M.Shea 1991

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Feb 14 , 1991
Mr . Mi c hae l P . She a
Dear Mr . Shea :

Thank you f or your l etter of September 26 , 1990 , to the Federal Avi ati on Admini stration (FAA) Off ice of Assis t ant Chief Counsel i n Renton , WA (ANM- 7) . According t o your l e t ter , you possess an FAA commer cial pi l ot certificate wi th instrument r ati ng (helicopt er) , and are a qual i fied Army aviat or . You also have p r ivate pil ot pri v i leges f or s i ngle- engine airplanes . You have begun t o earn your i nstrument rating fo r s i ngl e - engine a irplanes , to be fol l owed by the commerci a l pilot cert i ficat e f or airp l anes with multi - engi ne rating .

You raised several quest ions r egarding the int erpr etation o f certain secti ons of the Federal Avi ati on Re gulat i ons (FAR) Part 61 , which we have addressed bel ow .

Questi on 1 . You have made several military f lights o f more t han 50 nauti cal miles i n a Bell Ulf- 1 helicopter while hol ding an FAA-i ssued commerci a l pi l ot certifi cate with instrument rat i ng (hel i copt er) . You asked whe t her you can apply t h i s cross-country hel i copt er t i me t oward t he requi rement s f or your i nstrument rati ng (airplane) .

Answer : I t is unnecessary for you t o do so . Di scuss i on : FAR 61. 65(e) provi des :

(e) Flight experience . An applicant f or an instr ument rati ng must have at lea s t t he fol l owing f light t i me as a pilo t :

(1 ) A tot a l o f 125 hours o f pil o t f ligh t time , of which 50 hours a r e as pilot i n command i n c r oss- countr y f light i n a powe r ed ai r craf t with other than a student pilo t certificate . Each c r oss- countr y flight must have a l andi ng a t a po i n t mor e t han 50 naut i cal miles f rom the o r igina l d e parture point .

(2) 40 hour s o f simula t ed or actual i nstrument t ime , o f whi ch not . more . t han 20 ho~r s may be instrument ins t~uction by an authorized i nstruct or i n an instrument gr ound trainer acceptable t o the Administra t or .

(3) 15 hour s o f i nstrument fl ight instruction by an authorized f l ight inst ructor , i ncl uding a t least 5 hour s in an

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airplane or a helicopter, as appropriate.

By virtue of the fact that you have met the requirements of an FAA instrument rating for helicopters, you have met the requirements of 61.65(e)(1) and (2) above. These two subsections are not specific as to helicopter or airplane. Therefore, the question whether you can count your helicopter cross-country flight time toward the airplane instrument rating is moot.

The only additional requirement of 61.65(e) you need to be concerned about meeting is the provision in subsection (3), which is specific to the type of instrument rating sought. You must satisfy subsection (3)'s requirement of 15 hours of instrument flight instruction, including at least 5 hours in an airplane, in order to satisfy 61.65(e)'s requirements applicable to the airplane instrument rating. Question 2. Can you apply your military helicopter cross-country flight time toward the cross-country requirement for the Commercial Pilot Certificate in 61.129(b)(3)(ii)? Answer: Yes.

Discussion: FAR 61.129.

.... Which is part of Subpart E, "Commercial Pilots," includes under paragraph (b), "Flight time as pilot" the following under subparagraph (3) (ii):

50 hours of cross-country flights, each flight with a landing at a point more than 50 nautical miles from the original departure point....

Previous flight time, whether military or civilian, can be used to meet this requirement of 61.129. Again, as is the case with 61.65, whether the flight experience was in a helicopter (and not an airplane) is immaterial since this subsection does not specifically require airplane time. By way of contrast, note for example that 61.129(b) (3) (i) require 50 hours of pilot in command time in airplanes.

[As information, 61.65(e) is different from 61.129(b) (3) in that the cross-country pilot in command flight time in 61.65(e) must have been accomplished with other than a student pilot certificate. There is no such requirement in 61.129(b) (3)]. Question 3. Can you apply 3 hours of actual instrument time and 23 hours of instrument hood time in the Bell UH-1 helicopter toward the requirements of 61.65(e)(2)?

Answer: It is unnecessary for you to do so, for the reasons stated in the answer to Question 1 above.

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Question 4. Can you apply 20 hours in a UH-1 simulator toward the requirements of 61.65(e)(2)?

Answer: Again, it is unnecessary for you to do so, as noted in the answer to Question 1.

We recommend that you review your flight experience with the local Flight Standard District Office to determine what additional requirements you need to meet in order to obtain the certificates and ratings you seek. This interpretation has been coordinated with the General Aviation and Commercial Division of the Office of Flight Standards at FAA Headquarters. We appreciate your concern for compliance with the regulations, and hope this satisfactorily responds to your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Chase

Manager, Certification Law Branch

Regulations and Enforcement Division