Probably the biggest thing I cannot figure out (I even called the FSDO and no one called me back) is if I am building cross country time for ATP, does the cross country definition of "greater than 50nm straight line distance..." apply for ATP? Or is it any considered any distance so long as the destination is different than the point of departure? Thanks!

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4 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Oct 06, 2013

    See 61.1(b)(4)(vi)

    If you are logging time for an ATP, it still needs to be over 50 NM.

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  2. Wes Beard on Oct 06, 2013

    Reference 61.1. The answer is in the definition for cross country.

    Cross country is defined as landing at another airport other than the original airport. Both 121 and 135 use this definition.

    For airplane private, instrument and commercial an additional restriction is placed yo make the airports greater than 50NM.

    For ATP, the only addition is the airplane has to travel a distance greater than 50NM but doesn’t have to land.

    In my logbook I have three columns 135XC, XC and ATP XC to differentiate the requirements.

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  3. Gary Moore on Oct 06, 2013

    Also there is a difference in “logged cross country” and “logged cross country used to meet the requirement of a rating”

    You can log whatever you want – you may need to log certain things to meet the requirement for a rating, certificate or currency….

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  4. Mark Kolber on Oct 07, 2013

    The only additional comment that may (or not) be worth making is that the “after commercial certificate” part of the question may be a bit misleading. I mention it because I heard from others that somehow the logging rules change after one gets the commercial.

    They don’t. The multiple definitions of cross country apply from the very beginning. What are described as “definitions” of cross country are actualy descriptions of what types of cross country can be use for particular purposes.

    To use Wes’ multiple column example, your student pilot flight with your CFI to the towered airport 10 NM away from home base to practice tower ops, would go into Wes’ 135XC column, although not into the other two.

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