Originally Posted by NoyGonnaDoIt

The reg does not say you need to be the PIC to log the landings. And the reg does not say that you can't fly the airplane and ado the landings with someone else on board - just that you can't be the pilot in command when you do.

Is the trainer just a passenger?

Is the trainer a pilot? Is he current? Is he the one who is ACTING as PIC (responsible) during these training flights? Chances are the answer to all three is "yes." When you are at the controls, he's not the passenger, =you= are.

As the PIC, the trainer can let you be the sole manipulator of the controls.
So long as the trainer is willing to take the responsibility ob being the pilot in command of the flight while you fly and land the airplane, the time is yours to log as PIC and the landings count for currency.

That's the FAA stuff. Insurance might present different issues, but as far as the FAA is concerned, it's all legit flight time. And what I would be concerned with from a reg perspective isn't logging legit FAA time. I'd be concerned with a logbook that listed "flight time" only without also including a legit 61.51 category.