Originally Posted by nick@FL350
So does anyone have a solid answer to the question? I have the same problem in my logbook because I flew a lot in a Merlin which is right at the edge of 12,500 MTOW, but requires only 1 pilot. if for insurance reasons the aircraft requires 2 pilots. Wouldn't that be a gray area of a required crewmember in the FAR's? What I was thinking of doing was logging the total time for the duratin of the flight and PIC a little less only for the reason that if you're flying from the right seat the tiller is located on the left side which means there is no way you could be sole manipulator of controls? Any inputs?
Nick - I'm very comfortable with the anwsers we came up with in the Commercial Checkride thread. Then again while I enjoy these discussions, I always take them with a gain of salt, so-to-speak!
14 CFR Part 61.51(e)
Logging pilot-in-command flight time states under (1) "a recreational, private, or commercial pilot may log pilot-in-command time only for that flight time during which that person - (i) is the
sole manipulator of the controls of an aircraft which the pilot is rated; ..."
14 CFR Part 61.51(f)
Logging second-in-command flight time states "a person may may log second-in-command time only for that flight time during which that person: (1) is qualified in accordance with the second-in-command requirements of 61.55 of this part, and occupies a crewmember station in an aircraft that
requires more than one pilot by the aircraft's type certificate; or (2) holds the appropriate category, class, and instrument rating (if an instrument rating is required for the flight) for the aircraft being flown, and more than one pilot is required under the type certification of the aircraft or
the regulations under which the flight is being conducted."
I've bolded the important stuff. You are a commercial, multiengine, instrument rated pilot. So you can log the time you were sole manipulator of the controls as PIC time and Total Duration of Flight. In your example say the flight was 2.0 hours and you controled the takeoff, enroute portion, and landing (your leg to fly). If it was small airports I think you can reasonable log 1.9 hours (of the 2.0 total) as PIC and Total Duration of Flight. At larger airports you might have to log say 1.8 as PIC and Total Duration of Flight to allow for longer taxis.
The aircraft you were flying does not require two pilots by type certification of the aircraft (regardless of insurance requirements - the regs make no mention of "insurance"). Therefor the aircraft doesn't need a SIC. You can't legally log SIC time in that aircraft and an astute examiner of your logbook (say an airline interview - it's a red flag) might ask some polite questions about it. You would need to have a specific deviation from the FAA Admimistrator (or her designee) for the regulation. I think (don't know for sure) that that is what AirNet and others of the same ilk have through their FAA Op Specs for their operations.
Last, airlines will allow multiengine sole manipulator PIC time in your Total Duration of Flight column, in your Multiengine Land (or Sea) column, but they are going to pull it out of your PIC totals because they typically hold us to the definition of Pilot In Command as stated in Part 1.1. There are two different types of "pilot-in-command" in the regulations - one for logging flight time (under part 61.51) and another (part 1.1) for definition of command of the aircraft.