ARAMP1

I used the 80% method for my Aircraft Commander time.

I knew that zero of my Copilot time was PIC, and I knew that all but approx 10 hours of my Instructor time was PIC. For my AC time, I didn't have a way to go back to see if/when I flew with an instructor or another AC that may have signed for the jet. 80% was my reasonable guess.

Sluggo_63

Umm... it's not a WAG. It's an educated guess. One that is widely accepted industry wide.

Overnitefr8

WAG must mean Widely Acceptable Guess

Adlerdriver

Ok. Lighten up a little.
My point still stands. Someone flying mil heavies could start out on day one with a little better record keeping and avoid having to guess in the first place. It is possible to shut down the engines, secure the jet and walk away knowing if you were the PIC signing for the jet or not.....correct?

Sluggo_63

It's all good, brother.

I really think it's a case of you don't know what you don't know. When I started as an aircraft commander, there was no one to "mentor" me on the importance of how to log my time or even to keep my own logbooks (I did, because I started as a civilian guy, but still...). By the time one realizes the importance of logging FAA PIC/A-code flying time rather than AF Primary/Secondary, it's usually too late and near impossible to go back and recreate without having all the flight orders to see when you held the A-code.
No. typically not. But to go back 10 years and try to think if there was an IP on that flight that might have held the A-code instead of you, or if you flew with another AC who might have been the PIC is tough. The ARMS printouts don't show that, and if that's all you have when you are submitting your applications, you have no idea how much of your time as an AC was PIC. 100% is not right, because there are times when you might not have been. 80% is probably very conservative, which is why people use that multiplier. 90% is probably close to accurate from what I've seen after I started paying attention to that.

Adlerdriver

Yes, I understand the difficulty in recall from 10+ years past when a pilot is attempting to use AF generated flight records. Hence my suggestion that someone who is just starting out might want to make a habit of keeping better records from the start of their AC flying (perhaps an attempt at the mentoring you mention). In 2018, it's hardly a secret what each major airline considers PIC time. Someone who is considering that path at some point in their future could use that information to avoid an educated guess on their times.

I have a hard time believing that an AF heavy pilot who just finished a sortie (and who has been informed of what airline X, Y or Z considers PIC time) wouldn't be able to make a determination and log it appropriately.

flyingj40

Thanks for all the input and confirming what I've "heard around the internet". As for the mentoring piece you are absolutely right! We have had a higher than usual number of new upgrades to Aircraft Commander and every single one of them I have told they needed to start tracking their PIC time. They may not know what they want to do long term right now but it will save them a lot of time and pain later. Hopefully they listen and learn from others mistakes!