A couple orlando FSDO check airman and even our schools POI interprets you sitting in your hangar or a hangar or an office at the airport as advertising you are a comercial pilot willing to fly for anyone anytime. (advertising , holding out, common carriage)

Seems like grasping to me but they give the checkrides.

Remember laws and regs were made for lawers not pilots.

Exactly. The FAA has determined this is "holding out". The incedental interpertation applies to you, not the passenger (client). In other words lets say you need to fly from point A to point B for a legit reason and the potential passenger just so happens needs to go to the same place at the same time. Then, just like a private pilot, you can share expenses in your airplane or an airplane you rent. But if the sole reason for the flight is to take him to his destination in his airplane and you have no reason to go there other than to fly him, then be very, very careful. You can fly him under private carriage, ie, you become his personal corporate pilot for his personal airplane with a contract, but this has been a gray area in the past. The FAA wants to see a contract and performance under the contract. The FAA is not so concerned about you and your boss, but the innocent (maybe not-so-innocent ) passengers your boss may ask you to carry. Many corporate flight operations are performed under part 135 for this reason.

Lets just say you are fairly safe if you stick to the list in 119.1 (e). That's why so many aspiring airline pilots go the CFI route as it's specific in the regs and airlines understand what being a CFI is about.

I'm not the FAA. But I believe so. The FAA's primary concern is safety. And I believe, without looking it up, under Part 135 you need a min of 1200 TT, with some additional sub-times to fly passengers as PIC. If you notice under the list in Part 119.1(e) (Part 119 breaks out which operations fall under what regs. The various parts - 125, 121, 135 - detail whats required in those operations), there are no passenger carrying operations beyond 25 miles and even some of those have restrictions. That's why CFI's in this situation will give "instruction" to their new "student" to try to avoid problems here. However, the FAA is not dumb. And if they find out and are concerned enough, they will look for a legit reason for the instuction, ie, an aircraft checkout or flight review or IFR currency, etc.

There are various levels of 135 certificates. The least complex is a single-pilot 135. Most small FBO's will have one so they can fly charter in one of their more advance single or mulit-engine airplanes. The certificate will specifically list the pilot (usually just one or two) and the airplane. The next time you're at your FBO ask if they have a single-pilot 135 and if you could see the actual certificate. Single-pilot 135 certificates are easier because you don't need quite all of the various manuals, training programs, op specs, etc. required of larger part 135 and part 121 operations. You still need some of them, however.

Okay, I am sitting down at my Commercial EOC Oral exam, and the guy asks me, "If some random guy walks in with an airplane and wants a commercial pilot to fly him and his airplane back home because he does not like flying at night, I offer to take him.

Is this operation legal or not? The way I have been taught at my flight school up here in Washington, is too determine who has "operational control," in this case I do not have operational control, the guy with the airplane is arranging everything, im just flying. Is this right or wrong, its enough to interpret the regs.

Also I have been told that our Chief Flight Instructor wants too hear that this IS a legal operation, not requiring a 135 cert...

do not forget to refer to FAR 61.133 commercial pilot privileges and limitations. examiners get off on that kind of stuff

This is the gray area we've been talking about. The operation you are describing is not exempted in 119.1(e). So here we go...

The scenario you described sounds like noncommon carriage (119.3 Definitions), ie, you are not holding out to others. However 119.23(b) - Operators engaged in passenger-carrying operations...with airplanes when common carriage is not involved - states "each person who conducts noncommon carriage (except as provided in 91.501(b) of this chapter) or private carriage operations for compensation or hire with airplanes having a passenger seat configuration of less than 20 seats...shall (1) comply with...subpart C of this part; (2) conduct those operations in accordance with the requirements of part 135 of this chapter...and; (3) be issued operations specifications in accordance with those requirements.

This is the reg you are potentially running afoul of. Notice it doesn't specify whose airplane. It just says "airplanes". I'd ask my local friendly FAA Operations Inspector before conducting the flight...and I would get his name, number, and make very good notes.

A couple of more things to think about beyond the regulations. Would his insurance company cover you on the flight from a liability standpoint with you as PIC? Probably not...unless it was instruction. If you had an accident or incident, you might be liable for the damages. Most likely his insurance policy would restrict another pilot flying the airplane as PIC without their consent.

Operational control is defined in 14 CFR Part 1.1 - "Operational control, with respect to a flight means the exercise of authority over initiating, conducting or terminating a flight."

Pilot in command is defined in Part 1.1 - "means the person who: (1) has final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight; (2) has been designated as pilot in command before or during the flight; and (3) holds the appropriate category...

You as the commercial pilot (assuming the aircraft owner is just a private pilot) will be PIC and you do have operational control. The order in which Part 61 describes pilot certification is not random, ie, private - commercial - ATP - CFI. It's in that order for a reason. My job description as a regional airline captain and our company's Flight Operations and Procedures Manual quotes these definitions verbatim. And as PIC I don't arrange to buy the airplane, maintain it, pay for it, even put it in position for it's scheduled flight. I just fly it.

Sounds legal to me, it's done all the time. Really, if you don't provide the airplane and the customer does provide the airplane, common carriage would be a real stretch. The only way to run afoul of that would be if the customer has customers of his own or employees who need to ride along on a regular basis.

If he's a rated pilot but uncomfortable with the conditions of a specific flight it is TOTALLY legit for a CFI to go along as a paid safety pilot/baby-sitter. The FAA would far prefer that than another "continued VFR into IMC" event.

I've got an email into a POI I know in Orlando with this question. I will let you know what he has to say...

Yeah let us know what they say, thanks.