Originally Posted by
wingtipwalker
That's not exactly true. You must log time for two reasons, and only two reasons:
§ 61.51 Pilot logbooks.(a) Training time and aeronautical experience. Each person must document and record the following time in a manner acceptable to the Administrator:So if the time isn't required for meeting the requirements of a certificate, or proving recency, you don't have to keep a record of it.
This is good 👆🏼
Too many people confuse "Aeronautical Experience" with "Flight Time".
Aeronautical Experience is used to establish various prerequisite requirements for a rating or certificate (such as 1500.0 hours total for the ATP), or to establish certain recency of experience requirements (such an international captain doing 3 landings to a full stop at night in a full flight sim to establish landing currency) and includes: flight time (14 CFR part 1), FSTD time (FTD or FFS), AETD time, etc. All of these things are listed in Section III of FAA Form 8710-1. If a box is grayed out, you can't count it, otherwise if it is not grayed out...its fair game.
Flight Time is used to determine things like has a 121 airman flown too many flight hours in a day, or too many flight hours in a week (7-day consecutive period) (30.0 flight hours), or too many flight hours in a calendar month (100.0 flight hours), or too many flight hours in a calendar year (1,000).
Do not confuse the two. They do not mean the same thing and are not used for the same purpose.