[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by MidlifeFlyer

We obviously disagree about what we are certifying with our signature.

Maybe.

You've already told us what you think the CFI is =not= certifying with that signature - not the time, not the maneuvers that were covered, not whether it was a cross country flight. So, exactly what do you think the CFI is certifying with his =only= required signature anywhere other than on an 8710? That he gave at least 1 second of instruction on unspecified stuff?

I'm saying that the CFI signature is certifying training was done. I forget how the actual reg reads but essentially we are signing that we did training. It is not our job to log the time, or write what we did. Most of us do, especially for student and private pilots, because they don't know much, but it's not our job, IMO.

You apparently think that as instructors the FAA would not look very closely at us if it were discovered that a student pilot's logbook had padded training time and training coverage entries. Again, all I can say is we can agree to disagree.

No I think we agree . I never said the FAA wouldn't look at us, I said a good lawyer could shoot holes in a student's logbook because it has since left our hands, and we have no way of ensuring that the entries that are in it stay correct.

Your question "The owner of the logbook, or the CFI?" suggests you think that it's one or the other. I think the answer is "both."

I disagree here, but that is OK . I don't think it's the CFI's logbook, I think it's the students. They are "each person" according to the regulations. It's not "each person and their authorized instructor" or something to that effect, just "each person".

So at that inquiry, you are asked, "Didn't you see that your student added 3 hours to that dual cross country flight?" If you are satisfied with the answer, "Yeah, I saw it. I didn't ask for a correction. Didn't cross out my signature. Instead, I continued to add my signature to new entries. I figured what the ****. Not my problem," you're welcome to go for it.

I'm not satisfied with that answer. As I stated above, I agree in principle with not signing a student's obvious incorrect entry. If they fill it out in front of me and put something else (extremely highly unlikely to say the least, why we are even arguing about this blows my mind) of course I'd say something.

My point is that just because there is a CFI's signature there, doesn't mean it's "legit" time. We can't certify something we have no control over.

BTW, you ask, "Who signs the logbook on each page to verify it's validity?" Can you show us the regulation that requires the logbook owner to sign each page? Or anything in the logbook for that matter?

As far as signing each page, I have no idea if there is a regulation that requires it. My guess is there is some legal reason outside of the FAR's that makes it a good idea.