Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

CFII Logging PIC

Asked by: 5190 views FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor, Instrument Rating

Hi guys, might be a dumb question but I was wondering if a CFII can log PIC when giving instrument instruction in VMC?  I vaguely remember from my training the at a CFII can only log PIC while instructing in IMC but that was a while ago.  Any thoughts?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Oct 10, 2013

    Your vague memory is a little off.

    A CFI may log PIC under 61.51(e)(3) any time he or she is “serving as the authorized instructor in an operation if the instructor is rated to act as pilot in command of that aircraft.” That’s not dependent on whether the flight takes place in or under IFR, VFR, IMC or VMC.

    What you may be thinking of is whether a CFI may log (“count”) instrument approaches toward his or her own instrument currency under 61.57(c). That does depend on whether the flight is in actual instrument conditions.

    On the one hand, the FAA Chief Counsel has said that a CFII who instructs in actual instrument conditions is “performing” the approaches in actual instrument conditions within the meaning of 61.57(c).

    OTOH, no one so far has suggested that a CFII with his eyes wide open, looking outside the airplane in visual conditions, watching traffic and terrain, the airport, landmarks and the runway, is performing anything in actual instrument conditions.

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.