I'll try to ask this question clearly the first time I'm a private pilot (ASEL) almost done with the instrument rating, looking a few pages ahead towards the COM certificate. What aeronautical experience gained in the past for my private and insturment ratings can be applied to 61.129a? If any? Specific Example:



61.129(a)2(ii) "50 hours in cross-country flight of which at least 10 hours must be in airplanes."


61.129(a)2 requires 100 PIC. 61.129(a)2(ii) is defining the structure of that 100 PIC specified in 61.129(a)2

so the question I'm asking myself/you guys, is if the 50 x/c PIC I had built for my instrument rating satisfies 61.129(a)2(ii) ? Or, if I need to build an additional 50 x/c PIC.

Thanks for any insight

It appears you've met the requirement. The x/c time (as you've detailed it above) counts. Now it might be a good idea to find a CFI that you want to use to get the "upgrade"; he or she can explain what else you need to do experience-wise.

once you get your private, the count does not start over. the requirements for every rating are satisfied by everything in your logbook, not just since the last one.

The hours carry-over. The notable thing which does not are the specific cross-countries required for each certificate (e.g. even if your IR cross-country was long enough, you couldn't use it towards your Comm cross-country).

Thanks, that makes sense and seems to mesh well with how I have read the FAR's.

I would check with your local FSDO, because the Seattle FSDO says that they do. (e.g. if you had a 2 hour day VFR x-country and it was more than 100nm straight-line during private training, you can count it).

Correct, take the wording of those particular regs at face value, ie read them verbatim....

The requirements of some x-countries obviously conflict with other x-countires...

The IFR long x-country can't be used for the commercial day/night which has to be VFR.

But if the requirements don't conflict, and you made sure to meet all requirements for both ratings I think you could use a flight for more than one rating.

I'm not sure that I would count pre-PPL XC flights towards another rating though. I'd have to review the regs in detail on that. You are PIC while solo, but not yet rated in the airplane...I don't think I'd go there. Even if it's technically legal, it might create confusion down the road.

Again, the great part about 61 training. If it's in your log book (assuming you actually did the flight) aeronautical experience is aeronautical experience. The only thing it's really going to count for though is total XC time. Back to not being able to use required XC for one rating over to the next.

I disagree with that, simply because I've seen it written anywhere.

The reality is that most rating-specefic XC's cannot be easily applied to other ratings because the requirements are different. But if you did a XC which was intentionally set up to meet the requirements for more than one rating, I think it would count (in part 61, not 141).

I totally agree, with one stipulation. If you are going to use an XC to meet two seperate requirements, and you specifically tailor the flight to meet said requirements, you MUST log it as so. Once again, very rarely you will find two required XC's that are not mutually exclusive. Most of the time you are simply building time, and using that time to fulfill requirements.