Logging Solo

OkieAviator

OkieAviator

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OkieAviator
Unless you're logging Solo time specifically to meet the requirements of your private or an additional cert like commercial, does anyone consistently log 'Solo' time as well as 'PIC' time when they're flying by themselves?

Based on-
FAR 61.51 (d) Logging of solo flight time. Except for a student pilot performing the duties of pilot in command of an airship requiring more than one pilot flight crewmember, a pilot may log as solo flight time only that flight time when the pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft.
It appears to be completely optional which is why I quit doing it.

Reason I ask is I was doing my IACRA app from Instrument rating this morning and the 8710 asks for Solo and Solo XC time. I'm assuming that's just because it's used for Private, Commercial, Multi, Heli, ect. If I ever decide to go for anything post instrument I'll log solo time for those specific training flights but I really don't see a reason to log it otherwise. Curious if I'm an outlier here of if the general conscious is people only account for it when they need to hit a certain requirement. It also might be depressing to see how many hours I spend by myself in a plane...
 
I have a logbook that I keep track of just about everything per flight....

75% of my cross country time is solo.
 
I log it.
Easier to do it now than later. And, I can generate pretty reports. :)
 
If I can log something, I log it.
 
JoeSelch said:
I log it.
Easier to do it now than later. And, I can generate pretty reports. :)
Click to expand...

Only have 175 hours so I'll go back through it. Most the trips where I had people in the plane with me I put their name in there... so shouldn't be too hard.
 
OkieAviator said:
Unless you're logging Solo time specifically to meet the requirements of your private or an additional cert like commercial, does anyone consistently log 'Solo' time as well as 'PIC' time when they're flying by themselves?
Click to expand...

I don't but I am well beyond the point where it matters.
 
OkieAviator said:
Only have 175 hours so I'll go back through it. Most the trips where I had people in the plane with me I put their name in there... so shouldn't be too hard.
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Went through and did it. Went from 11 hour or so before PPL to 43.8 hours. The other block in my logbook I've ignored was ground training. I could speculate .5 on every training flight but that's not very quantitative so I'm not even going to bother with that. Because I don't see the purpose and there's some days I received ground training but didn't fly...

Greg Bockelman said:
I don't but I am well beyond the point where it matters.
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Not sure it matters to me, might have some interest in the next 5 years to see how much I fly by myself... other than that not sure.
 
I knew I have not logged "solo" in a long time. But I just checked back and it seems none of my three paper logbooks even had a dedicated "solo" column. That's even longer than I expected.

So I guess my answer is "no."
 
Now that I have my ATP it doesn't really matter,might log it to see how often I'm alone. Pilots can sometimes be an anti social group.
 
I didn't bother to make a column for I in my excel logbook. No benifit to logging it, I've also never seen a job posting that required XX solo.
 
OkieAviator said:
Unless you're logging Solo time specifically to meet the requirements of your private or an additional cert like commercial, does anyone consistently log 'Solo' time as well as 'PIC' time when they're flying by themselves?

Based on-
FAR 61.51 (d) Logging of solo flight time. Except for a student pilot performing the duties of pilot in command of an airship requiring more than one pilot flight crewmember, a pilot may log as solo flight time only that flight time when the pilot is the sole occupant of the aircraft.
It appears to be completely optional which is why I quit doing it.
Click to expand...

Ah, but that only tells us what counts as solo time. What about 61.51(b)?
(b) Logbook entries. For the purposes of meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, each person must enter the following information for each flight or lesson logged:
***
(2) Type of pilot experience or training -
(i) Solo.
(ii) Pilot in command.​
***​

If one want to do a hyper-technical reading, once you decide to log a flight, you must log if it's solo.
 
JoeSelch said:
:canofworms:
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Fun, huh?
worms.gif
 
tlglenn said:
I bought some life insurance three years ago and they wanted to know how much solo time I had so they could rate me properly.
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Lol, guessing the underwriter has zero aviation experience.

If you asked me that question, outside of my first 50-60hrs I'd have a heck of a time figuring it out.
 
You will go blind doing that.......:wink2:


....oh.... I mean who logs single engine time anymore..?? :lol::lol::lol:
 
tlglenn said:
I bought some life insurance three years ago and they wanted to know how much solo time I had so they could rate me properly.
Click to expand...
I would almost bet their definition of "solo" was, if effect, "not dual". Seen a lot of that through the years, even at flight schools (referring to rental privileges, not FAA requirements).
 
I haven't logged anything solo since I was a student. Once I got my PP-ASEL, it changed to PIC
Of course, that was 47 years ago ...
 
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