RyanShort1
Final Approach
That should only make it easier to remember, no?
Interesting new Wings Course
- Thread starter Let'sgoflying!
- Start date
Half Fast
Touchdown! Greaser!
So I took this new course this afternoon. Key takeaways:
The end result of this is that if the FAA wants to cite you for violating 61.113 on anything other than a solo flight, they can probably figure out a way to do it. It's kinda like the laws of thermodynamics: you can't win, you can't break even, you can't quit the game.
The course was very wishy-washy, with lots of "Be very careful about this" and "Pilots should be cautious of doing this" and "It depends" kind of ca-ca. There need to be some clearly defined written rules/interpretations, but instead there's lots of arm waving. It would have been much better if someone from FAA Legal had been on the panel and given some real opinions you could rely on. At one point the FAA guy said, "There's no regulation but this is the FAA's position, and do you want to be a test case?" Completely unprofessional garbage, but about what I expected.
The safety inspector from the FAA said several times that the FAA's primary concern was "the safety of the passengers in the back of the plane." But, he also went on to say that hauling cargo was no different and the FAA lumps persons and packages together, so the bust is the same whether or not passenger safety is involved.
I found it interesting to learn that the FAA has subpoena powers. Not surprising but it hadn't occurred to me that if the FAA wants your flight video they don't have to go through a court first. Fortunately they can't get something that doesn't exist even with a subpoena, and private pilots have no requirement to log flights (other than as necessary for currency), much less record passengers or keep records of expenses or document the purpose of a flight.
Best to keep a low profile. Even if you consider your flight completely legal, the FAA can probably make a case that it wasn't if they want to.
1) The FAA can (and does) call almost anything "compensation" including building flight time. (IMHO, since it's impossible to fly without accumulating flight hours, it seems to me that the FAA can, if it chooses, say a pilot is being compensated on any flight.)
2) If the passenger suggests the flight and destination and the pilot wasn't already planning to go there, there is no common purpose for the flight.
3) If the pilot suggests the flight and destination to the passenger, the pilot might be considered to be "holding out."
The end result of this is that if the FAA wants to cite you for violating 61.113 on anything other than a solo flight, they can probably figure out a way to do it. It's kinda like the laws of thermodynamics: you can't win, you can't break even, you can't quit the game.
The course was very wishy-washy, with lots of "Be very careful about this" and "Pilots should be cautious of doing this" and "It depends" kind of ca-ca. There need to be some clearly defined written rules/interpretations, but instead there's lots of arm waving. It would have been much better if someone from FAA Legal had been on the panel and given some real opinions you could rely on. At one point the FAA guy said, "There's no regulation but this is the FAA's position, and do you want to be a test case?" Completely unprofessional garbage, but about what I expected.
The safety inspector from the FAA said several times that the FAA's primary concern was "the safety of the passengers in the back of the plane." But, he also went on to say that hauling cargo was no different and the FAA lumps persons and packages together, so the bust is the same whether or not passenger safety is involved.
I found it interesting to learn that the FAA has subpoena powers. Not surprising but it hadn't occurred to me that if the FAA wants your flight video they don't have to go through a court first. Fortunately they can't get something that doesn't exist even with a subpoena, and private pilots have no requirement to log flights (other than as necessary for currency), much less record passengers or keep records of expenses or document the purpose of a flight.
Best to keep a low profile. Even if you consider your flight completely legal, the FAA can probably make a case that it wasn't if they want to.
Clip4
Final Approach
Really? Ever hear of a flight review? You are allowed to ask questions on topics you feel deficient.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 4,582
- Display Name
Display name:
Ari
This might be one of those topics. What do you understand to be the purpose of the Wings program?