Safety Pilot

[MackyG1]

Had a log book question for former ATA students. When we served as "safety pilots" for other students for time building purposes (for our instrument rating), was it legal for us to log this time as pilot in command. My present flight school does not believe it was legal and therefore I have to make up this PIC time. Has anyone else had trouble with this?

[PanJet]

I've always logged safety pilot time as PIC, and so far as I know most people at my school do. In fact, our instructors encourage us to log it to help break down costs.
There's a difference between acting as PIC and logging PIC. If I'm correct, you can log PIC as a safety pilot because you are responsible for the safety of the aircraft and have "command" over it in a fashion because you are the one who sees outside. If for some reason you were to have a midair and somehow live through it, it would be on the back of the safety pilot.

[air_shuttle]

Pick up the far/aim and read:
61.51E
91.109
91.3


The hooded pilot logs pic as the sole manipulator, the safety logs as the final
"final authority" to aircraft operation....until the hood is taken out of the story. PIC duties must be deligated, and can also change in flight.

When the hood id on, you loose the final authority to the s.p.

If this is your agreement, you both can log pic for the duration you are in simulated imc.

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by air_shuttle

Pick up the far/aim and read:
61.51E
91.109
91.3


The hooded pilot logs pic as the sole manipulator, the safety logs as the final
"final authority" to aircraft operation....until the hood is taken out of the story. PIC duties must be deligated, and can also change in flight.

When the hood id on, you loose the final authority to the s.p.

If this is your agreement, you both can log pic for the duration you are in simulated imc.

I agree with what you're saying...sort of. The one sentence that throws the monkey wrench in the works is: "When the hood id on, you loose the final authority to the s.p.". This is only correct if you have both agreed that the safety pilot is going to be the PIC. Otherwise the pilot at the controls remains PIC. I know that you understand and agree with this because of what you say in your next sentence, but the problem is the way that stand-alone sentence reads by itself (grammar and spelling notwithstanding irregardless).

Bottom line: the safety pilot can only log PIC if the pilot flying and the safety pilot have agreed that the safety pilot is the final authority on the flight, before the fact. Minor point, maybe, until the bovine fecal matter hits the rotating air moving device.

[Tim]

From my understanding talking with a DE you can log PIC only for the amount of time that the other pilot is "under the hood". Once hood is off your time stops. Remember you are usually on a VFR flight so someone has to be able to look outside for traffic