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Private Pilot – Two Logbooks – US and Foreign

Asked by: 3923 views FAA Regulations, Private Pilot

I'm a US citizen, private pilot in Hong Kong and recently passed my FAA private pilot checkride.  I live in HK and do most of my flying in Hong Kong on HK-registered aircraft.  I decided to get a stand alone FAA private pilot certificate from scratch for ease of flying when I have occassion to be in the US and fly N-reg aircraft.  I recorded flight time for my FAA practical on a separate logbook so that the required aeronautical experience is clear.  Going forward, I was planning to record all HK flight time on my HK logbook and US flight time in the US logbook but I am starting to think if there's an advantage to record everything including HK flight hours on HK registered aircraft in the US logbook.  I want to pursue advanced ratings/certificates in the US in the future.  In such case, is there any value to recording my HK flight time on my US logbook going forward?  Would flight time in HK on HK registered aircraft as a FAA private pilot count towards future US ratings/certificates?  Many thanks for any insights.

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1 Answers



  1. Sam Dawson on Nov 05, 2012

    Yes, you should record all of your HK time and it is recognized as long as it meets the requirements of FAR 61. The applicable FAR is 61.51 and states:
    “…
    (j) Aircraft requirements for logging flight time. For a person to log flight time, the time must be acquired in an aircraft that is identified as an aircraft under §61.5(b), and is—

    (1) An aircraft of U.S. registry with either a standard or special airworthiness certificate;

    (2) An aircraft of foreign registry with an airworthiness certificate that is approved by the aviation authority of a foreign country that is a Member State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation Organization;

    (3) A military aircraft under the direct operational control of the U.S. Armed Forces; or

    (4) A public aircraft under the direct operational control of a Federal, State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, if the flight time was acquired by the pilot while engaged on an official law enforcement flight for a Federal, State, County, or Municipal law enforcement agency.”

    If you need to transfer your time from your HK logbook you can do so as a one line entry with a reference to your HK logbook.

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