There are some folks who think that if you CFI for no charge, that you are still recieving compensation in the form of "loggable flight time".

The question is does that loggable time have any value? I hold that I have all the CE-172 PIC that I will ever need in my career, and the incremental value to me of any additional CE-172 time is zero.

I also limit my CFI activities to close friends and family. If you hang out at the FBO and offer free flight instruction to all comers, that could reasonably be construed as seeking out flight time as a form of compensation.

If you seriously considering this, call alpa or aopa legal and get their take.

Those "some folks" include the FAA. ;)

They also have viewed "compensation" as just doing someone a "favor".

This stuff isn't hard. If you have to invent ways to log something it probably isn't kosher.

Well, even if I do become an airline pilot, I still plan to fly for Civil Air Patrol. I have been a CAP pilot for 4 years and enjoy it. I plan on being a Search and Rescue pilot for CAP and a check pilot. I also plan to give the cadets orientation flights and do a little flight instructing for them.

I assume many of you guys arent familiar with CAP, but there a lot of current airline pilots in CAP that volunteer hours of flight instruction all the time. Its a non issue.

Nice to see a fellow CAP geek. I soloed with CAP and one of my first instructors there was (and still is) a 777 FO at CAL. He said there was no conflict.

There isnt. Many airline pilots fly with CAP

I was thinking about time building and gaining more experience through Civil Air Patrol. Can anybody please share there experiences with CAP? Is it a worthwhile venture?

You won't fly much unless the unit you are in has an airplane. Most of the time those units have people who have been around for awhile in them. I would go somewhere else if I were you. Any flight time you get in CAP won't be much.

how do you actually get in CAP?

You find a Squadorn located near you.

But understand CAP is NOT a place to go to build flight time. CAP is made up of aviation enthusists. These are older guys thathave been flying for 40 years and like it or GA pilots that like to bore holes inthe sky. CAP is not the place for timebuilders or future airline pilots. You cant just get a CAP plane and take it for any reason. Its not a flying club. Youhave to be on a mission or doing a cadet orientation ride.

I couldn't tell if you knew by your original post, but ASA's minimums are now 500/50...and I've heard they've hired folks with less than that.

Maybe that's what you meant...