Long Cross country 51.8nm straight line without landing at airport?

[Myself]

Hello all, a question regarding the long cross country requirement for private pilots.

The rule says “One solo cross country flight of 150 nautical miles total distance, with full-stop landings at three points, and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations”.

Looking for input to apply this to my situation:

I’m a student pilot, and I set out for a long cross country from my home airport, and landed at 2 different airports for a total of 47nm distance. I flew 51.8 miles in a straight line onroute to my third airport (which was at a distance of 65nm from the second airport), before I decided to divert back to my home airport (another 52 miles away) due to unexpected smoke/visibility issues over the third airport. I could not land at the third airport. However, my total route was 150nm, and I had a total of three landings. Would this meet the requirement per the rule? The straight line distance between the takeoff (second airport) and landing location (my home base) is less than 50nm, however, as I was headed to third airport, I did fly 51.8 miles in a straight line, before diverting.

Would I have to redo my long solo cross country?

My checkride is coming up, and weather is not cooperating for another long solo, so curious if my cross-country meets the requirements. Appreciate input particularly from any DPE’s and/CFI’s out here... Thanks!

 

[Daleandee]

I think you answered your question ... "and one segment of the flight consisting of a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles between the takeoff and landing locations."

 

[Doc Holliday]

If this forum only had a search feature...........

 

[TCABM]

… I set out for a long cross country from my home airport, and landed at 2 different airports for a total of 47nm distance. … I could not land at the third airport. …

Would I have to redo my long solo cross country?

Somewhere I don’t see landing at three points in there, but there was a lot of words that didn’t make it clear.

 

[flyingpreacher]

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer, you WANT to redo it because if you get to your checkride, the DPE is going to make sure you are eligible for the checkride before you begin. This is one of the items he will check. When he sees that you didn’t fully meet the requirements, he will discontinue before you ever actually start. 99% chance you need more flight time anyway, so ENJOY it. Make it something fun!

You used good Aeronautical Decision Making by diverting, but you do still need to check that box.

 

[dmspilot]

Looks like it doesn't count. How could it?

You "landed at 2 different airports for a total of 47nm distance" then you landed at your home airport. At no point did you land more than 50nm from your departure airport.

 

[midlifeflyer]

As soon as you say “no landing” it’s a red flag there is a problem. But…

We often see questions here about whether a particular route satisfies the requirements. Telling us the actual route is so much more helpful than trying to parse a word salad that may be missing some croutons.